Computing at Summerbank

Our Curriculum Intent

Computing allows pupils to solve problems, think creatively and develop logical thinking. We are committed to nurturing pupils’ curiosity and creativity, as well as preparing them for living in a modern world where technology is rapidly changing and advancing.

Through teaching Computing, we support pupils to:

• Meet the requirements of the National Curriculum programmes of study for computing.
• Provide a relevant, challenging and enjoyable curriculum for computing for all pupils.
• Use ICT and computing as a tool to enhance learning throughout the curriculum
• To respond to new developments in technology.
• To equip pupils with the confidence and capability to use ICT and computing throughout their later life.
• To develop the understanding of how to use ICT and computing safely and responsibly.

Our Computing Curriculum

In Autumn 2023 we introduced the ‘Teach Computing’ curriculum. The units for key stages 1 and 2 are based on a spiral curriculum. This means that each of the themes is revisited regularly (at least once in each year group), and pupils revisit each theme through a new unit that consolidates and builds on prior learning within that theme.  This style of curriculum design reduces the amount of knowledge lost through forgetting, as topics are revisited yearly.

The Teach Computing Curriculum has been written to support all pupils. Each lesson is sequenced so that it builds on the learning from the previous lesson, and where appropriate, activities are scaffolded so that all pupils can succeed and thrive. Scaffolded activities provide pupils with extra resources, such as visual prompts, to reach the same learning goals as the rest of the class. Exploratory tasks foster a deeper understanding of a concept, encouraging pupils to apply their learning in different contexts and make connections with other learning experiences.

Computing is taught once per week to all classes in our well equiped computer suite.  The suite is also available at other times of the week for classes to use to apply computing to other curriculum subjects.