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Wood Field Primary School

Computing

Intent 

At Wood Field the aim of our computing curriculum is to help children with learning basic computing skills that are relatable and beneficial to their daily lives. We want children to enjoy being able to use computer technologies and know how they can use them for specific purposes. Also, we want children to know how to use technologies appropriately and safely.

In the Early Years Foundation Stage the children learn about computing by being able to identify technologies and programmes they may find at home and school and being able to use them linked to their school topics. Furthermore, they are able to choose the programmes they need to complete a particular outcome, such as using a paint programme to create a picture of the members in their families.

In Key Stage 1, the computing curriculum expands to areas of computer science and computational thinking. In computer science the children learn about the idea of basic ‘coding’, where they are able to create and debug programmes; trying to solve problems that arise in the programming. The idea of computational thinking is about discovering what ‘algorithms’ (sequences of instructions) are and how you can use them to solve problems. The children in KS1 are exposed to the technologies they can use to create content and retrieve information, for example using programmes such as Google docs or the internet and they start learning about how to use technology safely.

In Key Stage 2, the computing curriculum builds on the learning that started in KS1. Children continue to develop their knowledge of writing and debugging programmes, but they start to look at this in more detail and expand on the idea of algorithms into sequences of repetition, input and output of technology devices and logical reasoning. In KS2, the children begin to understand how computer networks can help us to communicate with others and search for information, such as through the internet, email and other communication devices. The computing curriculum can also link well with other areas of the curriculum, for example discussions in PSHE and RSE, where we talk about how to recognise acceptable and unacceptable behaviour when using technologies and how to report any concerns if they arise.