Computing

Intent

At Eling Infant School our aim is to provide a high-quality computing education which is fully inclusive and accessible to every child. We aim to equip the children to become digitally literate in order to participate in the rapidly changing world where work and leisure are increasingly transformed by technology.

Our teaching allows the children to gain secure knowledge and skills which will encourage them to use ICT to develop ideas, express themselves, solve problems and become computational thinkers. Computing skills allow children to become confident, creative and inquisitive learners who are able to be critical and challenge themselves.

Our aim is to build the foundations of these skills through EYFS to the end of KS1 to a suitable level for preparation for KS2, and looking even further for the future workplace and as active participants in a digital world.

Implementation

Our computing curriculum recognises that ICT is able to be taught both as a discrete subject as well as being woven cross-curricularly. Many of the skills are transferrable which provides a wealth of learning opportunities across the curriculum subjects including art, D&T, maths, geography, science, and literacy. ICT is taught once a week discretely and as regularly as possible in support of other areas of learning across the school.

Our teaching implements the computing National Curriculum which is comprised of 3 main parts; Digital Literacy, Information Technology and Computer Science. Knowledge and skills are taught progressively, allowing the children to embed their learning over time.

Computer Science teaches the principles of information and computation. It involves creating and debugging simple programs using algorithms. At Eling Infant School we introduce the language of Computer Science in different contexts. We begin with using precise verbal instructions (algorithms) to get a friend to a certain point across the room or explain how to make a sandwich. We then move on to using the Beebots and then creating their own game on Purple Mash using coding. The children will need to ‘fix’ their games and Beebot programmes as they go wrong, ‘debugging’ their own algorithms.

Digital Literacy involves using ICT purposefully as a tool for learning. Our children learn to use the internet to search for information, use the keyboard to type text, make modifications to their work including changing the font size and colour, and to save and retrieve their work. The children use Ipads to take their own photos and videos and learn to manipulate these images.

Information Technology is the understanding of how ICT is used beyond school and how to keep safe on the internet. Our children experience ICT in the wider world at the supermarket on one of our school trips and at home.

Our children have access to a bank of laptops and iPads to support their learning. We use Purple Mash, Phonics Play and other software packages to aid teaching and learning. We have interactive whiteboards in every classroom and these are used daily to further enable and enhance learning.

In Year R, although ICT no longer forms part of the 'Understanding the World’ section of EYFS Development Matters, we continue to expose the children to technology as much as possible. Our children have access to Ipads and programmable toys such as Beebots to begin experimenting with. 

We teach e-safety as an explicit part of our curriculum through Computing and PSHRE. We discuss issues such as; keeping personal information private, trusting people and sources online, treating others online as we would in real life, posting images online, and what to do if anything makes children feel uncomfortable online. We also use the Hector's World and Lee & Kim's Adventure cartoons to introduce children to e-safety issues, as well as stories such as Smartie the Penguin and Digiduck’s Big Decision.

Impact

After the implementation of this robust computing curriculum, children at Eling Infant School will be digitally literate and able to join the rest of the world on its digital platform. They will be equipped, not only with the skills and knowledge to use technology effectively, but more importantly – safely.  The biggest impact on our children is that they understand the consequences of using the internet and that they are also aware of how to keep themselves safe online.

(Reviewed by Subject leader March 2023)