At St. Andrew’s we deliver the computing programmes of study for KS1 and KS2 through the Rising Stars ‘Switched On’ computing scheme of work.
Pupils from Year 1 to Year 6 are taught three computing units across the year. They are a taught a range of computing knowledge, which help pupils to progress their understanding and skills.
These include:
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Online safety
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Consolidating technical skills
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Achieving fluency with a range of key applications
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Developing their knowledge and understanding of the principles that underpin digital technologies and the changing consequences of these for individuals and society. The children will also develop a wide range of computing vocabulary within each unit and learn about computer science, digital literacy and information technology.
Computing Units
Year 1:
We are digital artists – creating work inspired by great artists
We are treasure hunters – solving problems using programmable toys
We are rhythmic – creating sound patterns in ScratchJr and GarageBand
Year 2:
We are astronauts – programming on screen
We are photographers – taking, selecting and editing digital images
We are zoologists – collecting data about bugs
Year 3:
We are programmers – programming an animation
We are opinion pollsters – collecting and analysing data
We are who we are – creating presentations about ourselves
Year 4:
We are presenters – videoing a presentation using a green screen
We are musicians – creating a piece of music in GarageBand
We are artists – creating pieces of geometric art
Year 5:
We are cryptographers – cracking codes
We are adventure gamers – creating an interactive adventure using presentation software
We are web developers – making sense of the internet and building a website
Year 6:
We are computational thinkers – mastering algorithms for searching, sorting and maths
We are connected – developing skills for social media
We are advertisers – creating a short television advert
Links
Cross-curricular links are made wherever possible for example, using Pages and Keynote for presenting work and Numbers for statistics in Maths.
Safer Internet
Online safety is taught explicitly through computing lessons, as well as being part of our PSHE scheme. We also hold a bi-annual ‘Safer Internet’ week which comprises pupil and parent workshops led by a specialist.
Apple Technology
We are an ‘Apple’ school and every classroom has an iMac and interactive whiteboard. All of our devices are portable, so every class has access to a bank of MacBooks and iPads. We also use a range of additional technology such as Bee-Bots and Blue-Bots.
Our children enjoy a range of additional experiences to enhance their learning, such as visits to the Apple store and robotics workshops.
Remote Learning & Homework
Remote learning and homework takes places online, through two main platforms, Microsoft Teams (KS1 and KS2) and BusyThings (EYFS). We also invest in additional websites to support our curriculum, such as PurpleMash and MyMaths.