At Grosvenor Park Primary School, we intend to provide high quality Computing education that enables children to become digitally literate so that they can use and thoughtfully communicate their ideas through a wide range of technology and become active, respectful participants in the digital world. It is our intent for all children to have proficient computing skills, preparing them for modern life.

It is our intention for children to be provided with the opportunities to develop their understanding and apply the fundamental principles of information and computation, how digital systems work, and how to apply this knowledge through the use of technology. Children will have experience of using information technology to create computer programs, systems and a range of content. We intend for children to solve problems creatively and analytically, developing confidence and competence through repeated practical experience. 

Underpinning all of this we aim to teach the Fundamental British Values (defined by our school) by developing:

• • children who respect others by using technology safely and responsibly whilst gaining an understanding of how it links and connects us to the wider world.
  • children’s curiosity by collecting, analysing, evaluating and presenting data and information.
  • resilient children who are confident and competent to analyse and debug their work, correcting errors in algorithms and programmes until they achieve their given goal.
  • expressive children who can communicate their ideas, thoughts and feelings through the digital content that they and others generate.
  • adaptable children who will learn how computing can support learning in other subjects.
  • cooperative individuals who are able to create and analyse digital content on their own and with others whilst carefully considering the feedback from their peers.
  • Children who are actively engaged with the wider world through digital technology
  • adventurous children who understand the wealth of knowledge to be gleaned from digital platforms and the capabilities of computing technologies, whilst also being mindful of their associated potential risks.

Each class will timetable a discrete computing session per week. This will follow the Purple Mash Scheme of Work (SoW ). As Grosvenor Park has mixed-aged classes, the SoW follows a two-year ‘rolling programme’. For 2023/24 we will be following Cycle B.

Planning Guidelines

The Purple Mash SoW provides teachers with clear, detailed plans for each unit of work. There is an overview of the unit of work, medium term planning and individual lesson plans for teachers to refer to. All plans include:

• Aims and expected outcomes for each lesson;
• Success criteria;
• Links to any online resources needed for the lesson (both for the children or as a teaching aid);
• Details and links to resources that may need to be printed BEFORE the lesson;
• Key vocabulary;
• Any relevant subject knowledge pedagogy or key information required;
• STEP-BY-STEP tasks and key questions needed to TEACH the lesson.

Children can use IPADs or Laptops to undertake each lesson. School IPADs and Laptops are prioritised for Computing lessons. Teachers wishing to use them for other subjects should ensure that this has been requested / clarified prior to each lesson.