The Southfield Programmer

CURRICULUM STATEMENT

At Southfield Primary School we seek to foster children’s substantive disciplinary knowledge and understanding of computer science and computational thinking and equip them in an ever increasingly changing digital world.

Our Computing curriculum encompasses computational thinking, computer science and Digital Literacy and is designed to teach knowledge and skills from Reception to Year 6. We do this by combining the computing curriculum with a wide range of media subjects to inspire pupils.

Educating pupils in units as diverse as music production or stop motion animation will enhance a curiosity and develop new interests. We ensure all National Curriculum aims and content are fully covered and progress is achieved using different aspects of technology and computing safely and with a deep understanding of the curriculum content. Consequently, our computing curriculum is sequenced and tracks and spans the school career of a Southfield child from Reception –Year 6 which is evidenced in our progression map planning.

We endeavour for all our pupils leave Southfield as confident digital citizens and to have the requisite substantive and disciplinary subject knowledge to facilitate the ability to use technology and their knowledge of the digital world safely and with ease.

CURRICULUM COVERAGE

The computing curriculum we have designed runs as follows:

Autumn 1

Autumn 2

Spring 1

Spring 2

Summer 1

Summer 2

iJam iProgram iAnimate iCreate iCommunicate iTech

To ensure the curriculum is progressive, our curriculum is designed so that each year group begins at a specific level within each curriculum area.

Our lesson plans are written with this intent in mind and learning is targeted at a specific year group. Some of the specific areas within each unit are as follows:

KS1 KS2

Stop motion and 2D animation Animation and digital media

Filmography and video editing Microsoft Office

Photography Technology within the wider world Broadcasting and digital marketing

Music Production

Programming and Coding

Internet Safety and using digital devices safely

E-Safety and staying safe online are taught half termly by the class teachers as an add on to what our Computing Specialist teacher delivers in the weekly 45min sessions.

We also host parent workshops to support with how to stay safe online at home and we partake in Internet Safety Day each year with an assembly.

PROGRESSION MAP OF CURRICULUM COVERAGE

Reception Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6

iJam Composition of sound Song Writing skills Creating Music Song composition Analysing Music Genres

Autumn 1

Origins and Progression of Hip Hop

Remixing and Sampling

iProgram Basic Coding Coding in Games Language of Programming Understanding Programming Functions in Coding Debugging Writing Code

Autumn 2

Spring1

iAnimate 2D and 3D Animation Stop Motion Animation Animating Drawings

iOffice Programs Social Media Understanding Spreadsheets Creating CVs

Spring 2

iCreate Mediums of Art Digital Photography School Magazine

Post Production Editing Skills Creating 2D Vector Art Digital Galleries

Summer 1

iCommuniate Creating a Website Advertising on TV, Radio and Print

Publishing Magazines

Vlogging, Blogging and Podcasting

Digital Era Comms Understanding Pop Ups Use of email

Summer 2

iTech Use of Technology Technology Progression

Storyboarding film

Camera Angles in film

Story Arcs in film Computational Thinking Databases

KS1 NATIONAL CURRICULUM LINKS

Understand what algorithms are, how they are implemented as programs on digital devices , and that programs execute by following precise and unambiguous instructions.

Create and debug simple programs. Use logical reasoning to predict the behavior of simple programs

Use technologies purposefully to create, organise, store, manipulate and retrieve digital content

Recognise common uses of information technology beyond school

Use technology safely, and respectfully, keeping personal information private; identify where to go for help and support when they have concerns about content or contact on the internet or other online technologies

KS2 NATIONAL CURRICULUM LINKS

Design, write and debug programs that accomplish specific goals, including controlling or simulating physical systems; solve problems by decomposing them into smaller parts.

Use sequence, selection, and repetition in programs, work with variables and various forms of input and output.

Use logical reasoning to explain how some simple algorithms work and to detect and correct errors in algorithms and programs

Understand computer networks, including the internet; how they can provide multiple services, such as the World Wide Web, and the opportunities they offer for communication and collaboration.

Use search technologies effectively, appreciate how results are selected and ranked, and be discerning in evaluating digital content.

Select, use and combine a variety of software (including internet services) on a range of digital devices to design and create a range of programs, systems and content that accomplish given goals, including collecting, analysing, evaluating and presenting data and information.

Use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly: recognise acceptable/unaccepta ble behaviour; identify a range of ways to report concerns about content and contact.

IMPLEMENTATION

We have designed a full and comprehensive curriculum to be implemented across the academic year. As stated in our intent, we have created curriculum which spans from Reception to Year 6. All our planning includes key concepts, knowledge, skills, keywords and vocabulary and objectives for each year group. We have written all of our activities with one or more of these three core areas in mind:

1. Computer Science – the understanding that coding and programming across a range of physical devices and digital resources

2. InformationTechnology – the range of skills required to operate and manipulate specific programmes, systems and content.

3. Digital Literacy – the knowledge required to use technology safely and to evaluate and react to any potential risks of the online/digital world.

-

-

Within our curriculum, we bring aspects of computational thinking to all of the activities and modules to help our pupils to gain independence and skills in problem solving. Computational thinking encompasses 4 main areas:

Decomposition: solve a problem by breaking it into smaller pieces

- Pattern: find the order and analyse the date

- Abstraction: ignore/take away anomalies within the pattern

Algorithmic Design: create a solution using a series of ordered steps

IMPLEMENTATION

We supplement our curriculum with apps such as Scratch, Hopscotch, Tynker and Lightbot to ensure the greatest within our pupil’s knowledge. We also enrich our curriculum with resources such a headphones, complex programming booklets and animation extras to enhance the learning and give appropriate challenge to our pupils.

To ensure pupils gain the most from our curriculum, we also place a high value on internet safety and dedicate a whole half term to this in KS1 and KS2 with these sessions further bolstered in every other half term by the class teacher. This knowledge is further embedded at various points throughout the year.

We provide plans, knowledge organisers and key vocabulary for all lessons, with the vocabulary in particular being built on year on year. We aim to build a core language for our pupils to use when discussing computing, technology and software.

All our sessions have been designed to meet the needs of a year group and can then be adapted to the needs of a particular class, cohort or pupil by our specialist teacher whilst teaching. As our content is adaptive, the impact portion of our curriculum can change when adaptations are needed in lessons but all of this is documented in real time.

Our Computing learning is also contextulaised during our annual Science in the Natural World and STEM week, where the children have workshops or have school visits to apply their learning, such as Year 6 visiting Legoland and partaking in a workshop on how roleercoaster are designed and created.

Social Media –Year 5

EXAMPLES OF KNOWLEDGE ORGANISERS

Photography –Year 1

Vlogging, Blogging and Podcasting –Year 4

Databases –Year 6

-

IMPACT

The success of our curriculum is evidenced in a number of disparate ways.

By the end of the Computing curriculum, our pupils will have developed and understood the necessary substantive and disciplinary set out in the NC. In addition, pupils will understand how to use technology both safely and effectively and how it can benefit them both in school and within their daily lives.

In each session, our specialist teacher closely monitors pupils to ensure sequential progress is made and that the objectives we have set out are realized. Knowledge is checked for understanding and to ensure it’s retained and forms part of children’s long term memory in the subject . Classteachers are also fully aware of the curriculum and children’s development and understand how it is being taught.

We measure and evidence impact in the following ways:

- Verbal feedback - in lessons

- Session forms – weekly reports completed by our specialist teacher.

Course evaluations – half termly reports for each class measuring performance against curriculum statements which track progress against national expectations

- Uploads – each half term examples of work from each class will be uploaded to a Dropbox to keep as evidence, use for displays and share with the children.