"We want children to develop as respectful, responsible and confident users of technology, aware of measures that can be taken to keep themselves and others safe online.”

Intent

At Cedar Park School, we acknowledge that computational confidence and digital skills will be essential within the chosen career paths of future generations. Therefore, it is our school’s aim to equip children with the relevant skills and knowledge that will enable them to access our ever changing and growing digital world.

We intend to support our pupils to access and understand the core principles of this subject through highly engaging activities. Whilst ensuring they understand the advantages and disadvantages associated with online experiences, we want children to develop as respectful, responsible and confident users of technology, aware of measures that can be taken to keep themselves and others safe online.

At Cedar Park, we provide children with the ability to improve their knowledge, skills and understanding, by following the NCCE scheme of work and the Common Sense Education Online Safety Scheme. An emphasis on e-safety is always central to our teaching.

Implementation

The computing curriculum at Cedar Park has been tailored to focus and build upon the three core aspects of Computing: Digital Literacy, Computer Science, and Information Technology. We do so with a spiral-based progression framework of skills and knowledge that allows the pupil to make the necessary connections within their prior learning as they progress through the Computing Curriculum. This means that each of the aspects is revisited regularly and that each new unit consolidates and builds on prior learning.

The Teach Computing Curriculum is structured in units. For these units to be coherent, the lessons within a unit must be taught in order. However, across a year group, the units themselves do not need to be taught in order, with the exception of ‘Programming’ units, where concepts and skills rely on prior learning and experiences.

All learning outcomes (which go beyond our setting to KS4) can be described through a high-level taxonomy of ten strands, ordered alphabetically as follows:

• Algorithms — Be able to comprehend, design, create, and evaluate algorithms
• Computer networks — Understand how networks can be used to retrieve and share information, and how they come with associated risks
• Computer systems — Understand what a computer is, and how its constituent parts function together as a whole. This includes a focus on physical computing
• Creating media — Select and create a range of media including text, images, sounds, and video
• Data and information — Understand how data is stored, organised, and used to represent real-world artefacts and scenarios
• Design and development — Understand the activities involved in planning, creating, and evaluating computing artefacts
• Effective use of tools — Use software tools to support computing work
• Impact of technology — Understand how individuals, systems, and society as a whole interact with computer systems
• Programming — Create software to allow computers to solve problems
• Safety and security — Understand risks when using technology, and how to protect individuals and systems

Crumble Controllers and Micro:bits are examples of physical computing at Cedar Park.

Impact

Our approach to the curriculum results in a relevant, engaging, and high-quality computing education. Across the school, teachers assess children’s work in computing by making informal judgements as they observe learning during lesson and through assessing evidence of this which is documented in digital portfolios. This evidence is then used to feed into teachers’ future planning and allows teachers to address misconceptions and knowledge gaps while adapting learning to ensure all pupils make good progress.

By the end of Year 6, our pupils should feel confident in using a range of up-to-date technology and be knowledgeable in how this can be used to enhance their learning and the curriculum. They should be able to recognise how to keep themselves safe online, and they should understand the importance of demonstrating the positive behaviours of a digital citizen.

What Does Computing at Cedar Park Look Like?

Pupils are introduced to a wide range of technology including Beebots, tablets, cameras, laptops and interactive whiteboards which allow them to continually improve and develop their ideas and skills. The sequence of learning develops pupils’ understanding of how digital technology and other computational systems are designed, programmed and operated. As pupils progress through the school and build upon their computational thinking skills they then feel confident in drawing upon familiar and unfamiliar technology and software.

At Cedar Park, we also believe that Computing is an invaluable tool that can be used to enhance our teaching and learning and so we aim to use our computing skills in as many subjects as possible. Through allowing computing to be used in creative ways across the curriculum, pupils recognise the benefits of becoming digitally literate for both their present and future selves.

Not only are the ideas of Computing applied to the wider curriculum, they are also applied to the understanding of real-world systems and products. We encourage pupils to be creative, innovative, purposeful and resourceful in all of their endeavours – we believe that being critical thinkers who are digitally literate will empower our pupils to strive for all of these traits.

From start of EYFS through to the end of KS2, we know just how important it is that pupils are taught how to use digital technology safely, respectfully and responsibly. Younger pupils are regularly taught what to do if something makes them feel uncomfortable whilst using technology. As our pupils progress through the school, they learn the importance of keeping personal information private, to recognise differences between acceptable and unacceptable online behaviour and to have the knowledge of how to respond to issues surrounding this.

All pupils learn where they can go for help and support when they do have concerns about content

Safer Internet Day

Safer Internet Day 2024 will take place on the 6th of February 2024, with celebrations and learning based around the theme ‘Inspiring change? Making a difference, managing influence and navigating change online’.

Safer Internet Day is the UK’s biggest celebration of online safety. Each year it covers an online issue or theme that speaks to the things young people are seeing and experiencing online. Find out more by clicking the link below:

Useful Documents & Links