Oakington Manor Primary School

INTENT:  

With technology being so intrinsic to modern day life we- at Oakington Manor Primary School - empower our children with Information and Computing Technology (ICT) knowledge and skills, which are transferable and equip them to understand, and adapt to an ever evolving technological environment with creativity, innovation and safety awareness. Through the development of an inspiring, immersive and aspirational curriculum, which is inclusive and accessible, exploring the different strands of ICT with depth and scope, we instill passion for creativity, enquiry and invention with technology.

We believe the development of ‘Computational Thinking’ is an invaluable skill in the modern age, and coupled with the exposure to wide forms of technological media and the varied and progressive opportunities to practice, improve and apply knowledge and skills, making connections with wider areas of the curriculum wherever possible, the children are given rich opportunities to develop problem solving and reasoning skills through the context of ICT.

Through promoting Computing as a vital component of STEM learning, we explore the deep links with mathematics, science, and design and technology, which provides our children with insights and exposure into real world applications.

IMPLEMENTATION: 

• Utilise Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs); DB Primary and Purple Mash, to provide a framework and structure to enrich the children’s acquisition of knowledge and skills within the different strands of the subject.
• Expose children to creating, understanding and debugging simple algorithms in KS1, progressing to understanding and utilising more advanced coding constructs to create more complex programs, and modeling a variety of real world scenarios throughout KS2.
• Expose the children to a range of coding environments (DB Primary, Purple Mash – 2Code, Scratch (inc Jr), Lego Wedo) to enrich the experience of creating different types of algorithms, with increasing complexity, aiding the development of transferrable computing skills.
• Support the delivery of Digital Literacy, encompassing digital art and animation, and digital presentation skills.
• Integrate the use of Purple Mash with cross curricular learning opportunities in other subjects; from data representation in mathematics, digital music creation, to word processing and presentation of information from of a variety of writing genres produced in other subjects.
• Deliver e-safety lessons throughout the school, with regular lessons focused on educating the children about remaining safe and responsible when interacting within digital environments, and the importance of reporting concerns.
• Maintain a record of eSafety concerns throughout the school

IMPACT:

• Children are exposed to the different strands of Computing & Information technology through highly engaging and inspirational activities developing knowledge and skills in computational thinking, STEM learning … with enriching opportunities to make connections and exploring the application for ICT to other areas of the curriculum
• Increased awareness of e-Safety, including staying safe when using various technology and confidence in sharing concerns
• Children expressing great excitement and enthusiasm for the subject; overwhelming interest in ICT club,
• Children being inspired to practise coding at home
• Increased uptake in the number of children involved in STEM subjects and activities.
• Children transfer ICT skills into other areas of the curriculum e.g. Using publishing tools to present different styles of writing.
• eSafety Log and eSafety Champions help to increase the awareness of eSafety issues, children take greater ownership of promoting eSafety awareness and encourage the reporting of eSafety concerns