Computing

Coaley's Computing Curriculum

At Coaley, we use The Teach Computing Curriculum is structured in units. For these units to be coherent, the lessons within a unit must be taught in order. However, across a year group, the units themselves do not need to be taught in order, with the exception of ‘Programming’ units, where concepts and skills rely on prior learning and experiences.

 

Knowledge organisation

The Teach Computing Curriculum uses the National Centre for Computing Education’s computing taxonomy to ensure comprehensive coverage of the subject. This has been developed through a thorough review of the KS1-4 computing programme of study, and the GCSE and A level computer science specifications across all awarding bodies. 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 real world 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

 

The units for key stages 1 and 2 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.

 

Inclusive and ambitious

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. As well as scaffolded activities, embedded within the lessons are a range of pedagogical strategies (defined in the 'Pedagogy' section of this document), which support making computing topics more accessible.