The Divine Mercy RC Primary School - Computing Curriculum Intent

 “And the Lord said, ‘Behold, they are one people and all have one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do.  And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.’” (Genesis 11:6)

At The Divine Mercy we reflect the National Curriculum aims:

• High quality Computing education provides the foundations for understanding the world through the specific disciplines of Computer Science, Information Technology and Digital Literacy
• Technology has changed our lives and is vital to the world’s future prosperity, and all pupils should be taught essential aspects of the knowledge, methods, processes and uses of science.  
• Through building up a body of key foundational knowledge and concepts, pupils should be encouraged to recognise the power of rational explanation and develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena and God’s great world.

In tIn this subject:

At The Divine Mercy, through the teaching of computing, we encourage our pupils to appreciate the complexity of God’s world and to delve further into the amazing properties within it.  Our pupils are inspired by Pope Francis who requests that we become ‘stewards of creation’ and look after our ‘common home’.  Our aim is to make children aware that as users and creators of technology they can make a valuable contribution to improve the world we all share.

In computing children will look at ‘big questions’, these challenge some of the technological developments in society and enable the children to reflect on the idea of, ‘just because we can, it doesn’t mean we should’.  This will equip them with a critical mind-set to decide if innovations are really benefitting society.

Computing encompasses many different subjects, from writing in digital literacy to maths when writing code.  Scratch will require children to use their knowledge of four quadrant axis, angles and the four operations as they create more complex code.

At The Divine Mercy, the children have access to many pieces of new and exciting technology that all provide rich and memorable learning experiences.  Computing is a wide and varied subject, with many different elements and aspects.  Within the subject children are supported in finding their strengths and interests.  As part of the curriculum, classes look at inspirational people in computing, both past and present.  These key figures serve as an inspiration to us with the work they have done.

A key part of computing is e-safety, every year group will have a block of e-safety learning that teaches them how to be respectful of all when online.  This will equip them with the skills, knowledge and understanding to make the right choices when they are interacting with others online.

Jesus I Trust in You