Subject leader: Mr R Hylton
Our intent is to deliver a diverse curriculum that prepares pupils for the further & higher education, apprenticeships, university and the workplace. We aim to prepare pupils for the real world, this includes their personal lives. From their first lesson in year 7 we teach them how to be safe and responsible digital citizens. Pupils are taught an e-safety unit about the threats of the online world, how to stay safe and what to do if something goes wrong.
Our curriculum is accessible by all pupils regardless of whether they are physically able to attend lessons, or not. All lessons are posted on Google Classroom, which can be accessed from home and in addition to this, where deemed necessary teachers will deliver live lessons using Google Meet.
The KS3 curriculum teaches all elements of the National Curriculum and prepares pupils either for ICT or computer science at GCSE. “Stretch and Challenge” exercises are incorporated to all key stage 3 lessons, starting in year 7. Pupils who choose not to proceed to key stage 4 ICT learn valuable skills which can be used in other subjects. This is done through undertaking creative projects that involve selecting, using, and combining multiple applications, across a range of devices, to achieve challenging goals.
Our intent is to offer a computer related qualification for all pupils regardless of their SEN status, gender or ethnic group. We offer pupils the option to study GCSE Computer Science and a vocational ICT course. In year 9 pupils are made aware which of the units they have studied are computer science units and which are ICT. Enabling them to make the appropriate GCSE option.
In GCSE and A-level Computer Science we aim for pupils to develop a deep understanding of problem solving and experience in creating logical and efficient solutions; the ability to write down solutions to problems for other people to understand; a good grounding in mainstream computing theory and understanding; and valuable thinking and programming skills that are extremely attractive in the modern workplace.
Computer Science pupils are taught the technical theory of how computers work and their components. Pupils will also understand the key computing constructs and be able to use them in simple algorithms. Pupils should:
● understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of Computer Science, including abstraction, decomposition, logic, algorithms, and data representation
● analyse problems in computational terms through practical experience of solving such problems, including designing, writing and debugging programs
● think creatively, innovatively, analytically, logically and critically
● understand the components that make up digital systems, and how they communicate with one another and with other systems
● understand the impacts of digital technology to the individual and to wider society
● apply mathematical skills relevant to Computer Science.
All tasks are applied to the real world so that pupils are able to understand the application of what they are learning.