Red Oak Primary School, Lowestoft

Computing at Red Oak Primary School

Curriculum

The National Curriculum for Computing aims to ensure that all pupils:

• Can understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation
• Can analyse problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems
• Can evaluate and apply information technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies, analytically to solve problems
• Are responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology.

Intent
At Red Oak Primary School we understand that the curriculum is key to the success of every child. Delivering a broad and balanced curriculum will help every pupil achieve goals throughout their time at primary school. With an ever changing world in technology, children are now being brought up surrounded by the latest gadgets and it is our role to help support and give children the skills to use these technologies safely and confidently. By creating an important message across the school about online safety to staff, children and parents we are helping children to make sound decisions about how they use technology to communicate in the real world. This is even more important as the children transition into high school where technology is used more openly amongst children. 

It is our intention that children will gain a broad and balanced knowledge of coding skills and an ability to use a range of technologies to support their progression into high school and help them aspire to jobs in the technological industry. It is also essential that from an early age we are giving opportunities to children to build their grounding of digital literacy skills and merging these into the core subjects will help this happen and offer other ways for children to record their work.

Our units are structured using the Switched On computing plans and in addition, plans created by the computing lead. This helps to give teachers clear objectives and plans to follow and allowing them to read up on their outcomes. As coordinator, the subject will develop assessment, subject knowledge, resources and recording of key activities and when all these elements come together we will give children the best opportunity to succeed. 

Implementation
The teaching of computing across the school is taught by teachers either in small groups or as a whole class. The curriculum is taught in half termly block units and in a sequence of lessons that will help them to build on a range of skills that allow a specific outcome. Throughout each year group these skills are reinforced and built upon, allowing children to gain confidence with their computational thinking skills. 

Using an ever improving range of resources across the school for digital literacy (audio books and Chromebooks), online safety and coding (Lego Wedo) and Computer Aided Design (CAD) for 3D printing, the children will find that learning will be fun, engaging and inspiring. Opportunities for outside industries or collaboration with other schools will help children to see how the curriculum will give them an insight to where this subject could take them in the future.

Through assessing the outcomes of work against the key objectives of the curriculum, we will help to gain an improved view of how children are progressing across all areas of the computing curriculum.  Each year group will be keeping an evidence book of all the units covered, allowing an instant snapshot of what is happening across the school as the year progresses. 

Impact
The impact that we expect to see at Red Oak Primary is that children are equipped with a range of skills in coding, understanding key terminologies and how these technologies have an impact on everyday life. Children will be ready when entering high school able to confidently use a range of software to type and present their work in a range of ways. They will understand how to communicate effectively between their peers and others and understand the importance of keeping themselves safe online through checking privacy settings and keeping passwords and personal information safe. 

In a world where technology is driving the future of jobs, we must make sure that children aspire to and achieve a future which has job security and where they can take on the can do attitude that Red Oak Primary promotes as one of its values. By allowing children to experience as many opportunities in the technological world as possible we will be allowing children to make important changes and decisions about their future.
The curriculum also holds a very important role in team work and problem solving skills. Children must be able to make decisions about why something is not working and through developing their oracy skills during discussions; children will be able to make sound judgments. Employers are looking more than ever for people how show initiative and who are forward thinking and we will help our children on this journey to become that. 

Our key actions for 2023 - 2024

• To register and create an assessment for a NCCE Computing Quality Framework Accreditation
• To improve the use of digital literacy across the school.
• To develop staff confidence in computing.
• To ensure that resources are used effectively across the computing curriculum. 
• To develop the technology resources available in EYFS.
• To monitor the quality of teaching and learning across the school.
• To use Digital Leaders to promote the message of online safety.
• To show how computing is used in the wider world.

Online Safety

To help support the teaching and learning of online safety, Red Oak Primary are using 'Project Evolve'. Each year group has a long term plan to help cover each theme. The themes can be linked to PSHE and Safer Internet Day which takes place each year in February.

For more information regarding termly coverage, please see the table below:

For a larger version of the table, please click on the PDF below: