Computing

Computing & E-Safety

Intent, Implementation and Impact

Intent

At Stanhope Primary, it is our intention that Computing supports pupils’ creativity, problem solving, analytical thinking and cross-curricular learning to engage pupils, ensuring they make progress and enrich their experiences in school. We teach a curriculum in line with the National Curriculum.

Our curriculum offers a range of opportunities for consolidation, challenge and variety. This allows children to apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science. Computer Science introduces children to how computers and networks work. It will also give all children the opportunity to learn basic computer programming. They develop analytical problem-solving skills and learn to evaluate and apply information technology. By providing the children with a wide range of devices to explore and experience, we are allowing them to continually practice and improve the skills they learn for functional purposes. It also enables them to become responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information technology. This ensures they become digitally literate so that they are able to express themselves, recognise its advantages for collaboration or communication and develop their ideas.

Foundation Stage

The EYFS framework no longer explicitly includes technology; however, it remains a vital tool for delivering a well-rounded education. By integrating computing into our Early Years education, we can equip our children with the skills they need to navigate the digital world confidently and safely.

Computing in the EYFS ensures that pupils enter Year 1 with a strong foundation, builds problem-solving abilities, encourages resilience and supports other areas of learning. By integrating computing into EYFS, pupils also begin to build their digital literacy and their understanding of e-safety.

1 – Strong Foundations – activities that familiarise pupils with technology they may use more formally in KS1. For example, computing in EYFS may look like taking photos with a tablet, tinkering with a Bee-bot, doodling on an iPad, including an old keyboard in the role-play area and using the IWB for the travel tracker, Purple mash activities and phonics play games.

2 – Building Problem Solving Skills – pupils learn to break problems down into smaller pieces and focus on the important facts. They take big problems and turn them into smaller ones, which can be solved.

3 – Encouraging Resilience – computing tasks often require persistence to find a solution. There can be an element of trial and error, or tasks can need debugging. This process helps children develop their resilience as they learn to keep trying until they find a solution.

4 – Supporting Areas of Learning – technology can give a helping hand to other areas of learning. Using a drawing app like Doodle Buddy, the Notes app on iPads can help develop fine motor skills, while educational games can reinforce numeracy and literacy skills. Computing activities often require children to follow instructions and explain their thinking, which is great for building communication skills.

Key Stage 1

Understand what algorithms are, how they are implemented as programs on digital devices, and that programs execute by following a sequence of instructions.
Create and debug simple programmes.
Use logical reasoning to predict the behaviour of simple programmes.
Use technology purposefully to create, organise, store, manipulate and retrieve digital content.
Recognise common uses of information technology beyond school.
Communicate 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.

Key Stage 2

Understand what algorithms are, how they are implemented as programs on digital devices, and that programs execute by following a sequence of instructions.
Create and debug simple programmes.
Use logical reasoning to predict the behaviour of simple programmes.
Use technology purposefully to create, organise, store, manipulate and retrieve digital content.
Recognise common uses of information technology beyond school.
Communicate 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.

Implementation

All pupils at Stanhope Primary School have access to a high quality, broad and balanced Computing & E-Safety Curriculum. Our programme works to support our teachers in delivering fun and engaging lessons, which helps to raise standards and allow all pupils to achieve their full potential. Through this implementation, we aim to inspire pupils to develop a love of the digital world and to see its place in their future.

Stanhope Primary will ensure progression of skills and knowledge, with a deep level of understanding. Computing has significant links with PSHE/RSE, Mathematics, Science, and Design and Technology, and provides insights into both natural and artificial systems. We will nurture the children’s development and provide opportunities for safe exploration in order to prepare them for the challenges ahead. Strengths will be recognised, achievements will be celebrated.

Our teachers will ensure the following whilst implementing the Computing and E-Safety curriculum:

Lessons and resources are of a high standard with good quality content to help children to build on prior knowledge at the same time as introducing new skills and challenges.
Clear expectations, learning objectives and success criteria.
We use effective questioning to develop the children’s thinking process.
Use of knowledge organisers to develop vocabulary.
Promote a thinking classroom that encourages children’s curiosity.
Offer a supportive environment using a range of scaffolding techniques to support all pupils, despite ability.
Pupils are taught how to work independently as well as collaboratively.
Have high expectations of all pupils to achieve and accomplish their goals/targets.
We take on board the level of interest and motivation of our pupils.
Have a high expectation of good/outstanding behaviour and positive attitudes.
Ensure a balance between pace and engagement.
Encourage our children to address any misconceptions in order to inform and improve future learning.
Ensure our pupils make at least good progress.
We observe and monitor the holistic development of the children (PSHE/RSE)
Safeguard and protect our children both online and offline.

Each year group participates in weekly Computing and E-Safety lessons to ensure that all pupils understand how to use technology safely and responsibly.

Impact

At Stanhope Primary, we believe our Computing and E-Safety Curriculum is of high quality and serves as a model demonstrating excellent progression. Computing learning in designed to be engaging and enjoyable for all pupils across the school.

The impact of our Computing curriculum is measured through a variety of formative assessment methods, including self-assessment and peer assessment. Pupils evaluate each other’s work and provide constructive feedback; for example, they identify bugs in peers’ coding projects and with perseverance, debug and make improvements to progress further.

Pupils’ work is recorded and assessed through multiple platforms, including Purple Mash accounts, G-Suite Drive within our school platform, as well as in an ICT folder for any paper-based evidence. This approach ensures a comprehensive record of learning, progress, and achievement across the Computing and E-Safety curriculum.

We will observe and assess all three strands of Computing, as well as the overarching E-Safety curriculum, in order to evaluate the following areas:

Computer Science:

Write their own algorithms and computer programmes with an increasing level of complexity.
To use sequence, selection, repetition and variables in their programs.
To find mistakes (bugs) and fix them.
Evaluate programs to decide which is the most efficient.
Demonstrate effective collaboration
Understand networks and how searches are performed.
Understand the foundational discipline for creating/using AI systems.

Digital Literacy:

Children need to be able to use technology safely.
Understand the importance of keeping their personal information private and treat other people with respect.
To know what to do if something goes wrong, or they see something they do not like (what to do and where to go for help).
To know about how to use technology responsibly.
Think about how their online behaviour affects others.
Be aware of legal and ethical responsibilities, including respecting copyright and intellectual property rights, keeping passwords and personal data secure and observing terms and conditions for online services.
Understand how to engage safely with AI technologies.
Children need to be aware of the four main risks:

Content – being exposed to illegal, inappropriate or harmful material.

Contact – being subjected to harmful online interaction with other users.

Conduct – online behaviour that increases the likelihood of, or causes, harm.

Commerce – identifying, evaluating, and mitigating the risks associated with an organisation’s information and communication technology systems.

Information Technology:

Understand that technology is everywhere.
Be able to identify the technology they encounter.
To have a basic understanding of how it works.
Completed appropriate activities include word processing, creating images, taking and using photographs and video, creating music and animations, using and creating databases, producing websites and contributing to blogs.
Have experience of manipulating and editing their own work and resources from elsewhere.
Have an awareness of the audience and good design principles.
To know how to store and organise their files so that it can be found easily again.
Have an understanding of the devices they can use including hard drive, USB sticks, school network server, and the cloud storage on the internet.
Understand how to utilise and implement AI tools and applications.

E-Safety:

E-Safety encompasses the use of the internet and other forms of electronic communication, including messages, online messaging, social media, gaming devices, e-mail and similar platforms. At Stanhope Primary, E-Safety is not only about keeping pupils safe online and promoting responsible use of technology, but also about monitoring the holistic well-being of the child.

E-Safety is integrated with PSHE/RSE, supporting the development of positive well-being, self-esteem, and confidence, while also enabling staff to identify and respond to changes in behaviour that may indicate risks or concerns.

We will ensure that:

We safeguard our children and young people in the digital world.
Emphasis learning to understand and use new technologies in a positive way.
Educate about the risks as well as the benefits so we can feel confident online.
Support children and young people to develop safer online behaviours, both in and out of school.

In addition, the impact of our curriculum is measures using the following methods:

Revisit and continuously assess our programme- reflect on standards achieved with the planned outcomes.
Monitor teaching and learning (joint lesson observations).
Monitoring of pupils work.
Pupil discussions about their learning.
Taking on advice and training from our Local Education Authority Team.
Provide relevant and up to date CPD sessions for all staff.
A celebration of learning which demonstrates progression across the school (assemblies, presentations, creating videos/displaying work)
Taking part in whole school quizzes/authority quizzes as a way of networking.

Pupils will use digital and technological vocabulary accurately and demonstrate clear progression in their technical skills. They will be confident in using a wide range of hardware and software to produce high quality, purposeful outcomes.

Pupils will understand the digital world as an extension of their everyday lives, recognising the choices they make online. They will develop into confident, responsible and respectful digital citizens, equipped to lead happy and healthy digital lives.

Throughout clearly defined intent, implementation and impact statements, we are confident that all pupils with thrive, achieve and celebrate their successes within Computing and E-Safety.