Computing Curriculum Intent Statement

At Faringdon Infant School, the Computing Curriculum is designed to give pupils opportunities to experience using technology in a variety of ways to enable them to become confident, digital citizens and learners. We use technology to enable pupils to develop their language skills, introducing them to new vocabulary such as algorithms, debugging and programming. The development of early language is an important focus in computing to enable pupils to be empowered and communicate confidently when they are concerned about something when using technology.

The Computing Curriculum at Faringdon Infant School places the personal and social development of all pupils at its heart as children learn about e-safety so that they use technology to communicate with others safely, responsibly and respectfully.

The Computing Curriculum strongly supports the use and development of all of the children’s Learning Muscles at Faringdon Infant School – whether it is persevering and not giving up like Raj the Robot when debugging and solving a problem when programming, or using our imagination like Daisy Dinosaur to be creative.

Our Computing Curriculum is taught through fun, engaging topics and themes, focusing on developing interchangeable skills that can be applied and developed further in the constant changing world of technology, so they are not limited but can adapt to new technology advances.

Computing Curriculum Map and Online Safety Long Term Plan

The Computing Curriculum Map explains how the different statements of the National Curriculum for computing are delivered in Years 1 and 2 at Faringdon Infant School.

We deliver online safety education to all pupils using the National Online Safety resources. The Online Safety Long Term Plan explains how we deliver online safety education at Faringdon Infant School and which units of work from National Online Safety are completed in each term from Nursery to Year 2. The Online Safety Long Term Plan is linked to our Jigsaw PSHE work to ensure consistency in teaching themes - for example Online Bullying is taught in Term 2 when the Jigsaw unit of work Celebrating Difference which explores Bullying is taught just as the online safety Health and Wellbeing unit is taught in Term 4 at the same time as the Jigsaw Healthy Me unit. 

National Curriculum for Computing and Education for a Connected World

Our learning objectives for our Computing Curriculum Map are taken from National Curriculum for England - Computing in Key Stages 1 and 2 which can be found below. We have also included the Education for a Connect World framework by the UK Council for Internet Safety (UKCIS) which our online safety scheme of work by National Online Safety is based on. Both of these documents also highlight the progression knowledge, skills and understanding as children progress beyond our school.

SMSC in Computing

Computing supports the development of children's Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC) understanding in a number of ways. The document below shows how Computing provides opportunities for SMSC.

What does Computing Look Like at Faringdon Infant School?

Below are photos of children participating in computing activities and lessons and examples of work children have produced during these lessons. Children have the opportunity to explore technology in different contexts such as programming, digital art, word processing and typing skills, data handling and creating multimedia projects such as photos, videos, animations. Children also discuss and reflect on how they have used technology in school, what worked well, and what they need to improve. As part of our commitment to help children understand the risks and strategies to stay safe online they have regular online safety lessons using the resources provided by National Online Safety every term.

Programming in Year 1 and Year 2

In Year 1 and Year 2 we explore programming in a cross-curricular context related to our topics and continue to emphasise the use of computing vocabulary like programming, algorithm, sequence, coding and debugging.

In Year 1 we explore Bee-Bot mats that have features of stories we explore in Literacy like the Jolly Postman and we use Bee-Bots to explore ginormous Bee-Bot mats with the models of the buildings and features we have created in art following our local studies as we explore Faringdon in Geography. We also use the Bee-Bot and Blue-Bot apps in programming and work on programming the Blue-Bot on our iPad screens to go around a map of Faringdon too. In Year 2 we prepare and plan our algorithms on paper before testing them using the Blue-Bot app on the iPads to explore maps of present day London and avoid fiery obstacles on maps of the Great Fire of London. 

In Year 1 and Year 2 we also explore programming through the ScratchJr app - this uses blocks with symbols so that children can create their own animations for the Sprite characters to move around and has been used to support storytelling.

Here are some photos of children exploring programming in Faringdon Infant School:

Creating Art Using Technology

In Year 1 and Year 2 we use the tools on Purple Mash to create our own artwork. In Year 1 we use the 'Swirly' tool in 2Paint a Picture to create a swirly starry night background then add buildings, trees and other details as we create our own digital art inspired by Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night. In Year 2 we learn about the artist David Hockney and how he started out traditionally using paint to create his famous artworks but now uses an iPad to create his art which has been on display in galleries all around the world. Inspired by David Hockney's iPad art we take the iPads outside to create our own observational drawings of autumn, and experiment with different tools to create different effects. Here are some examples of the artwork we have created.

Data Handling

We have used technology to help present data we have collected. For example in Year 2 we have created graphs showing the number of children in class who have different types of pets or in Year 1 we have presented science data such as the number of minibeasts we have seen, or the number of different flowering plants or trees we have identified when exploring outside. Here are some examples of the data we have presented using technology:

Computing Knowledge Organisers

We have created these Computing Knowledge Organisers to highlight key vocabulary and skills that are explored in Computing lessons at Faringdon Infant School. These are a good resource that gives an insight into what children are learning as they begin learn new concepts and how they can use technology for a variety of purposes.