Bradshaw Primary SchoolComputing
At Bradshaw, we strive to provide pupils with a high-quality education in computing. We believe that every child has the right to a curriculum that champions excellence and teaches computing, to equip children with the skills necessary for their future in an ever-changing world. Starting in Nursery our pupils are provided with a high-quality and vocabulary-rich learning environment where they can explore technology safely and effectively. (Please see the vocabulary overview.) We know that not all children have access to technology at home and endeavour to give our pupils a range of rich experiences.
At Bradshaw, we follow the National Curriculum, which aims to provide children with opportunities to develop and use computational thinking. It seeks to ensure that pupils become digitally literate, allowing them to express themselves and develop their ideas through information and communication technology. In following the National Curriculum, we aim to:
- prepare 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
- teach our pupils to become responsible, respectful and competent users of data, information and communication technology
- equip children with the skills and strategies to reap the benefits of the online world while minimising the risk to themselves and others
- use technology imaginatively and creatively to inspire and engage all pupils
We teach computing through a combination of Purple Mash and Teach Computing units years two – six also have Micro bit lessons giving them a good understanding of how computing can be applied later in their lives.
Computing falls into three main areas: Digital Literacy, Information Technology and Computer Science. Each year group covers these areas of learning over the year. The curriculum is delivered in small, sequential learning chunks and revisits concepts previously taught before developing their knowledge further.
Online Safety
Online safety is something we consider a top priority. We use Project Evolve as our starting point and each half-term we follow a different theme. This is first delivered in a whole school assembly before being followed up with a discrete lesson in the classroom.
We provide our parents with a weekly reminder about how they can support their children at home through WakeUpWedenesday and a monthly online safety poster. Past posters can be found here (Hyperlink).
SEND
At Bradshaw, our computing lessons are carefully planned to meet the needs of all our pupils. Teachers carefully assess pupils and support them in developing their understanding of computing. They take relevant steps to remove barriers and make adaptations. Support may include breaking the learning down into smaller steps, providing explicit instructions, additional scaffolds, further modelling skills and new learning adapted technology and equipment. The key learning for each unit is identified so that each child can make progress within computing and is ready to progress to the next step.
Assessment
We assess our pupils during each lesson and this knowledge is then used to plan and adapt subsequent lessons. We understand the importance of knowing the knowledge that our pupils have and using this understanding to support them in developing further. Children save their work on Purple Mash, this is then marked, and feedback is given to the pupils. Within computing, the process that our pupils go through to complete their work is often as important as the outcome, which is why we use discussions within lessons and high-quality, targeted questions to support our assessment.
The subject leader uses the teacher’s assessment and makes the relevant adaptations to the curriculum. In addition, they monitor two pupils' progress over the year and produce a portfolio to ensure they are making the required progress.
A typical lesson
A Bradshaw computing lesson follows the same structure. We start all our lessons by going through the lesson aims and the success criteria. We then review vocabulary and previous learning before carefully guiding them through the new learning. Our lessons are carefully modelled using the I do, we do, you do approach. We give the pupils plenty of practice developing their skills and ensure throughout the lesson they have the opportunity to work in pairs and individually. This allows us to monitor where the children are on their learning journey and if more support is needed. The lessons end with a review of the learning and the success criteria. The teacher assesses the learning as they are teaching but after the lesson, they will review the children’s work, provide feedback, and plan the subsequent lesson.