Computing
‘Enabling children to navigate the digital world with confidence, safety and creativity.’
At William Gilbert Endowed Primary School, Computing equips pupils to use computational thinking and creativity to become active, competent and responsible participants in a rich digital world. Our Computing curriculum provides opportunities for all pupils to become digitally literate, and to have the skills to express themselves and develop their ideas within a variety of contexts through digital technology.
Computing is the medium through which the world is accessed and life is lived, and is an integral part of all learning. At William Gilbert, Computing is implemented through discrete and cross-curricular teaching, ensuring that content is relevant and purposeful, with the desire to develop and foster a pupil’s love of the subject. Through practical and meaningful real-life contexts, pupils learn a variety of transferable skills and have the opportunity to continually practise, apply and build upon previous learning.
Through engaging teaching and learning methods, we ensure a balanced coverage of the three strands of Computing: computer science, information technology and digital literacy, whilst equipping children with fundamental technological skills including word processing, online research, presenting data, retrieving and manipulating digital content and creating programs. Pupils have the opportunity to explore and evaluate online digital content, so that they value online safety and show respect for themselves and others when communicating digitally. Through investigative, problem-solving experiences children build resilience and perseverance where are they challenged as critical-thinkers. Cross-curricular links motivate and support pupils to make connections across subject areas and develop an awareness of the multitude of uses for technology within their daily lives. Pupils are taught valuable technological skills that will empower them to become successful, independent life-long learners.
At William Gilbert, we promote pupils’ SMSC development in Computing through the following ways:
- Using a range of social skills within different contexts through independent, partner and group work
- Recognising the difference between right and wrong and understanding consequences for their actions when using technology and communicating through digital platforms
- Respecting the feelings and opinions of others and how they express themselves creatively through technology
- Understanding and appreciating technological advances made historically within global communities and recognising the continuing digital development in Britain and the rest of the world
We hope that by providing our pupils with an exciting and progressive Computing curriculum, that addresses the challenges and opportunities offered by the technology rich world in which we live, they will be confident contributors to society as responsible digital citizens.
Our Computing curriculum encompasses the aims of the National Curriculum to ensure 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
