It is our intention that every child leaves Our Lady’s with secure knowledge of computing and has acquired the skills to be able to use technology to solve future challenges of the modern world. We believe that the future is shaped by technology and it is our intention to form children to use technology safely and securely through a robust curriculum.

How do we implement our vision in our school?

We follow the aims of the National Curriculum 2014 and pay particular attention to online safety and technology in our lives, which remain a priority throughout the academic year. Knowledge and skills of computing are built on to ensure progression of learning though the following learning themes:

• Online safety
• Computing
• Coding
• Internet
• Networks

What does it look like in our classrooms?

Computing is taught both discreetly and during cross curricular lessons, where teachers remind children of the skills of computing while using technology during a variety of lessons. The importance of online safety is referenced in computing lessons and the PSHCE curriculum.
At Our Lady’s we teach the computing curriculum through a two-year rolling cycle (Year A and Year B). Teachers teaching split year group classes are mindful of the expectations of children in different year groups.

Every classroom has an interactive white board and children have access to Chromebooks and ipads to use for a range of different purposes, best suited to achieving the learning goal. Teachers have good knowledge of the level of skills required for children to reach age-related expectations in computing. In line with our feedback policy, teachers provide instant verbal feedback that is ‘in the moment’ to scaffold children towards achieving learning goals and deepening learning.

By the time children leave Our Lady’s, they are confident using technology for a range of purposes: research, online reading material, maths programs and word processing to present their writing in a range of different ways. Children are aware of the importance of online safety and how they can protect their personal data. They know the importance of technology and how its profile has rapidly changed since the past. Our children can confidently use technology to support their answers to the Big Questions which are skills that they will use to solve future technological challenges of the modern world.

How do we monitor and review the impact of computing at our school?

The computing subject leader uses the following lines of enquiry to assess the impact of the computing curriculum:
● The profile of technology in Early Years.
● Opportunities for children to use technology in the indoor and outdoor classroom environments in Early Years.
● Computing assessment data on Target Tracker (Years 1-6).
● Evidence of computing skills across other subjects in the curriculum.
● Discussions with pupils.
● Discussions with teachers.
● Learning behaviour in the classrooms.
● Culture of computing across the school.
● Extra-curricular opportunities for children in computing.