Computing
“A high-quality computing education equips pupils to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world.”
National Curriculum, Computing
Here at Snaresbrook Primary School, our Computing curriculum follows the Early Years Foundation Stage framework and the National Curriculum subject content.
We believe that Computing is an integral part of preparing children to live in a world where technology is continuously and rapidly evolving. Our aim within the Computing curriculum is to ensure that children develop the essential skills, knowledge and understanding needed for our rapidly changing digital world, where technology may be used for both education and leisure purposes.
How is Computing implemented?
It is our aim to enable children to explore, recognise, create, organise, store, manipulate and retrieve digital information, from programs and online. From the early stages of computing in EYFS, to exploration in key stage 1 and key stage 2, culminating in creating and debugging programs, the aim of our Computing curriculum is to create digitally-literate learners. We want our children to be able to use, express themselves and develop their ideas through information technology and communication technology, thus enabling them to be active participants in a digital world.
In Key stage 1 and 2 children have one timetabled teacher-led lesson a week, which focuses on key skills necessary to access the Computing curriculum. The school uses the ‘Rising Star’ computing scheme alongside local authority recommended resources such as Espresso, Code.org and Scratch 2. Class teachers have an allotted time either with class laptops or in the ICT suite to teach computing in a cross-curricular context. The computer programming aspect of the curriculum particularly overlaps well with Science (investigation, exploration, data analysis), Maths (processes, methods, logic) and English (editing and reviewing). The school has a dedicated computer suite with 31 networked terminals. Laptops and iPads are designated to pupils with SEN. There is wi-fi access throughout the school and each class has a teaching computer connected to an interactive whiteboard, including audio and DVD facilities as well as a class iPad.
Snaresbrook Computing Curriculum
Our Computing curriculum has been designed so that it enables children to participate in a changing world. We strive to educate the children about how to be safe and understand how to navigate the online world with confidence. Please click on the images below for links to documents and further information.
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OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENRICHED COMPUTING EXPERIENCES
We are always looking for opportunities to promote Computing in the school by organising trips, visitors and workshops. Please see the enriching experiences that we have taken part in.
Coding Club
We offer a weekly coding club, which aims to provide the necessary tools for developing a ‘Computational Thinking’ mindset – the ability to tackle large problems by breaking them down into smaller, more manageable ones.
It aims to develop:
- a logical mindset
– problem-solving mindset
– a mindset that sees errors as an opportunity to learn and improve.
Creating digital music
The children were treated to a music workshop where they had the opportunity to create music using digital tools.
PLAYING WITH FIRE WORKSHOP
This week year 6 and year 5 were treated to an amazing drama presentation by Redbridge drama centre which dealt with the benefits and dangers of social media. The performance, titled “Playing with Fire” depicted the obsessive relationship young people often have with their mobile devices, and showed just how dangerous the attachment to a mobile phone can potentially be.
The play focused on showing how a child became distracted from her school work and her family, as well as her role in bullying peers via social media groups.
The show also exemplified the detrimental effects social media can have on the confidence of young people, as well as how small mishaps can be blown out of proportion.
It showed our students the dangers that can come from misusing and not thinking about what messages and images they are sending to both their friends and possible strangers. They also discussed the legal issues with sending and forwarding inappropriate images or messages.