Information Technology
Head of Department: Mr Miller
The Curriculum intent of the Computer Science Curriculum is outlined as below. These are the principles that shape our intent, implementation and intended impact of our subject area on the wider Curriculum experienced by our learners. We believe that every pupil, regardless of ability or approach to learning, has the right to expect the same consistently high quality education in every lesson, taught by every teacher across our curriculum team.
Our vision and values for our Subject are:
The Computing syllabus has been designed to cover the three main areas of Digital Literacy, Computer Science and Information Technology. The students will be introduced to the IT skills they will need to support other subjects across the curriculum and will be introduced to programming, algorithms, some more complex elements of software packages and an understanding of computer hardware and how it works.
Our rationale for teaching what we teach is as follows:
Technology is changing the lives of everyone. Through teaching Computing we equip students to participate in a rapidly-changing world where work and leisure activities are increasingly transformed by technology. It is our intention to enable students to find, explore, analyse, exchange and present information. We also focus on developing the skills necessary for students to be able to use information in a discriminating and effective way. Computing skills are a major factor in enabling students to be confident, creative and independent learners and it is our intention that students have every opportunity available to allow them to achieve this.
The principles that shape our Key Stage Three Curriculum is:
In Key Stage 3, students will design, use and evaluate computational abstractions that model the state and behaviour of real-world problems and physical systems. They will learn 2 text based programming languages: Python and Small Basic. Students will understand how computers work by looking at the hardware that make up computer systems. They will begin to understand how various types of instructions are stored and executed in computer systems, and how they can be used to represent images, music and text. Students will undertake creative projects that involve selecting, using, and combining multiple applications to achieve challenging goals. This includes collecting and analysing data and meeting the needs of known users. They will understand a range of ways to use technology safely, respectfully, responsibly and securely: including protecting their online identity and privacy; recognising inappropriate content; contact and conduct; and knowing how to report concerns. The objective with the curriculum delivered at Key Stage 3 is to prepare for that offered at Key Stage 4. The foundations and fundamentals of the key concepts of the subject are established during Key Stage 3.
The principles that shape our Key Stage Four Curriculum is:
We offer courses at KS4 in Information Technology which is to be extended to include Computer Science. We will offer a traditional GCSE course and a coursework based vocational course. Computer Science is a discipline that seeks to understand and explore the world around us, both natural and artificial, in computational terms. Information Technology deals with the purposeful application of computer systems to solve real-world problems, including issues such as the identification of business needs, the specification and installation of hardware and software, and the evaluation of usability. It is the productive, creative and explorative use of technology.
Our Pupil Promise: You will see the following in our lessons:
Our intents is that all pupils will be provided with the best quality delivery and assessment available at all times. For pupils to be fully engaged in challenging activates that require problem solving, use of initiative, creativity and a good understanding of the skills and knowledge relating to the context of the subject. Any pupil that is driven to succeed will progress and fulfil their potential.
The Cultural Capital we offer our pupils is as follows:
Computer Science contributes to the development of pupil cultural capital through the provision of:
- E- safety lessons
- Discussion and lessons focusing on legal, ethical, social and environmental issues
- Participation in competitions
NEXT STEPS Our aspirations: We intend that our pupils will leave us in Year 13 possessing the following skills and attributes:
By the time they leave, pupils will have gained key knowledge and skills in the three main areas of the computing curriculum:
- computer science,
- information technology
- digital literacy.
Pupils will have a greater understanding of ICT and basic computational thinking skills. Whether they study the subject further or not they are knowledgeable, competent and confident users of technology using it safely and respectfully.