Computing

Intent

At Castle Camps Primary School, our Computing curriculum allows pupils to develop their critical thinking and problem solving skills through open-ended explorations. It is a key goal for our pupils to understand how important digital literacy is to many aspects of their lives. By becoming technologically literate, our pupils will be more able to engage successfully in modern life. The computing curriculum enables pupils to understand the different layers of computing. Computing involves analysing data, writing and debugging computer programs, discovering new technologies to solve problems, and developing basic technology skills. In our current world, it is also important for children to safely access computer information. As our pupils become more exposed to technology, it is critical that they be aware of their digital footprints, and the real-life consequences of their online actions.

We want our pupils at Castle Camps to enhance their basic computing skills in order to solve problems; recognise that data can be explored, understood, and studied through modelling; and develop analytical problem solving skills. We also aim for each child to gain proficiency in algorithmic thinking through engaging in goal-oriented computing tasks.

Cambridge is world-renowned as a global centre for the development of science and technology. Our pupils are especially lucky to be within close proximity to the Cambridge Science and Innovation Parks. This way, Castle Camps takes full advantage of the experts in our community, such as through the Raspberry Pi Foundation. These diverse professionals will inspire our pupils, and help them to recognise how computing is important not only for technological development, but for their local community.

Our school recognises the need for gender equality in the computer technology industry. It is a key goal of every teacher at Castle Camps to work towards actively deconstructing the societal barriers that face many of our pupils. This means not only teaching technical content, but also providing our pupils with a diverse group of scientific role models. By bringing in local community members, our pupils will be able to see themselves in our current computer scientists. It is our hope that this unique opportunity opens aspirational doors for our pupils, especially our female pupils and pupils of colour, and leads every pupil to dream big.

Implementation

Computing at Castle Camps, closely follows the National Curriculum and is supplemented by detailed units from the National Centre for Computing Education (TEACH programme). The NCCE is run by a consortium made up of STEM Learning, the Raspberry Pi Foundation and BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT. Our Computing curriculum provides pupils the ability to break down and analyse given information and synthesise meaningful interpretations. Our curriculum also allows pupils the opportunity to critically consider a given problem and be expected to determine the necessary logical steps to create a solution.

By spending time solving problems, our pupils will develop necessary life skills such as patience, determination, resilience, an appreciation and ability to be inquisitive, as well as learning to utilise both creative and systematic ways of thinking. Central to the Computing curriculum is a way of thinking, through which our pupils will apply mathematical skills creatively in a variety of contexts. By working both independently and in groups, a balance of teamwork skills and self-reliance will be emphasised.

Impact

Over the course of learning in EYFS, Key Stage 1, and Key Stage 2 pupils will have been exposed and given the opportunity to develop their critical thinking and problem solving skills based on the analysis of real world data. Each year group’s curriculum builds upon the knowledge of the previous year. This allows pupils to work towards a deep knowledge of the many facets of computing. As pupils move into the next key stages, they will not only be ready for more in-depth computing, but will also have gained invaluable and generally applicable skills that will allow them to grow and flourish as independent thinkers. Independent thinkers are those that challenge the information that they are exposed to and develop their own opinion on it based on logical processes. This is what we hope to accomplish; that children do not merely accept the world as it is but rather understand the world around them actively through the lens of logical and creative thinking. Thus our pupils are expected to not merely receive knowledge from others, but actively participate in the creation of knowledge.