Computing Curriculum at Thingwall
Our computing curriculum is designed to ensure that all pupils develop computational knowledge, skills and rational through:
- Systematic planning which develops skills and knowledge and builds on prior learning.
- Developing reading skills by selecting from a range of sources, planning, writing and refining texts in different styles and for different purposes, communicating face-to-face and by e-mail, and discussing and reflecting critically on their own and others’ work.
- Using a wide range of hardware and software in order to equip children with transferrable skills suitable for ever evolving technologies.
- Embedding online safety teaching and learning throughout the school.
- Maximising children’s opportunities to learn outside school using a range of online resources.
- Providing extra-curricular programming opportunities for more able pupils.
At Thingwall we use the Purple Mash scheme of work. The Purple Mash Computing Scheme of Work provides a comprehensive set of resources aligned to the National Curricula for Computing, Technology and Digital Competence. The Scheme of Work enables teachers to achieve the very best outcomes for children from RYFS to KS2 through progression of skills and knowledge. It exposes children to a wide variety of digital tools, technological skills, and innovations. The computing curriculum is delivered using both online and offline resources. At Thingwall we have a computer suite containing PCs and laptops, and a full class set of iPads enabling teachers to expose children to a wide range of hardware and software.
Purple Mash is an online tool and is therefore also available for children to use at home. In addition to computing curriculum resources, Purple Mash contains numerous activities which support the teaching and learning of the whole National Curriculum ensuring cildren are given regular opportunities to practise computing skills in other subject areas. Teachers often use Purple Mash as a tool for setting homework.
Online Safety
At Thingwall Primary, we recognise that it is the duty of the school to ensure that every child in our care is safe and the same principles should apply to the digital world, as would be applied to the school’s physical buildings. It is therefore, the responsibility of the whole school to create an e-safety conscious environment. We recognise the importance of understanding the risks that exist online so that we can tailor our teaching and support to the specific needs of our pupils.
It is important to teach pupils the underpinning knowledge and behaviours in order to help them navigate the online world safely and confidently regardless of device, platform or app. Online Safety is taught through the Purple Mash scheme, but is also regularly revisited during assemblies, PSHE lessons and themed days.
The underpinning knowledge and behaviours that we embed throughout the curriculum are as follows:
- How to evaluate what we see online- this enables pupils to make judgements about what they see online and not make automatic assumptions that what they see is true, valid or acceptable.
- How to recognise techniques used for persuasion- this enables pupils to recognise techniques used for persuasion or manipulation.
- Online behaviour- this enables pupils to recognise what acceptable and unacceptable online behaviour looks like. We believe the same standards of behaviour should apply online as offline.
- How to identify online risks- this enables pupils to identify possible online risks and consequences and make informed decisions about how to act.
- How and when to seek support- this enables pupils to understand how and when to seek support if they are concerned or upset by something they have seen online.