Computing

Intent

Over the last three years, the Academy has carried out a continued cycle of improvement and evaluation of our computing curriculum.  We have identified that computing is an increasingly significant part of the lives and future careers of the children at our schools, and are therefore striving to provide high-quality teaching and learning of the requisite computing skills and knowledge.  We recognise the unique nature of computing in the way that it inspires and motivates learners and can provide a ‘level playing field’ where typically unconfident learners can demonstrate assurance and familiarity.  We are maintaining a provision of training for staff to improve their delivery of the computing curriculum and adopted the ‘Purple Mash’ scheme of work at the start of the 2021-22 academic year.  Our aim is to ensure all children in the trust are given a broad and comprehensive computing curriculum so that they leave our schools able to utilise, and take advantage of, new developments in technology around them.

Our intent is to enable pupils to:

• Foster a love for all aspects of computing, and recognise its value in the wider world
• Meet the age-related expectations in all areas of computing – computer science, digital literacy and ICT
• Use the World Wide Web safely and know how to resolve any issues pertaining to e-safety
• Work both collaboratively and independently to make links to prior learning and other subjects
• Consolidate key skills from core subjects
• Overcome problems using resourcefulness and resilience
• Develop a strong computing vocabulary through which they can explain, discuss and question their computing learning
• Navigate a range of software and hardware to achieve learning goals
• Debug programs, think creatively and challenge themselves to solve problems in different ways
• Apply computing skills between different software by understanding the key guiding principles – sometimes through ‘unplugged’ computing sessions
• Elaborate on, and experiment with, taught skills and processes.

Impact

Children demonstrate clear progression in skills in each year as they revisit recurring computing topics.  They deepen their understanding of core computing principles such as coding, computer networks and algorithms.  When faced with challenges or specific problems to solve, children are able to work independently or collaboratively to find a solution based on prior learning and critical thinking.  In particular, children at the Pegasus Academy Trust will be inspired to further their understanding of computing and seek to pursue it further into later life, having been taught how integral it has become to so many parts of human existence in the modern world.

To ensure maximum impact, the Trust:

• Monitors teaching and learning to ensure coverage, quality and progression of learning in all year groups;
• Ensures all staff assess their children termly against the taught criteria, before assessing children as working towards, expected or exceeding the age-related expectation;
• Canvases staff to gauge further training needs or individuals who require more support in delivering the curriculum, so that all children receive parity of computing education;
• Talks directly to the pupils in our schools about their views on computing, our curriculum and their own learning in this area;
• Utilises the computing curriculum team to oversee long and short-term targets are met with regards to curriculum intent.

You can see the complete long term planning for all year groups in the Trust here.  .

At the Pegasus Academy Trust we also strive to ensure that our pupils understand the importance of e-safety.  If you would like to know more about keeping your child safe online, the Thinkuknow website has useful information for both parents and children.  For advice, help or to report possible internet abuse navigate to the CEOP Safety Centre.