Our vision for computing at Franche is to provide pupils with the competence and confidence to use technology creatively, critically and responsibly and inspire them to thrive in a world increasingly dependent on technology.
As outlined in the National Curriculum, the core of computing is computer science, in which pupils are taught the principles of information and computation, how digital systems work, and how to put this knowledge to use through programming. Building on this knowledge and understanding, pupils are equipped to use information technology to create programs, systems and a range of content. Computing also ensures that pupils become digitally literate – able to use, and express themselves and develop their ideas through, information and communication technology – at a level suitable for the future workplace and as active participants in a digital world.
At Franche, we follow the Teach Computing scheme for Computing. The Teach Computing scheme is a spiral curriculum. It is structured into six units for each year group, and each unit is broken down into lessons, which are led by Franche’s enquiry questions. These lessons build on pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the key strands in Computing, which are Computer Science, Information Technology and Digital Literacy. As children progress through the school, they revisit each strand which consolidates and builds on prior learning.
In the ‘Technology in the World Around Us’ unit, pupils learn about how technology makes our lives easier by learning about the internet, inputs and outputs as well as using the internet to communicate and share information.
As part of the ‘Creating Media’ units, pupils learn how to be creative and express themselves with technology by investigating digital painting and photography leading to editing and vector drawing, stop-frame animation, audio and video production as well as how to create web pages.
Within the ‘Programming’ units, pupils learn how they can use technology to make things happen by making robots move and creating robot algorithms (using BeeBots) before moving onto sequencing, selection, repetition and variables within sounds, shapes and games using online programming tools such as Scratch and Turtle Academy.
The ‘Data and Information’ units enable pupils to learn how technology can help them to organise information by grouping, presenting and collecting data in different ways before creating databases and spreadsheets with the information.
The Teach Computing Curriculum has been written to support all pupils. Each lesson is sequenced so that it builds on the learning from the previous lesson, and where appropriate, activities are scaffolded so that all pupils can succeed and thrive. Scaffolded activities provide pupils with extra resources, such as visual prompts, to reach the same learning goals as the rest of the class. Exploratory tasks foster a deeper understanding of a concept, encouraging pupils to apply their learning in different contexts and make connections with other learning experiences.
At Franche, our pupils use a range of technology and software during computing lessons that enables them to develop their knowledge.