Intent

At Phoenix Infant Academy we intend for pupils to have a foundational understanding of computing and our broad and balanced curriculum encompassing computer science, information technology and digital literacy reflects this.

Technology is all around us and will play a pivotal part in students' lives in the present and for the future. We want our pupils to have opportunity to be able to thrive as successful digital citizens. Therefore, we want to model and educate our pupils on how to use technology positively, responsibly and safely.

Our knowledge rich curriculum is balanced with computing skills to allow our children to become confident, creative and curious learners who are able to be critical and challenge themselves. We understand and promote, the accessibility opportunities technology can provide for all our pupils.  

We give pupils the opportunities to use technology; to share and develop their learning in creative ways, to be curious about technology and be able to use it to enhance their independent learning. We want pupils to be fully supported in applying their knowledge creatively which will in turn help our pupils become skilful computer scientists.

Implementation

Our computing curriculum is supported by the Purple Mash computing scheme of work. This gives our pupils the knowledge and skills they need to become confident users of technology, alongside meeting the requirements of the National Curriculum. To enhance our teaching of online safety we use Google’s Be Internet Legends curriculum thereby enabling our children to become safe and confident explorers of the online world. To make the most of the internet, children need to make smart decisions. Be Internet Legends empowers younger children to use the web safely and wisely. It covers the 5 pillars of being; sharp, alert, secure, kind and brave.

The Purple Mash curriculum covers the three predominate strands of the computing curriculum; computer science, information technology and digital literacy. The knowledge/skills statements build year on year to deepen and challenge our learners.

The Purple Mash Computing Scheme of Work is a comprehensive set of resources aligned to the National Curricula for Computing, Technology and Digital Competence. The Scheme of Work is intended to facilitate teachers in achieving the very best outcomes for all children. It exposes children to a wide variety of digital tools, technological skills and innovations to enable them to become informed members of the digital community.

Impact

We encourage our children to enjoy and value the curriculum we deliver. Children will have the skills and knowledge they need to begin to navigate an ever-changing technological landscape. Children become increasingly proficient on school equipment and have good, transferable knowledge, skills and understanding.

The effective teaching of Computing at Phoenix Infant will mean that our children:

• will be digitally literate and able to select from a range of tools and skills to create a digital outcome for a given task.
• understand that technology needs to be used with, and treated with, respect.
• understand how the internet works.
• understand the benefits and potential dangers of using the internet.
• will have a clear vocabulary with which to discuss online safety
• help themselves and others to minimise the risks of being online and know how to manage any potentially dangerous incidents.
• understand the power of algorithms and how they impact our daily lives.
• will be able to take creative approaches towards problem solving and use logical thinking to support their solutions.

Pupil voice, subject monitoring and lesson observations all ensure a positive impact of computing as a subject.

EYFS

In our EYFS, we know that our Computing Curriculum is supported through the children’s learning in:

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development
• Physical Development
• Understanding the World
• Expressive Arts and Design

As such, the children are given the foundations to access the KS1 curriculum by meeting the following EYFS requirements:

 

Our curriculum documents can be viewed below.

For further information, please contact Computing Lead, Miss S. Tranmer, on 01753 521888 or post@phoenixinfants.uk.