Autumn 2021 BEAUDESERT PARK MAGAZINE
BEAUDESERT PARK MAGAZINE Autumn 2018
AC A D E M I C
Computing
e-Safety
It was great to be back at school for the Autumn Term. We covered Office applications, and reminded pupils of e-Safety and the slightly neglected skill of touch-typing. We also continued to encourage independent learning and thinking in Computing. During the Spring Term, working remotely, we worked on Coding. Luckily, we were able to use Scratch 3 online, which worked on almost all platforms. I’m also very grateful to the parents for the help they gave their children. We finished the term with a Scratch coding competition, and had some very imaginative and fun entries. The Summer Term has rushed by, and while younger years worked on their projects using a range of applications, Year 6 enjoyed using Sketchup, a 3D modelling program. Year 7 and 8 worked on Photoshop, Photopea and Wick Editor. Pivot has been popular among all years. We have gradually been able to return to using the Computer Suites for more lessons and Mr Layton has been delighted to get the Year 1 and Year 2 Pre-prep children into the suites this term.
This academic year, e-Safety has continued to stay at the forefront of everyone’s mind. The January lockdown meant we were once again back at our screens and, for many, left to our own devices. As a School, we have continued to try to educate not just children, but our staff and parents too. During lessons, the Pre-prep and lower KS2 children have continued to cover e-Safety during Computing lessons. Using resource programs such as Gooseberry Planet and Google’s Interland, we have been able to freshen up our approach to the way we teach e-Safety, keeping as up to date as we possibly can, while continuing to revisit tried and tested resources. We also took part in this year’s Safer Internet Day in February which focused on exploring reliability in an online world. In the past, we have welcomed external speakers to cover different topics and this year was no different. Last year’s speaker, Andy Robertson, published his book in early 2021 and parents were
given access to a free e-copy of ‘Taming Gaming’, a ‘recipe book’ of different games to help parents navigate the world of online games. In the Summer Term, we were also visited by School Beat Officer, PC Mark Weedon, from Gloucestershire Constabulary. He was able to visit the School and talk to children from Years 5 – 8 about a number of different areas including how to make themselves more secure online, how to report issues and who to talk to when things go wrong. As we turn our attention to the next academic year, we will continue to look for ways to keep up to date with the most recent apps and online content, as well as seeking ways to engage the children in such an important area. We shall continue to provide help for parents to tackle online issues, and we hope to resume our programme of guest speakers and experts to help in guiding children through the minefield that is the internet. TL
JG
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