Computing

At Gallions, we understand the crucial role technology plays within our children’s daily lives; we also recognise that, when used wisely, it can be a powerful tool across the curriculum to enhance children’s learning. Our computing curriculum aims to give children the opportunity to learn skills that will help them succeed in the future as technology advances, as well as become responsible digital citizens. During each year at Gallions, children will cover the three main areas of the national curriculum for computing:

  1. Computer Science – With a focus on control and programming, children will become increasingly confident designing algorithms and decomposing larger coding problems. Children will progress from programming physical objects to block-based programming languages, before moving into controlling real-world computer systems and more complex text-based programming languages by the end of Year 6. 
  2. Digital Citizenship– As children progress through the school, we ensure they have a growing understanding of how to conduct themselves safely and responsibly online. By discussing how to use popular apps or websites appropriately, we ensure children are aware of new and emerging challenges that they may face online. 
  3. Digital Literacy – This strand aims to develop children into skilful and adaptive users of technology. Children will become skilled at choosing suitable apps, websites or programs to complete a task and extrapolate from past experience to use new software confidently. Through this strand children will develop vital life skills such as typing and effective web search.

In order to ensure children gain experience of technology in a variety of contexts, we endeavour to teach computing in a cross-curricular way whenever it will enhance the learning. Our projects-based learning outcomes frequently give children experience using different apps and websites to produce outcomes over a variety of media: videos, audio recordings, word processing, presentations and photo editing. In addition to embedding computing into our whole curriculum, we also teach discrete computing lessons for three half terms each year.

By focusing on project-based outcomes, our approach aims to improve the children’s “soft skills” such as collaboration, independence and problem solving. An effective grasp of these soft skills is vital for our children to succeed when they enter the wider world. Regular technology use allows our children to work together in a meaningful way, where all members of a group can take true ownership. Using online tools, such as Google Classroom, as part of their daily learning develops an independence in our children to continue their learning at home, and explore topics that interest them in more depth. Our approach to computing recognises the speed of technological advancement, and ensures children leave us with the resilient and adaptable mindset needed to make the best of whatever the future holds.

To find out more about what skills we teach in computing lessons at Gallions, please read through our skills progression map:

 

Please find below an overview of the units we teach in each year group at Gallions and the areas of the national curriculum each covers: