Computing and Online Safety at Trefonen CE Primary School

Intent - a vision for an inspirational curriculum:

At Trefonen Primary School we aim to deliver an engaging and inspiring education in Computing, equipping children with the capabilities to use technology and develop computational thinking and creativity to become digitally fluent in an ever-growing digital world. We appreciate the technological world is a complex landscape, as does the curriculum we offer. The curriculum is designed to be broad and balanced whilst providing pupils with the opportunities to develop and master their knowledge around a range of Computing topics, and applying this to understand and change the world. By the time pupils leave Trefonen Primary School, pupils will have gained key knowledge and skills in the three main strands of the National Curriculum for Computing to become digital citizens in the modern world: Computer Science (programming and understanding how digital systems work); Information Technology (using computer systems to create, store, retrieve and send information); and Digital Literacy (evaluating digital content and using technology to safely and respectfully).

E-Safety is a priority at Trefonen Primary School as we ensure that our pupils can use the internet and other related technologies safely and appropriately. All staff who work at our school are bound by the duty of care to ensure that our children are using the technologies available to them responsibly and are aware of the risks and dangers posed by the internet and sharing of data. Our pupils are taught explicit sessions within the curriculum on how to surf the internet safely as well as its potential dangers, with the aim of equipping them with the know-how and awareness to make well-informed, responsible choices when accessing websites and using software in and out of school. 

We believe it is essential that our pupils leave school feeling knowledgeable and confident in how computers and computer systems work; how to design, build and analyse programs; and how to find and manage digital information securely. If our pupils have any concerns about any content they encounter online, we teach our children how to be safe, responsible and respectful when using the internet.

Implementation - how we put our plan into action:

At the beginning of each year, children will interact with our Computing roadmap which helps articulate the route of study throughout their school year (and life), providing an overview of the key units and learning they will encounter within their respective year group. Taught through the framework of the 2014 national curriculum, we follow the *NCCE's Teach Computing scheme of work which provides intuitive units for each year group from Early Years to Year 6. We share their vision of a world-leading Computing education. Each taught unit comprises six lessons that build sequentially upon each other to develop particular knowledge and skills. These are carefully identified and mapped to support children's learning across the primary phases, building towards mastery at the end of key stage National Curriculum objectives. Our outcome-focused Online Safety curriculum is driven by guidance from the DFE's 'Education for a Connected World' framework.

We assess our pupils in a variety of ways. In KS1 emphasis is on assessing predominantly by way of observation: marking, eavesdropping, photographing work and self-assessment opportunities will be commonplace. In KS2, at the end of a unit children will either complete a multiple-choice quiz or teachers will use a rubric to assess the application of their children's skills and concepts, depending on the nature of the unit - whether children have been working on a project or developingtheir conceptual understanding.

Teachers are empowered to exercise professional judgement to adapt computing lessons (and activities within them) within the progression map framework to ensure children progress and achieve learning objectives tailored to their specific needs. Where possible, cross-curricular links are made to other subjects, i.e. maths and science, so that our pupils are more motivated to learn through stimulating, inter-connected topics. Children are taught one lesson per week and have access to hardware including laptops and iPads for computing sessions of which they are required. 

After completing a unit, pupils complete a brief key knowledge quiz so teachers can assess their retention and understanding of core facts and concepts; in other units children will undertake computer-based projects which teachers can access from the school network. They may also self-assess their confidence in the skills practised throughout the unit. These measures all help teachers to keep track of their children's progress in Computing, highlighting strengths and possible areas for development.

Impact - how children benefit from Computing

Within Computing we encourage a creative and collaborative environment in which pupils can learn to express and challenge themselves. The success of the curriculum itself will be assessed via the analysis of yearly progress data, conducting pupil voice sessions, lesson observations and skills audits. This will then inform future adaptions of the schemes of work and help to ensure that progression is evident throughout our school.  

In order to demonstrate that we have accomplished our aims, pupils at Trefonen Primary School should:

• Be enthusiastic and confident in their approach towards Computing.
• Present as competent and adaptable ‘Computational Thinkers’ who are able to use identified concepts and approaches in all areas of their learning.
• Be able to identify the source of problems and work with perseverance to ‘debug’ them.
• Create and evaluate their own project work.
• Have a secure understanding of the positive applications and specific risks associated with a broad range of digital technology.
• Transition to secondary school with a keen interest in the continued learning of this subject.

*NCCE (National Centre for Computing Education)