Computing: Vision

COMPUTING LEADER

Miss Haythornthwaite

Computing Concept Support: Mrs Ingham

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'ALWAYS START WITH WHY'

What is Computing?

How can you use, work with and learn from technology?

We have set out below how we consider these questions with our children by mapping out and delivering a clear, consistent and challenging computing curriculum for our children to meet their needs. You can download copies of every central document at the base of the relevant computing pages (VISION or CURRICULUM) in PDF format.

To take a look at our curriculum page CLICK HERE.

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Our Vision For Computing

At Mayfield we believe computing is a crucial part of children’s learning, as technology is now essential to navigating our present world and innovating for the future. We therefore need to create aspiration in this area through the interesting outcomes we plan and the detail in the content itself. We have created a scheme of work for computing as a precisely sequenced curriculum that breaks learning into tight, smaller units, with appealing outcomes, that become progressively more complex and challenging over time whilst recognising the importance of using previous learning. Our scheme ensures that pupils meet the end of Key Stage attainment targets outlined in the National Curriculum. Across our range of units, children master content related to computer science, such as writing algorithms, using logical reasoning to explain how algorithms work and debugging algorithms that do not meet the intended purpose. Children also learn content related to information technology such as how to use search technologies effectively, how to navigate information online and how to collect, evaluate and present data and information via multimedia and data handling. Within digital literacy learning, we ensure that children are equipped with the tools to stay safe online.

In conjunction with our PSHE and RSE curriculum, our computing curriculum also meets the objectives of the DfE’s Education for a Connected World framework. This guidance was created to help equip children for life in the digital world, including developing their understanding of appropriate online behaviour, being discerning consumers of online information, copyright issues and healthy use of technology. We place a strong emphasis on e-safety through termly online safety units, regular retrieval of online safety knowledge within lessons, regular whole school star safe assemblies and communication with parents and carers at home. Our curriculum teaches children the knowledge, understanding and skills they need to balance the advantages offered by technology with a critical awareness of their own and other's online behaviour. We equip every child with effective strategies for staying safe and making a positive contribution online.

How We Plan For, And Teach, Computing

The Mayfield ‘I Dream Of Being…’ scheme of work is designed around the three broader strands or disciplinary concepts referenced in the National Curriculum: computer science, information technology and digital literacy. From early years onwards, children visit knowledge and skills in five key substantive concepts linked to these three strands:computer systems and networks, programming, creating media, data and information and e-safety. The route through the curriculum ensures that prior knowledge and skills are revisited to ensure retention in long-term memory and built upon to develop increasingly sophisticated understanding in a meaningful context.

Computing is planned to visit the three substantive concepts of: programming, creating media and data and information each year in their own planned units. We see computing systems and networks differently as we believe this forms a more central spine that should recur constantly across the year. We therefore do not plan specific units, but insist upon revisiting a specific identified aspect at the start of all sessions across that school year e.g. mouse skills, alongside embedding through frequent, short, sharp recaps ad practice with sensible highlighting where necessary. This is our preferred approach for this concept as we don’t believe it forms a knowledge base without this continual revisiting and practice.

E-safety is taught through explicit planned sessions at the start of each unit, through whole school online safety assemblies and revisited at the necessary points of learning within each unit.

Computing is taught in every half-term of the year. Most sessions take place in our Research Room which is equipped with a class set of laptops and has been newly designed as a specific themed computing base for school. Some computing lessons take place in the base classroom with children accessing a range of devices such as Bee-Bots or iPads. Computing lessons at Mayfield incorporate the following elements: retrieval practice; explicit teaching of new vocabulary; teacher modelling and questioning and a range of learning tasks leading towards a central, purposeful outcome - some independent and some undertaken in partnerships. Knowledge Mats for each unit support children to build a foundation of factual knowledge by encouraging recall of key facts and vocabulary - these are designed to be shared with families at home.

Each unit of learning has a teaching Concept Guide created by the Computing Leader to develop excellent subject knowledge and support teachers’ ongoing professional development in addition to ensuring progression of knowledge and the need to revisit key messages. All teachers at Mayfield are robustly supported to have strong subject knowledge across the computing curriculum and to know how new learning builds on prior understanding and towards future knowledge and skills. The Computing Leader is central to this process via their Concept Guides and their practical support and training for class teachers and supporting adults through school. Mayfield has identified a Computing Concept Support Teaching Assistant who is available as a constant classroom aide for children and adults at the point of learning and has been specifically identified and trained to take on this role across school.

Computing’s presence is maintained through these adult leads, the profile of reward, achievement and celebration through the school year and through the role of Student Subject Champions identified across school to provide feedback and consider achievement through a learner’s eye. The environment maintains a consistent presence for computing across school - recognising the value we place upon computing achievement and future aspiration. Computing continues via our enrichment, wider curriculum opportunity: Computing Club which runs across the year. Rewards have a specific eye upon personal progress rather than summative attainment.

How We Assess Computing Learning

Teachers continually evaluate children’s learning through both formative and summative assessment opportunities. In each lesson, teachers ensure children are assessed against the learning objectives and subsequent planning and lesson adaptation is responsive to gaps and misconceptions. Big Questions are prompted and carefully positioned to aide teachers with this. Each unit has a quiz and self-quiz opportunity to assess the retention of new knowledge and vocabulary. The impact of our computing curriculum can be seen in projects that children create as well as presentations created as digital content. Programs that children write codes for are saved digitally and accessed by teachers to ensure achievement of learning objectives. Children have the opportunity to self-assess the content they have created, as well as peer-assess. In each year group, children use previously learned skills and apply them to new software, media and coding programs. Summative judgements are also made using the Key Milestones Document. At the end of the year, class teachers use the children’s recorded work and assessments to make a judgement as to whether each child is working at the expected standard. Concept Challenge Maps (Schema) are available as an assessment and knowledge tool within each concept area to assess whether the children are making and retaining links between the units studied over longer periods of time. We use Big Episode Event Posters to aid memory retention. The most frequently used strategy is our Brain Gym opportunities which are devised to hold some of the activities highlighted above but above all else as a planned opportunity for daily review. This aims to strengthen the connections between what the children learn and such recall then frees that working memory for the problem solving and creativity to come. Our pupils leave Mayfield equipped with a range of knowledge and skills that enable them to succeed in their secondary education and be active participants in the digital world.

How We Adapt Learning, And Record Outcomes, In Computing

The Computing Leader has created Concept Guides to assist with progression and knowledge. They act as a central support for short-term planning and are created in a format that allows for adaptation and subsequent use with children as/if required. Above all they provide a spine for teachers and supporting adults that should then be personalised, adapted and differentiated to meet the starting point needs of the children in each class.

Ways of demonstrating progress and outcomes must be adaptable to suit the needs of learners and the requirements of the subject. Therefore each subject has its own bespoke way of gathering evidence from learners - otherwise recording work becomes a barrier to learning rather than a chance to celebrate children’s achievements and specialist skills and knowledge in areas where they may otherwise excel.

In computing, children’s work is gathered in:

Computing Big Books (Per Cohort) & Children’s Digital Network Portfolio of Work

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A Computing Vocabulary

A core Computing Glossary has been created for the children across school. The vocabulary is progressive from EYFS onwards and at all times retains vocabulary previously introduced. We have chosen this language based upon the perspective of being a historian considering the broader concepts and skills ahead of ‘theme specific terms’. The Glossary is contained within each Knowledge Guide and referred to throughout.These are also present around the Computing Stations in the learning spaces.

Unit based computing terminology is highlighted within the body of each Concept Guide and prompts adults to discuss this new terminology linked to the concept being studied at the appropriate time. It is not expected that these terms are permanently added to the vocabulary for computing, although we clearly aspire for the children to hold onto terms in order to aid their ability to discuss units across their studies.It is expected that the children maintain and use their Computing Glossary above all else. The Computing Glossary can be downloaded separately in PDF form on the CURRICULUM page (CLICK HERE).

Here are examples of the two kinds of vocabulary we have identified. Computing Glossary Vocabulary: Image, Debug Unit Vocabulary: Micro:Bit, Accelerometer

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External Computing Curriculum Support: Neil Hulme (Programming)

Computing Enrichment: Every Monday After School