Our Computing Curriculum
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Essential Characteristic of Computing. Our goal is for our children to become Computer Scientists. Computer Scientists must have:
- Competence in coding for a variety of practical and inventive purposes, including the application of ideas within other subjects.
- The ability to connect with others safely and respectfully, understanding the need to act within the law and with moral and ethical integrity.
- An understanding of the connected nature of devices.
- The ability to communicate ideas well by using applications and devices throughout the curriculum.
- The ability to collect, organise and manipulate data effectively.
Building a Computing Schema. Our pupils will form a computing schema* by:
- Ensuing concepts as the basis for schema. We call these threshold concepts; these are the big ideas which form the basis for the subject schema. In computing the threshold concepts are: Programming, Computational Thinking, Creativity, Computing Networks, Communication/Collaboration, and Productivity.
- Strengthening the schema with knowledge. The knowledge comes from our topics – six topics will be taught each year. Each topic has learning expectations. These learning expectations address the National Curriculum objectives and allow for progression within the threshold concepts.
Further deepening connections through tasks. This is what is developed though our planning.
*Schema – A subject schema is a way of organising knowledge in a meaningful way; it is an appreciation of how facts are connected and the ways in which they are connected. A schema is distinct from information, which is just isolated facts that have no organisational basis or links.
National Curriculum Aims - The national curriculum for computing aims to ensure that all pupils:
- Can understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation
- Can analyse problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems
- Can evaluate and apply information technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies, analytically to solve problems
- Are responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology
National Curriculum Subject Content – Key Stage 1 and 2. This is what we teach.
Key Stage 1 | Key Stage 2 |
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End of Milestone Expectations. This is what we expect the children to know and do as they progress through the curriculum.
Milestone 1 - Year 1 and 2 | Milestone 2 - Year 3 and 4 | Milestone 3 - Year 5 and 6 |
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Curiculum Breadth Overview
The computing curriculum is divided into six strands: PROGRAMMING, COMPUTATIONAL THINKING, CREATVITY, COMPUTER NETWORKS, COMMUNICATION/COLLABORATION and PRODUCTIVITY.
The strands PROGRAMMING, COMPUTATIONAL THINKING and CREATIVITY are taught in the first year of each milestone (Y1, Y3 and Y5)
The strands COMPUTER NETWORKS, COMMUNICATION/COLLBORATION and PRODUCTIVITY are taught in the second year of each milestone (Y2, Y4 and Y6).
Each strand is taught as a mini topic with a complete sequence of lessons.
Each unit contains plans, resources, quizzes and retrieval opportunities reflecting on previous units.
PROGRAMMING Planning, writing and testing computer programs for digital devices, from floor turtles to tablets. |
COMPUTATIONAL THINKING Some of the computer science foundations – particularly algorithms, logical reasoning and decomposing problems into smaller parts. |
CREATIVITY Creating and refining original content using digital tools across a range of media. |
COMPUTER NETWORKS Using and understanding the internet, the web and search engines, effectively and safely. |
COMMUNICATION/COLLABORATION Making the most of computers and the internet for communicating with one or many, and working together on projects. |
PRODUCTIVITY Collecting and analysing data and information using computers; organising, manipulating and presenting this to an audience. |
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Autumn 1 |
Autumn 2 |
Spring 1 |
Spring 2 |
Summer 1 |
Summer 2 |
Year 1
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1.1 PROGRAMMING
We are Treasure Hunters |
1.2 COMPUTATIONAL THINKING-
We are TV Chefs |
1.3 CREATIVITY
We are Painters |
2.1 PROGRAMMING
We are Astronauts |
2.2 COMPUTATIONAL THINKING
We are Games Testers |
2.3 CREATIVITY
We are Photographers |
Year 2
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1.4 COMPUTER NETWORKS
We are Collectors |
1.5 COMMUNICATION/ COLLABORATION
We are Storytellers |
1.6 PRODUCTIVITY
We are Celebrating |
2.4
COMPUTER NETWORKS
We are Researchers |
2.5
COMMUNICATION/ COLLABORATION
We are Detectives |
2.6 PRODUCTIVITY
We are Zoologists |
Year 3
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3.1 PROGRAMMING
We are Programmers |
3.2 COMPUTATIONAL THINKING
We are Bug Fixers |
3.3 CREATIVITY
We are Presenters |
4.1 PROGRAMMING
We are Software Developers |
4.2 COMPUTATIONAL THINKING
We are Toy Designers
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4.3 CREATIVITY
We are Musicians |
Year 4
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3.4 COMPUTER NETWORKS
We are Network Engineers |
3.5 COMMUNICATION/ COLLABORATION
We are Communicators |
3.6 PRODUCTIVITY
We are Opinion Pollsters |
4.4 COMPUTER NETWORKS
We are HTML Editors |
4.5 COMMUNICATION/ COLLABORATION
We are Co-Authors |
4.6 PRODUCTIVITY
We are Meteorologists |
Year 5
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5.1 PROGRAMMIN
We are Games Developers |
5.2 COMPUTATIONAL THINKING
We are Cryptographers |
5.3 CREATIVITY
We are Artists |
6.1 PROGRAMMING
We are Adventure Gamers |
6.2 COMPUTATIONAL THINKING
We are Computational Thinkers |
6.3 CREATIVITY
We are Advertisers
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Year 6
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5.4 COMPUTER NETWORKS
We are Web Developers |
5.5 COMMUNICATION/ COLLABORATION
We are Bloggers |
5.6 PRODUCTIVITY
We are Architects |
6.4 COMPUTER NETWORKS
We are Network Technicians |
6.5 COMMUNICATION/ COLLABORATION
We are Travel Writers |
6.6 PRODUCTIVITY
We are Publishers |
Our Curriculum Cycle - Our Curriculum Intent
Please click here to see the document where we outline how we have ensured progression through each milestone and through each aspect of computing (threshold concepts).
How we Implement our Curriculum
Example Lesson - Milestone 1
Example Lesson - Milestone 2
Example Lesson - Milestone 3