Buckingham Park Primary School

All pupils at Buckingham Park Primary School have the right to have rich, deep steps of learning that balance the interrelated aspects of computing and technology. With technology now such a significant tool in today’s society, both socially and in industry, we believe ‘Computational thinking’ is a skill children must be taught if they are to participate competently and confidently in our digital community. A high-quality computing education equips pupils to use creativity to understand and change the world. Computing has deep links with mathematics, science, and design technology, and provides insights into both natural and artificial systems.

The core of computing is Computer Science at Buckingham Park Primary School. Pupils interact with and make use of a wide range of technology, including computers, laptops, tablets (e.g. iPads), and interactive whiteboards. This wide range of opportunities allows our children to continually practice and improve the skills they learn. This further ensures that they become digitally literate and can express themselves and develop their ideas through information and computer technology – at a level suitable for their continuing education, the future workplace, and as active participants in a digital world.

Children participate in a curriculum at Buckingham Park that enables them to become effective users of technology who can:

• Understand and apply the essential principles and concepts of Computer Science, including 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 analytically to solve problems;
• Communicate ideas well by utilising appliances and devices throughout all areas of the curriculum;
• Apply technological skills appropriately across our school curriculum to support their learning.

E-safety

Electronic safety (e-safety) is an extremely serious aspect of our duty of care at Buckingham Park as well as an important life skill for everyone. To this end, we have an E- Safety Policy that provides guidance for teachers and children about how to use the internet and digital devices safely. Every child (in all year groups) participate in learning activities on different aspects of e-safety and children understand how to stay safe when using technology. It is important that children can make use of their e-safety knowledge at home in addition to their use of the internet and digital devices as part of our whole school curriculum.

The computing curriculum uses carefully chosen components of ‘Switched On Computing’ from Rising Stars UK to achieve the intentions described above. Whilst the National Curriculum is used to clearly set out the expected steps of learning for each child, ‘Switched On Computing’ provides colleagues with useful suggested contexts to utilise. Colleagues always have the freedom to explore the required steps of learning in a different context that may be more suitable for their children to ensure that they have the most effective experiences and enabling for them.

The learning of computing skills are embedded across the whole school curriculum but are also taught discretely in separate computing lessons. Every child participates in three projects throughout each school year (each lasting approximately 6 weeks). Each carefully chosen project sets out the intended steps of learning for the children whilst also enabling a logical progression of skills across the computing curriculum. Previous steps of learning are revisited and built upon to support further learning. This progressive approach provides children at Buckingham Park with the necessary foundations to be confident and competent users of hardware and software as they move to Key Stage 3 (secondary school) as well as personally for the rest of their lives.

Computing skills are introduced to children at Buckingham Park Primary School during Early Years Foundation Stage. Throughout their Reception year, children use digital devices such as tablets and computers to use basic programs and for specific purposes such as taking photographs. Children are also introduced to the basic principles of programing with practical resources.

Across Key Stage 1, children are taught the basic principles of how to use and manipulate computers to achieve specific outcomes. Children are given the freedom to be creative and communicate in different ways to present and send information. Basic coding is also introduced with practical devices before developing to the understanding and creation of coded program scripts.

During Key Stage 2, children apply the basic principles introduced in Key Stage 1 to a variety of situations in addition to progressing their skills. Children use their creativity to communicate safely in a range of different ways. Internet research skills are developed and utilised to gather accurate and reliable information whilst considering the reliability of an information source. Communication and coding skills are developed further to enable children to manipulate and interact with the internet more effectively. Coding and sequencing skills are also utilised to create programs with increasingly complex interactions between inputs, outputs, and other coded scripts.

Computational thinking

Computer science and programing (known as computation thinking) is a skill that is developed throughout the school. This is a skill that is constantly reused and built upon as children progress their skills through the curriculum at Buckingham Park. Computational thinking progresses in the following way:

• Year 1: Write a program on a digital device.
• Year 2: Write a program on a digital device making use of a set variable (i.e. specific quantities).
• Year 3: Write a program that responds to the input of a user.
• Year 4: Independently recognise when a program does not achieve the intended outcome.
• Year 5: Revise and improve coded programs to improve efficiency.
• Year 6: Write a program that uses multiple variables that interact with each other.

Computing and digital literacy have a high profile across our whole school curriculum. Children at Buckingham Park are diligent learners that: can confidently use a range of hardware and software; value and follow the principles of effective e-safety; use electronic communication with respect for each other and their community. Computing is amongst the most popular subjects of Buckingham Park Primary School’s curriculum with children. An additional outcome of the effective computing curriculum at Buckingham Park is that children are also be more confident with independent life skills such as problem solving, clear communication, logical thinking, and self-evaluation.

Pupil voice

“I like the freedom of what we can do with computers, like researching, making mini games, and presenting our work.” Year 6 pupil.

“I enjoy the complexity of computing lessons like coding in Scratch.” Year 4 pupil.

“I really like learning how to use the computer so I can use it in my free time.” Year 2 pupil.