Computing

The Bramble Academy has a wide range of technology available for the children to use across the curriculum, including desktop PCs and iPads. The iPads along with a designated ICT suite are used to deliver the computing curriculum as well as to develop creativity and to learn about media. E-safety is taught within the context of the curriculum so that all children are aware of the possible dangers and understand how to keep themselves safe online.

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 – 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.

Implementation

At the Bramble Academy ,Computing is taught as a discrete subject. This ensures children are able to develop depth in their knowledge and skills over the duration of each of their computing topics. The curriculum has been designed using a range of resources supplemented by the use of‘Purple Mash", as a starting point for the planning of computing lessons, which are often richly linked to engaging contexts in other subjects and topics. We have a computing suite and a class set of ipads to ensure that all year groups have the opportunity to use a range of devices and programs for many purposes across the wider curriculum, as well as in discrete computing lessons. Employing cross-curricular links motivates pupils and supports them to make connections and remember the steps they have been taught.

The implementation of the curriculum also ensures a balanced coverage of computer science, information technology and digital literacy. The children will have experiences of all three strands in each year group, but the subject knowledge imparted becomes increasingly specific and in depth, with more complex skills being taught, thus ensuring that learning is built upon. For example, children in Key Stage 1 learn what algorithms are, which leads them to the design stage of programming in Key Stage 2, where they design, write and debug programs, explaining the thinking behind their algorithms.