Computing

Purpose of study

Preparing children for an ever increasingly digital world is critical to giving children transferable skills which will support them in later life. At St. Nicholas, we ensure children are able to use, express themselves and develop ideas through information and communication. We teach children how to stay safe online and how to use technology to enhance their and others’ lives.

Aims

When children leave Norton St Nicholas they will:

Design, write and debug programs that accomplish specific goals, including controlling or simulating physical systems; solve problems by decomposing them into smaller parts.
Use sequence, selection, and repetition in programs; work with variables and various forms of input and output.
Use logical reasoning to explain how some simple algorithms work and to detect and correct errors in algorithms and programs.
Understand computer networks, including the internet; how they can provide multiple services, such as the World Wide Web, and the opportunities they offer for communication and collaboration.
Use search technologies effectively, appreciate how results are selected and ranked, and be discerning in evaluating digital content.
Select, use and combine a variety of software (including internet services) on a range of digital devices to design and create a range of programs, systems and content that accomplish given goals, including collecting, analysing, evaluating and presenting data and information
Use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly; recognise acceptable/unacceptable behaviour; identify a range of ways to report concerns about content and contact.

What we teach

Early Years

Year 1

Improving mouse skills

Logging in and out of computers and understanding why this is important.
Using mouse skills to create digital artwork, including self-portraits and a scene from a story.

An introduction to data handling

How data can be shown in different ways.
Creating and using pictograms, graphs and branching databases.

Programming

What algorithms are and what makes them effective.
Debugging algorithms.
Exploring how to program a Bee-Bot to reach different destinations.

Online safety

Using the internet safely.
How people's feelings and emotions are affected online.
How to treat people online.
Why we need to be careful when posting or sharing online.
How much time we should spend on digital technology.

Year 2

Word processing

Introduction to touch typing.
Using key word processing skills, including bold, italic and underline.
Exploring how to add images to a text document.

What a computer is

The parts of a computer.
How inputs help us to control technology and the range of output devices there are.
What computers of the future may be able to do.

Programming

Making predictions about algorithms by decoding.
Using algorithms to solve problems.

Online safety

How to keep things safe online, including the use of passwords.
When permission is needed to do things online.
Exploring if everything online is true and trustworthy.

Year 3

A journey inside a computer

Inputs and outputs in computers.
The components inside a computer.

Networks

Networks being multiple devices connected via the internet or a local network.
How information moves around a network.
How a website works.
The role of routers and packet data within a network.

Programming

Tinkering with Scratch.
Using loops in an algorithm.
Remixing animation code.
Programming a simple game using Scratch.

Online safety

How beliefs, opinions and facts are shared on the internet.
What we should do before sharing information online.
The effect the internet can have on our feelings.
How personal information can be shared online.
Helpful rules for social media platforms.

Year 4

Collaborative learning

The rules of collaborative work.
Working collaboratively as an effective team using Google Docs and Google Slides.
Using Google Forms to gather information.

Programming

Changing sprite position and orientation in Scratch.
Using decomposition to work out what a code does.
Using variables in code.

Website design

Exploring the key features of Google Slides.
Understanding the importance of consistent design across all web pages on a website.
Creating web pages for a shared website, following the shared design brief.
Plan and create a website consisting of multiple web pages.

Online safety

What happens when we search online.
How companies encourage us to buy online.
Exploring fact, opinion and belief online.
Exploring personal tech timetables.

Year 5

Programming - Micro:bits

Using a Micro:bit and understanding how it works.
Create animations on a Micro:bit.
Decompose and create algorithms on a Micro:bit.

Programming - Music

Exploring elements of music available within Scratch.
Using loops to create music.
Plan an program a soundtrack.

Using search engines

What a search engine is and how we use them.
Exploring if everything we see online is true.
How to search quickly for relevant information.
How search engines work.

Online Safety

Protecting personal information on apps.
Positive and negative aspects of online communication.
How online information can be used to form judgements.
Overcoming online bullying.
How technology can affect our health and wellbeing.

Year 6

Bletchley Park and the history of Computing

Types of secret codes.
How we can protect passwords from brute force hacking.
The history of computers.
Exploring what computers of the future might look like.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

What artificial intelligence is and how it is used.
How AI processes and responds to text prompts.
How AI can be used to explore and generate images.
The ethical implications of AI.

Programming

Exploring the capabilities and commands in Logo.
Using nested loops to create designs in Logo.
Exploring the basic commands of Python.
Using loops to create different shapes in Python.

Online safety

How we can overcome negative feelings from being online.
The effects of sharing online.
How to create a positive online reputation.
How to report and capture evidence of online bullying.
Strategies we can use to keep ourselves safe online.