At Ryders Green, we strive to give every child, every opportunity, at their one chance in primary school.
Computing at Ryders Green
We want pupils to be masters of technology. Technology is everywhere and will play a pivotal part in students’ lives, therefore, we want to model and educate our pupils on how to use technology positively, responsibly and safely. We want our pupils to be creators not consumers and our broad curriculum encompassing computer science, information technology and digital literacy reflects this. .We want our pupils to understand that there is always a choice with using technology and at Ryders Green, we utilise technology to model positive use. We recognise that the best prevention for a lot of issues we currently see with technology/social media is through education. We recognise that technology can allow pupils to share their learning in creative ways. We also understand the accessibility opportunities technology can provide for our pupils. Our knowledge rich curriculum has to be balanced with the opportunity for pupils to apply their knowledge creatively which will in turn help our pupils become skilful computer scientists.
We encourage staff to try and embed computing across the whole curriculum to make learning creative, immersive and accessible. We want our pupils to be fluent with a range of tools to best express their understanding and hope by Upper Key Stage 2, children have the independence and confidence to choose the best tool to fulfil the task and challenge set by teachers.
Computing: National curriculum in England: computing programmes of study – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Our approach to the curriculum meets our duties in the Equality Act 2010 and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014
What are the intentions for Computing at Ryders Green Primary School?
At Ryders Green Primary School, we have designed the National Curriculum around our key ambition for our children. We want to provide aspiration to all of our children despite the barriers they face. To do this we provide opportunities so our children can stand equal with their peers now and in their adult life. At Ryders Green Primary School, we want pupils to be masters of technology. Technology is everywhere and will play a pivotal part in students’ lives, therefore, we want to model and educate our pupils on how to use technology positively, responsibly and safely. We want our pupils to be creators not consumers and our broad curriculum encompassing computer science, information technology and digital literacy reflects this. We want our pupils to understand that there is always a choice with using technology and at Ryders Green, we utilise technology to model positive use. We recognise that the best prevention for a lot of issues we currently see with technology/social media is through education.
We encourage staff to try and embed computing across the whole curriculum to make learning creative, immersive and accessible. We want our pupils to be fluent with a range of tools to best express their understanding and hope by Upper Key Stage 2, children have the independence and confidence to choose the best tool to fulfil the task and challenge set by teachers.
How do we implement our intentions for Computing at Ryders Green Primary School?
Computing will be delivered in a variety of ways across the school, and throughout the academic year. We teach knowledge, understanding and skills needed in Computing through a variety of projects. Online safety will be delivered through discrete sessions at the start of each new unit. Computing skills will be delivered as discreet lessons where these skills will be taught or explored. Throughout each unit, thematic links will be made with other learning. Where applicable, Computing skills will be embedded within other curriculum lessons.
The topics below will be the focuses within each year group:
Year 1.
- We are collectors – Finding images using the web.
- We are storytellers – Producing a talking book.
- We are painters – Illustrating an eBook.
- We are TV chefs – Filming the steps of a recipe.
- We are treasure hunters – Using programmable toys.
- We are celebrating – Creating a card electronically.
Year 2.
- We are photographers – taking, selecting and editing digital images.
- We are researchers – researching a topic.
- We are astronauts – programming on screen.
- We are games testers – exploring how computer games work.
- We are zoologists – recording bug hunt data.
- We are detectives – communicating clues.
Year 3.
- We are programmers – Programming an animation.
- We are bug fixers – Finding and correcting bugs in programs.
- We are communicators- Communicating safely on the internet.
- We are opinion pollsters- Collecting and analysing data.
- We are vloggers.
- We are programmers – Programming an animation.
Year 4.
- We are software developers – a simple educational game.
- We are musicians – Producing digital music.
- We are meteorologists – Presenting the weather.
- We are co-authors – Producing a wiki.
- We are HTML editors – Editing and writing HTML.
- We are toy designers – Prototyping an interactive toy
Year 5.
- We are game developers – Developing an interactive game.
- We are artists – Fusing geometry and art.
- We are architects – Creating a virtual space.
- We are cryptographers – Cracking codes.
- We are bloggers – Sharing experiences and opinions.
- We are web developers – Creating a web page about cyber safety.
Year 6.
- We are adventure gamers. – Making a text- based game.
- We are publishers Creating a magazine.
- We are travel writers (using media and mapping to document a trip) and we are advertisers (creating a short television advert).
- We are network technicians- Exploring computer networks including the internet.
- We are computational thinkers- Mastering algorithms for searching, sorting and mathematics.
What is our intended impact of Computing at Ryders Green Primary School?
We encourage our children at Ryders Green to enjoy and value the curriculum we deliver. We will constantly ask the WHY behind their learning and not just the HOW. We want learners to discuss, reflect and appreciate the impact computing has on their learning, development and well-being.
Finding the right balance with technology is key to an effective education and a healthy life-style. We feel the way we implement computing helps children realise the need for the right balance and one they can continue to build on in their next stage of education and beyond. We encourage regular discussions between staff and pupils to best embed and understand this. The way pupils showcase, share, celebrate and publish their work will best show the impact of our curriculum. We also look for evidence through reviewing pupil’s knowledge and skills through observing learning regularly, sharing our work in our learning environment and at whole school events.
Progress of our computing curriculum is demonstrated through outcomes and the record of coverage in the process of achieving these outcomes is tracked by teachers on Classroom Monitor. This is then monitored by the Computing Leader as part of the whole school monitoring calendar.
A STEM career in Computing?
https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/software-developer
https://www.ducksters.com/biography/entrepreneurs/bill_gates.php
Updated February 2023
