Intent

At Abel Smith we are preparing our pupils to be masters of technology. With society seeing advanced changes in the way technology is used we want to ensure our children are appropriately prepared for its purpose. We intend to model and educate our pupils on how to use technology positively, responsibly, and safely. We aim to teach them how to be creators not consumers and the broad curriculum encompassing computer science (the foundations), information technology (the applications) and digital literacy (the implications) reflects this. The foundations underpin the principles of computational thinking. The application focuses on the skills in using digital technology to get useful work done and the implications is the critical understanding of the impact technology can have on individuals and society. Students will gain an understanding that there is always a choice with using technology and as a school we will model the use positively (especially social media). It is recognised that the best prevention of a lot of cyber issues with the use of technology/social media is through education. As staff, we recognise that technology can allow pupils to share their learning in creative and innovative ways while also providing accessibility opportunities for all our pupils. The following, knowledge rich, curriculum balanced with the opportunity for creative application will support our pupils in becoming skilful computer scientists. Staff will be encouraged and expected to embed computing across the whole curriculum to make learning creative and accessible. We endeavour to reach a point where our pupils are fluent with a range of tools that they can use to best express their understanding and we hope that by Upper Key Stage 2 the children are able to choose the best tool independently and confidently, to successfully fulfil and complete tasks set. 

Implementation 

(Using parts of the progression document taken from Mr P ICT https://www.mrpict.com/) 

Current timetabled sessions – 1 lesson per week per year group.   

• 1 discrete timetabled lesson following the Scheme of Work provided.  
  • 6 units throughout the academic year. Units are taught half termly with a discrete e-safety lesson taught at the beginning of each half term.  
  • Set proforma for lesson delivery and evidencing – using Seesaw. Selecting skills and folders within the platform to support the monitoring of lessons and attainment. 
• Staff are then able to timetable the use of chrome books and ipads for cross-curricular purposes. 
  • Timetabling of these ‘extra’ sessions will be discussed in both staff meetings and staff briefings to ensure that there isn’t a clash of classes. Digital Timetable is accessible on OneDrive. 
  • Research based lessons, typing up work, creating labels, accessing online games such as TTRockstars, creating videos, uploading and saving pictures, project work, presenting data using excel, using PowerPoint to present findings etc. 
• Seesaw to be used regularly in class – both staff and pupils can upload onto Seesaw – ideal for recording practical learning and group work to reduce the need for paper to be stuck in books. If staff plan to record/evidence using Seesaw, then it needs to be clear on planning for monitoring purposes. 
  • Proforma for Seesaw based lessons to be followed to ensure consistency. Examples to be shared.

Impact

We fully encourage pupils to enjoy and value the computing curriculum we deliver, embracing and enhancing their digital growth. Asking the ‘why?’ behind the learning is equally important as the ‘how?’ and this is something we endeavour to implement consistently. The learners will discuss, reflect and appreciate the impact technology has on their independent learning, development and well-being. The way in which we aim to deliver our computing curriculum will support the children in finding the right balance with technology. By following the semantic wave structure, we will be able to unpack the meanings of technical terms and abstract contexts (primarily in a computer science unit) to support the children as novice learners. This will enable us to secure understanding of key concepts and skills. Finding the right balance between technology use, an effective education and a healthy lifestyle is key for a child’s development. This will be something they continue to build on in their next stage of education and beyond. Conversations between staff and pupils will further embed and enhance this. We will be evidencing the children’s abilities by reviewing their knowledge and skills digitally through a growing use of tools such as Seesaw. Progress of our computing curriculum will be demonstrated through concepts and skills which fit in line with the National Centre of Computing Education (NCCE) which is the scheme of work we have adopted for most of our teaching units. 

All Intent, Implementation and Impact statements are based on those accessible from Mr P ICT at https://www.mrpict.com/ but have been adapted for Abel Smith School.