Intent

The use of information and communication technology is an integral part of the national curriculum and a key skill for everyday life. At Chalfont St Peter Church of England Academy, we aim to prepare our children for life in an ever-changing technological world. We will do this by ensuring that our children and staff are confident and competent users of technology and are able to experiment with technology in a safe environment.

We will equip our pupils with skills that they will need to live and progress in a rapidly advancing technological world. Pupils and staff will be confident to adapt to changes within this technological world, being able to experiment and try new technological advances in a safe environment to keep up to date with computational advancements. First and foremost, we will teach pupils to use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly. This will ensure they have a clear understanding of acceptable behaviour online and any ways in which they can report this. The curriculum will also teach them key knowledge about how computers and the computer systems work, and how they are designed and programmed. Over their journey through the school, children will develop far more computational independence and opportunities to work collaboratively with others to develop their skills.

Ultimately our curriculum will provide our children with opportunities and skills which will empower them in a world where technology is valuable and crucial whilst also ensuring they have the diligence to tackle any risks that can be associated with using technology.

Implementation

Our computing curriculum is taught from Year 3 to Year 6. The skills that the children learn are built upon year on year until the end of KS2. The children are taught computing discretely and on a weekly basis, as well as being used in a variety of other subjects to continually develop their skills, subjects such as PSHE and English are just some examples of where the children’s computing knowledge can continue to develop. The objectives that are taught are in line with the National Curriculum. Units are spread out over the year and give the children access to a wide variety of programs, apps and technology. Such as Imagine Logo, Microsoft Office and Scratch. We also have the support and expertise of ‘Turniton’ who manage our school’s ICT systems and provide assistance to our teachers so that they can educate and support pupils using ICT.

Internet safety is taught every year. As a school we are very aware of the responsibility that we have to educate our children about staying safe online and because of this we celebrate and use Safer Internet Day as an opportunity to further educate the children about internet safety. Alongside this, internet safety is also integrated within our PSHE sessions throughout the school. When using Technology in other curricular areas, the SMART rules are often referred to so as to continually remind the children the importance of staying safe online.

The school has also previously offered ‘Internet Safety Workshops’ delivered both in house and from outside agencies to educate the parents on the importance of internet safety, so our pupils have those messages continually reinforced at home as well as in school. 

Impact

Our Computing curriculum will create confident, competent, conscientious and safe users of technology, using it to accomplish a wide variety of goals, both at home and in school. The children will grasp skills which will facilitate them in school and the wider world. Our children will be able to use technology to help them advance in a world where technology is essential for today and the future.