Computing at St Bede’s…

‘A painter paints pictures on canvas, musicians paint pictures in silence.’ – Leopold Stokowski. 

At St Bede’s we know that a high-quality computing education equips pupils to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world. Computing has deep links with mathematics, science, and design and technology, and provides insights into both natural and artificial systems. The core of computing is computer science, in which pupils are taught the principles of information and computation, how digital systems work, and how to put this knowledge to use through programming. Building on this knowledge and understanding, pupils are equipped to use information technology to create programs, systems and a range of content. Computing also ensures that pupils become digitally literate, meaning they are able to use, and express themselves and develop their ideas through information and communication technology – at a level suitable for the future workplace and as active participants in a digital world.

The National Curriculum for Computing aims to ensure that 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.

Computing lessons are categorised into the five key areas listed below:

Computing systems and networks – identifying hardware and using software, while exploring how computers communicate and connect to one another.

Programming – Understanding that a computer operates on algorithms, and learning how to write, adapt and debug code to instruct a computer to perform set tasks. 

Creating media – Learning how to use various devices — record, capture and edit content such as videos, music, pictures and photographs.

Data Handling – Ensuring that information is collected, recorded, stored, presented and analysed in a manner that is useful and can help to solve problems.

Online safety – Understanding the benefits and risks of being online — how to remain safe, keep personal information secure and recognising when to seek help in difficult situations. 

The computing curriculum has been designed in a spiral format curriculum with the following key principles in mind: 

Cyclical: Pupils revisit the five key areas throughout KS1 and KS2. 

Increasing depth: Each time a key area is revisited, it is covered with greater complexity. 

Prior knowledge: Upon returning to each key area, prior knowledge is utilised so pupils can build on previous foundations, rather than starting again.