Computing

Intent Statement

At the Mandeville School, we passionately believe that digital literacy, the capability to problem solve and a grounded understanding of how computers work is vital for our students in this technologically changing world. With a full appreciation of the challenges our children face in their own lives, we understand that our students need to be ‘future-ready,’ professional users and innovators of technology. The Computing curriculum is designed with the intent to give our students the best opportunity to engage with new and emerging technology fearlessly and with excitement for their future.

Computing is important to our students to ensure that they can connect, communicate, and collaborate with a global community safely and responsibly. Our curriculum is designed to support students in exploring the various tools and platforms to enhance their experience of technologies that currently exist and have not yet been invented. Our intent is to inspire a curiosity and love for all forms of technology, powering a desire to solve any problem that their future may present.

Links to the whole-school curriculum

Our curriculum is designed to establish a kind community where everyone perseveres, achieves and flourishes; where we enable all to experience life to the full. Inspired by the Whole School Curriculum, our Computing curriculum is designed to ensure we maintain the Curriculum Principles:

A kind community through a curriculum that respects the diversity of our school, valuing our rich knowledge, history, and experiences.

Perseverance and achievement through a curriculum that is well sequenced, developing understanding, building retention, and leading to academic achievement. Firm foundations in a three-year Key Stage Three provide grounding for success in Key Stage Four, Key Stage Five and beyond.

Flourishing through a curriculum that nourishes personal development by giving students opportunities to explore their identity and grow their character. Students are equipped with knowledge of how to be healthy, sustain positive relationships and maintain wellbeing, all information needed to be able to make an effective contribution to society.

Enabling students to experience life to the full through a curriculum that inspires and enriches them with meaningful knowledge and cultural capital. High aspirations mean studying a broad range of subjects in key stage three and having a variety of routes through Key Stage Four and Five which are challenging and aspirational.

Big Ideas in Computing:

In Key Stage Three, we have the following themes which we study over the three years:

• Computer Science – All computing is an understanding of how a set of 1s and 0s can be sequenced together to represent commands and information that can be used to solve problems.
• Information Technology – Technology can be used in a range of creative ways for both morally and lawfully correct or incorrect methods, and that it is quite often left to the user to decide.
• Digital Literacy – Technology, means and methods of communication can have a direct impact on the political, environmental, and social landscape, understanding how to navigate these aspects safely and responsibly is vital to all.

By the end of Year 9, we will have met our curriculum intent when our students can demonstrate the following age-related skills, knowledge and understanding:

All computing is an understanding of how a set of 1s and 0s can be sequenced together to represent commands and information that can be used to solve problems.

• Able to problem solve using effective and efficient methods of algorithmic design
• Demonstrate an understanding of algorithms, abstraction, decomposition
• Able to create, view and debug algorithms
• Understanding how common algorithms work
• Be able to interpret binary numbers, completing simple operations on binary numbers
• Have repeated, practical use of constructing, analysing, and testing computer programs using a range of programming languages, one of which would be text based.

Technology can be used in a range of creative ways for both morally and lawfully correct or incorrect methods, and that it is quite often left to the user to decide.

• Understand how digital graphics, websites and other technologies can be used to represent information in a range of ways, inclusive of the concept that information can be presented in a biased, incomplete way
• Able to plan, construct and evaluate a range of different projects to a professional standard, understanding how clients or target audiences can have an impact on design
• Analyse data and model different scenarios with an understanding of how the skillsets can be used in a real-life application
• Understand how hardware and software components make up a computer system and can define how data is transferred around such a system.

Technology, means and methods of communication can have a direct impact on the political, environmental, and social landscape, understanding how to navigate these aspects safely and responsibly is vital to all.

• Understand how to use technology, including a range of modes of communication, safely, responsible, respectfully, and securely.
• Recognise how to keep their online persona safe and private, what can be classed as inappropriate content, contact, and conduct, and know how to report concerns.
• Have a clear idea of the impact technology can have on a community, local to global.
• Understand how technology has an impact on people, recognising how the digital divide might impact on their lives.
• Develop methods of working that can be used at higher levels, in particular producing documents and projects that represent their capabilities in an efficient and professional manner.
• Feel empowered to make use of technology to innovate and explore the world they live and work in.

Curriculum Map

Curriculum Map Computing KS3