ICT

Intent

At Swanland School we want pupils to become confident I.C.T users.  To enable this to happen we have established an outcomes driven curriculum which recognises the importance of identifying not just what we want our pupils to know and do in I.C.T but also the intellectual outcomes we intend them to achieve by and through their learning.  As pupils progress as I.C.T users as well as the knowledge and skills they are learning, our expectations of them must also be focused on the following progression in subject outcomes. This progress begins with the EYFS through to the end of KS2.

The scheme of work used throughout the school is in line with statutory requirements as well as ensuring that each year group will teach specific areas of ICT, which are designed to expand the learning obtained in previous years, whilst building further on pupils’ understanding of I.C.T ideas, subject knowledge and skills. Swanland School commits to ensuring the I.C.T our pupils learn is inspiring and stretches them intellectually.

The scheme of work will;

• Provide an exciting, rich, relevant and challenging Computing curriculum for all pupils.
• Enthuse and equip children with the capability to use technology throughout their lives.
• Give children access to a variety of high quality hardware, software and unplugged resources.
• Instil critical thinking, reflective learning and a ‘can do’ attitude for all our pupils, particularly when engaging with technology and it’s associated resources.
• Teach pupils to become responsible, respectful and competent users of data, information and communication technology.
• Teach pupils to understand the importance of governance and legislation regarding how information is used, stored, created, retrieved, shared and manipulated.
• Equip pupils with skills, strategies and knowledge that will enable them to reap the benefits of the online world, whilst being able to minimise risk to themselves or others.
• Provide technology solutions for forging better home and school links.
• Ensure I.C.T is used to improve access to learning for pupils with a diverse range of individual needs.

The school will work towards these aims in partnership with parents. The I.C.T curriculum is taught throughout the school in separate lessons, as well as through topic, where children are given the opportunity to apply their learning in a cross-curricular way.

Implementation

The school is committed to providing its children with the opportunities to apply their ICT knowledge and skills into real life situations; through using a wide range of equipment during theory and practical lessons. Lessons will focus on teaching key knowledge and skills, whist encouraging children to ask a range of questions and have discussions and debates with one another.

Some topics may link to the PSHCE curriculum.

A high-quality computing education equips pupils to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world. Computing has deep links with mathematics, science, and design and technology, and provides insights into both natural and artificial systems. The core of computing is computer science, in which pupils will be taught the principles of information and computation, how digital systems work, and how to put this knowledge to use through programming. Building on this knowledge and understanding, pupils will be equipped to use information technology to create programs, systems and a range of content. Computing also ensures that pupils become digitally literate – able to use, and express themselves and develop their ideas through, information and communication technology – at a level suitable for the future workplace and as active participants in a digital.

Health and safety

Equipment is safety checked and children are taught how to safely use all equipment.

Homework

Homework, in ICT, is provided in line with whole school policy and will be given at the discretion of the teacher, where appropriate, and such to coincide and support geographical investigations and topics.

Impact

We believe that our ICT curriculum is progressive and challenging, whilst remaining relevant. It is carefully planned to demonstrate progression. We measure the impact of our curriculum in several ways, which includes: learning walks and pupil voice, lesson observations, and skills list to aid teacher assessment.

Through our ICT curriculum we aim for our pupils to be Young ICT users, who are responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology. Children who can evaluate and apply information technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies, analytically to solve problems. Can understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation. Enthuse and equip children with the capability to use technology throughout their lives.

During each year group the teacher will be able to use their knowledge and understanding of each pupil, gained through extensive formative assessment over the previous ICT learning, to reach an accurate judgment of what they know and can do. This is then added to Scholar Pack or in the case of the EYFS added to the pupils’ online learning journal via Tapestry.  Most critically this decision is based on the professional knowledge and judgement that the teacher possesses of the pupil, built up over an extended period of time, which is then used to make a rounded and holistic judgement of their attainment in ICT. Tapestry is used in the EYFS and Seesaw in KS1 and KS2 to upload children’s work, involving parents in their child’s learning journey.

ICT progressive curriculum