At St Mary's, we believe that the subject of computing is not just about mastering technology; it's about connecting our children with the wider world. 

At St Mary's Catholic Primary School, we envision a future where every child sees technology as a powerful tool that empowers them to progress in life. Our computing curriculum is designed to provide students with a comprehensive and inspiring education in technology. We teach not only the skills and knowledge needed to excel in the digital age but also a deep understanding of digital citizenship and online safety.

Computing is an integral part of our the St Mary's curriculum because it is a bridge that connects our values to the digital age. It teaches our children the importance of community, belief in themselves, acquiring knowledge, fostering friendships, and ensuring protection in the online world. It empowers them to be responsible, creative and informed digital citizens who can shine a positive light in both their immediate and global communities. Through computing, children at St Mary's are prepared for a future where technology and values walk hand in hand.

We use the NCCE Teach Computing scheme to cover the three strands of the curriculum - computer science, information technology and digital literacy. Throughout the year, the children will learn a variety of knowledge and skills, including writing code, designing, debugging, sequencing and selection. We have split our learning into four topics, which are:

• Computing systems and networks

• Creating media

• Programming

• Data and information

We ensure progression both within topics and across year groups, developing skills and building on knowledge. Our curriculum has been designed in order to recap and build upon previous learning. From the Foundation Stage to Year 6, knowledge is built upon and skills are developed in order to achieve different goals. The units are sequenced to ensure progression is being made and the more difficult concepts are being taught as they progress through the school, especially in programming.

Children at St Mary's enjoy creating different forms of media such as sound, art, animation and webpages. Children also learn how to gather and order data in different formats as well as design, write and debug programs to accomplish specific goals, such as to create games and quizzes. 

In the Foundation Stage, we provide opportunities for children to experience and interact with different forms of technology for different purposes. 

In key stage 1, children are taught to use equipment and software confidently and purposefully. They have opportunities to create, organise, store and communicate,  to handle information and program digital devices. Children will explore and grasp new concepts in a concrete way through physical activities like role play, games or using floor robots. This will provide a foundation for becoming a computational thinker and learning new concepts in Key Stage 2, which can be more abstract when taken to the screen.

In key stage 2, our children will extend their use of computing in communication, creativity and programming. The children will learn, in more depth, about computer systems and networks. They will work to understand how to communicate safely and become a good digital citizen.

In a typical computing lesson at St Mary's, you might see children working on various activities such as coding projects, digital problem-solving tasks or data analysis exercises. Children are often encouraged to work with peers to solve real-world computing problems through the use of Kagan structures. Children are encouraged to explore and experiment, applying their skills through hands-on exercises that involve trial and error. We aim to develop a positive approach to learning, where children push themselves to debug and correct any errors themselves or if support is needed, to ask for it from a variety of sources. 

We use a range of pedagogical methods when teaching computing to ensure that pupils grasp the fundamental concepts effectively.  We use clear modelling of skills, as well as visual aids, diagrams and step-by-step demonstrations to help children understand. Most lessons start with retrieval practice, helping children to recall and apply previous learning as a way of enhancing long-term retention. 

In order to push children to achieve their very best and let their light shine, teachers use formative assessment techniques to gauge the understanding of individual pupils within the lesson. This may involve asking questions, observing children's work or having them present their solutions to the class. Immediate feedback is provided to help children correct misconceptions and improve their work.

Our approach to teaching computing is engaging and focuses on active learning. We place emphasis on building knowledge and skills through understanding, application, and continuous assessment.

Online safety is part of safeguarding and as such, it is something that we take very seriously. We want our children to feel confident when using technology, whilst also being able to understand that there are risks that come with going online. We strive to keep our children as safe as possible by doing things such as:

Filtering and monitoring within school

Taught online safety content (covering the eight strands suggested by Project Evolve)

Taught online safety content through our computing scheme

Tailored lesson content specific to the needs of our children

Support and advice for parents

External Provider iVenger - Traci Good

Each term, we have an online safety day where we cover at least one of the eight strands provided by Project Evolve. On this day, we have an assembly tailored to specific, evident issues either identified by the children (via pupil voice or our digital leaders) or by members of staff. 

We have chosen to teach online safety content termly, to ensure that the knowledge and skills needed remain relevant and applicable for all pupils at all times. As teachers, we acknowledge that a dialogue between staff and students relating to online safety is vital in order to fully understand what children are seeing/doing online, and how we can keep them safe from new and continuing challenges. 

Once a year, we also invite iVenger Traci Good in to school to work with children, staff and parents on staying safe in a digital world.