Computing

Computing is part of the National Curriculum and it is a requirement for all children in KS1 and KS2. The curriculum strives to provide a high-quality computing education that equips pupils to use computational thinking to understand and change the world. 

The computing curriculum aims to ensure that pupils can understand and apply fundamental principles of computing science and analyse problems in computational terms. It teaches how to evaluate and apply new or unfamiliar technologies analytically to solve problems. Great importance is also placed in making the children aware of the risks of these technologies and teaching them how to navigate safely online. 

At Cutteslowe, we follow the Teach Computing programme developed by the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE). Its mission is for every child in every school in England to have a world-leading computing education. The impact of the programme is continuously evaluated to improve the quality of teaching computing in schools, and the learning experience for young people. With this programme, the children in KS1 learn the basics of how to operate a computer and are introduced to coding through the use of physical resources like Bee-Bots. They then explore how technology can be used to create music and pictures.

In KS2, pupils are introduced to audio and video production and photo editing. Coding is taught through the use of high-level, block based programming languages such as Scratch. With this tool the children are able to create simple games and even command small programmable computers like the BBC micro:bit. Finally, they are introduced to databases, spreadsheets and web page creation.