Intent

At Thomas Jones we aim to provide children with the skills and attributes to access and use information technology throughout their lives. The principles of E-Safety encompass all that we do and are an integral part of the Computing Curriculum, in which children are taught about the importance of E-Safety and the ramifications of their digital footprint.

The children use iPads, laptops and programmable devices as an integrated part of their lessons.  We believe children should embrace and enjoy technology, understand its importance in their everyday lives and recognise that there are exciting career opportunities to be had in computing technologies. Alongside this, children learn about the importance of having breaks from technology and screens.

It is the intention to develop every child’s computing abilities and technical knowledge during their time at Thomas Jones, in order that they leave the school with a solid foundation in computing skills fit for the technologically advanced world they will be faced with. 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.

At Thomas Jones, the computing curriculum aims to provide the children with the skills and knowledge necessary to use technologies safely and creatively. Over time, the children will become increasingly more independent using technologies, be able to work collaboratively when solving complex problems, take steps to keep themselves safe online and develop resilience when finding solutions by learning from mistakes. Our computing curriculum is both comprehensive and enjoyable. In line with the National Curriculum, we use the 3BM scheme of work alongside the 3BM Launchpad tools to deliver our Computing curriculum.

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. They are taught how to use technology safely and how to keep themselves safe online.

The ‘Progression of Skills and Understanding in Computing’ document refers to how concepts, skills and knowledge in computing are planned, built upon and revisited year on year to embed knowledge, aligned with the whole school curriculum intent. This knowledge underpins all future learning, and there is a cumulative effect of teaching across key stages. For example:

  • The task outlined in Year 1: Can give simple instructions to control a digital device, like a 'floor' robot or on-screen object.
  • Continues in Year 2: Can use trial and error to produce an accurate set of 'instructions' to control a floor 'robot' or on-screen object; refine (de-bug) and improve / make changes.
  • Year 3: Can also talk about how the sequence of events in some simple instructions (algorithms) or code are 'working'.
  • Through to Year 6: Can test, debug and edit a program that accomplishes a given goal, (simple computer 'game' or model or simulation), to solve a problem.

The following principles, drawn from the 2014 National Curriculum, drive computing here at Thomas Jones where we aim 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.