Computing

National curriculum aims and purpose 

Equipping pupils to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world. Pupils are taught the principles of information and computation, how digital systems work, and how to put the knowledge to use. Building on this, pupils are equipped to use IT to create programs and a range of content, and to be digitally literate. 

Aims:  

• Understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation 
• Analyse problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems 
• Evaluate and apply information technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies, analytically to solve problems 

Are responsible, competent, confidence and creative users of information and communication technology 

We want to help our children to become confident, independent users of IT across the curriculum and in their life beyond school.  

School curriculum aims 

At Peak Dale Primary School, children in every class and year group will be given opportunities to discover how IT can support them in their learning, and will be encouraged to enthusiastically try out new technologies, apps and software. They will gain the transferable skills needed to adapt to ever-changing software, and be as prepared as they can be for the technologies that they will encounter as they grow up, the vast majority of which probably haven’t even been invented yet. Crucial to much of this is the ability to think logically and to break ideas down into discrete steps, as recognised in the National Curriculum, and these computer science skills are therefore a vital strand in our teaching. 

Our children will also know how to use all of this safely and responsibly, know who to talk to when they come across something that doesn’t seem right, fair, acceptable or appropriate, and know when to turn off the technology and walk away. They will be taught to treat others with respect, too, and recognise that behaviour online should be no different to behaviour in ‘real life’.