HASLAM PARK PRIMARY SCHOOL

Welcome to our Computing page!

Subject Lead: Mr Hesketh

We love Computing here at Haslam Park and feel we are on a journey to promote positive digital footprints, be responsible digital citizens, prepare children with the skills they need to be digitally literate and influence the programmers of the future.

The Primary National Curriculum for Computing highlights the deep links with maths, science and design & technology. At the core of this are three key strands: Information Technology, Digital Literacy and Computer Science.

• Information Technology involves the functional use of computers and how we interface with technology using existing hardware. We aim to teach children how to navigate around a variety of devices and software whilst using key functions such as save, find and edit. It also involves understanding the internet and how to search effectively. This is with the aim of being confident and exciting users of technology.
• Digital Literacy involves the deep learning of six core skills: collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, citizenship, character and communication. It involves the safe and responsible use of technology but crucially the understanding and implementing of these core skills to communicate with others.
• Computer Science involves teaching students reasoning, problem solving and resilience which translate across many different subjects and walks of life. The application of these skills using a computer or other technologies sets apart Computer Science from more functional uses such as word processing and instead involves skills such as coding, analysing and interpreting data.

Digital Citizenship involves the consequences of looking at your online activity and embedding the principles of staying safe online. This involves the children looking at real world examples of online usage and how they approach these sensibly and responsibly. This is a unit that we teach during the year and revisit when appropriate. We look to use events such as Safer Internet Day to showcase this understanding and keep this topic prominent.

In school we recognise the importance of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) and its relevance to Computing. We aim to provide our children with new opportunities to learn and explore this aspect of Computing throughout our Curriculum offering and additional opportunities through after school clubs. We hope these can resume again soon with normal school life resuming. We feel we need to teach skills that will prepare our children for the future, as occupations in STEM-related careers are some of the fastest growing of the 21st century and they often have the greatest potential for job growth!

Below is a breakdown of the structure of a typical Computing lesson. Although elements may be adapted, this is the starting point for a lesson structure.

Curriculum Overview

Knowledge Organisers

We use knowledge organisers to help support the children in their learning.

A knowledge organiser is a document,  that contains key facts and information that children should understanding and be able to recall in a topic.

Most knowledge organisers will include:

• the essential facts about the topic
• key vocabulary or technical terms and their meanings
• images, diagrams and tables

Digital Citizenship - Knowledge Organisers

Digital Literacy - Knowledge Organisers

Computer Science - Knowledge Organisers

Information Technology - Knowledge Organisers