When teaching Computing at Chigwell Primary Academy, we intend to provide a curriculum which caters for the needs of all individuals and sets them up with the necessary skills and knowledge for them to become successful in their future adventures. We aim to prepare them for a successful working life. Our Computing curriculum is planned so that pupils have a good understanding of the computing concepts, knowledge, skills and vocabulary that run through the three strands: computer science, information technology and digital literacy. This ensures they achieve age related attainment at the end of each Key Stage.

At Chigwell Primary Academy, we are committed to developing digital wisdom in our pupils in order to prepare them for life in an increasingly digital world. Therefore, a strong focus is placed on how to use technology safely and responsibly through the teaching of digital skills, of how technology is used and of how pupils can apply the use of technology in contexts that they can relate to. 

The computing curriculum at Chigwell Primary Academy has been developed using the DfE approved scheme of work from Teach Computing (National Centre for Computing Education) to create sequenced lessons that are suitable for the community and use carefully chosen resources suitable for each key stage.

What do we teach in Computing?

Computing is taught as a discrete subject. We use the Teach Computing curriculum to deliver the national curriculum objectives. The Teach Computing Curriculum Units can be accessed here: https://teachcomputing.org/curriculum

The Teach Computing Curriculum facilitates the delivery of the entire National Curriculum for computing curriculum. The Teach Computing Curriculum was created by the Raspberry Pi Foundation on behalf of the National Centre   or Computing Education (NCCE). All content is free, and editable under the Open Government Licence, ensuring that the resources can be tailored to each individual teacher and school setting. The materials are suitable for all pupils, irrespective of their skills, background and additional needs.

The aims of the Teach Computing Curriculum are as follows:

• Reduce teacher workload
• Show the breadth and depth of the computing curriculum, particularly beyond programming
• Demonstrate how computing can be taught well, based on research
• Highlight areas for subject knowledge and pedagogy enhancement through training

Knowledge Organisation 

The Teach Computing Curriculum uses the National Centre for Computing Education’s computing taxonomy to ensure comprehensive coverage of the subject. All learning outcomes can be described through a high-level taxonomy of ten strands, ordered alphabetically as
follows:

• Algorithms —Be able to comprehend, design, createand evaluate algorithms
• Computer networks —Understand how networks can be used to retrieve and share information, and how they come with associated risks
• Computer systems — Understand what a computer is, and how its constituent parts function together as a whole 
• Creating media — Select and create a range of media including text, images, sounds and video
• Data and information —Understand how data is stored, organised, and used to represent realworld artefacts and scenarios
• Design and development —Understand the activities involved in planning, creating, and evaluating computing artefacts
• Effective use of tools —Use software tools to support computing work
• Impact of technology —Understand how individuals, systems, and society as a whole interact with computer systems
• Programming —Create software to allow computers to solve problems
• Safety and security —Understand risks when using technology, and how to protect individuals and systems

How do we teach Computing?

The Teach Computing Curriculum has been written to support all pupils. Each lesson is sequenced so that it builds on the learning from the previous lesson, and where appropriate, activities are scaffolded so that all pupils can succeed and thrive. Scaffolded activities provide pupils with extra resources, such as visual prompts, to reach the same learning goals as the rest of the class. Exploratory tasks foster a deeper understanding of a concept, encouraging pupils to apply their learning in different contexts and make connections with other learning experiences. 

The Teach Computing units are based on a spiral curriculum. This means that each of the themes is revisited regularly (at least once in each year group), and pupils revisit each theme through a new unit that consolidates and builds on prior learning within that theme.
This style of curriculum design reduces the amount of knowledge lost through forgetting, as topics are revisited yearly. It also ensures that connections are made even if different teachers are teaching the units within a theme in consecutive years.