Holly Spring Primary School Computing

"Computing is not about computers anymore. It is about living”

- Nicholas Negroponte.

Computers and technology have become an essential tool in our daily lives.  Being computer literate is vital in both our personal and professional lives and at Holly Spring Primary School we aim to equip all learners with the skills needed to be safe, adaptable and confident with technology throughout their lives.

At Holly Spring, we aim to provide a range of opportunities for children to work with computers to create programs, media, and databases to introduce them to the wide world of computing.  Through teaching a range of units, we aim to inspire children to pursue a career in Computing such as programming, video game creation, video publishing and building computer systems.

We have broken down our curriculum into three areas; Computer Science, Information Technology and Digital Literacy, to best support the development of our learners. 

Computer Science lessons focus on understanding the hardware and software of a computer system and how networks and the internet enable us to communicate.  Computer science is also about developing coding skills to enable children to create their own programs for a range of purposes.  

Information Technology lessons focus on creating media using a range of programs as well as recording and presenting data in a meaningful manner.  These are the skills that build confidence with programs such as Microsoft Word or video editing software to generate their own content.

Digital Literacy lessons focus on developing children’s critical thinking skills when interacting with information and media online alongside rigorous e-safety lessons to ensure every child can be safe online.

At Holly Spring, our curriculum drivers, knowledge, aspiration and experience, are fully embedded in our computing curriculum.  Within these values we aim to:

Knowledge:

• Build the children’s understanding and skills in computing though our curriculum choices and lesson structure.
• Provide opportunities for both online and offline learning within the curriculum to build critical thinking as well as curriculum knowledge.
• Ensure that children learn how to be safe online and when using programs and applications.
• Equip children with basic computer literacy skills and competency.

Aspiration:

• Provide relevant units and topics that link to computing careers and professional skills.
• Inform children of future career opportunities based in computing such as programming, digital art or databases.

Experience:

• Improve children’s confidence when using a range of computer hardware e.g. typing skills, cameras.
• Designing, creating and improving projects and evaluating their impact and effectiveness.
• Introduce children to programming their own hardware such as microbits.