COMPUTING POLICY
Chapel St Trust Mission Statement
As part of the Chapel St family of schools, Benedict Primary strives to provide an attractive,
safe, well-ordered, child-centered place of learning within a broad, generous and inclusive
Christian ethos. Maintaining and sustaining the highest standards of teaching and learning is
the key concern of governors and staff. The school seeks to work positively with parents and
carers to fulfill the school's expectation that all learners are enabled to achieve at the highest
level of which they are capable.
Chapel St welcomes children and families from all faiths and none to work together towards the
good of the whole community through Grace, Love and Fellowship. There is a daily act of
collective worship, which encourages spiritual development and a mutual understanding of life
together.
Our School Vision
Inspire, Think, Enrich
“To develop an emotionally intelligent learning school, where everyone is inspired and has a
belief in their life long learning goals; feel valued and are empowered through thinking to learn;
work together to develop positive self esteem and enrich individual, team and whole school
success through Grace, Love and Fellowship.
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Philosophy
At Benedict we value the contribution that technology can make for the benefit of all pupils, staff,
parents and governors. We strive to provide safe opportunities in all subjects to motivate and inspire
pupils and raise standards across the curriculum. Everyone in our school community will become
lifelong learners equipped to meet developing technology with confidence, enthusiasm and the skills
that will prepare them for a future in an ever-changing world.
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Aims
To enable our staff and pupils to become competent, confident and independent users of
technology
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To provide pupils with the computational skills necessary to become independent learners
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To develop a creative and cross-curricular approach to the teaching and learning of Computing
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To promote safe and sensible use of technology through a dedicated e-safety curriculum.
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To use new technologies to enable good quality teaching and learning to take place
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To ensure appropriate and equal access to technology for all children regardless of age, gender,
ethnicity or ability
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To utilise the Social Online resources such as makewaves, matheletics and blogs in order to
provide extended and personalised learning opportunities through the use of technology
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To commit to the Continuous Professional Development of Computing
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To ensure our pupils take advantage of the ever quickening pace of technological change
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To provide pupils with an understanding of the role technology plays in everyday life at present
and it’s importance in the future
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To use after school clubs to increase the knowledge of coding, using programmes such as
Scratch, Kodu and Lightbot
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To give children opportunities to access the Computing Curriculum through home-school links.
Role of Subject Leader
 To take the lead in policy development.
 To support and advise colleagues.
 To lead staff in their continuing professional development.
 To monitor progress in computing through lesson observations, monitoring children’s work,
analysis of formal assessment data and teacher assessment.
 To take responsibility for the choice, purchase and organisation of central resources for computing
, in consultation with colleagues.
 To liaise with other members of staff to form a coherent and progressive scheme of work, thus
ensuring both experience and capability in the subject of all staff.
 To be familiar with current thinking concerning the teaching of computing and to share information
with colleagues.
 The subject leader will be responsible to the Headteacher and will liaise with the named link
Governors.
 The subject leader will work with other members of the senior leadership team to monitor the
computing planning within our school.
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Planning and Strategies
We will be using the Rising Stars Switched-on Computing Curriculum as a starting point for our
planning. This is has been designed with the aims of the Computing POS in mind and covers all of its
requirements. The rising stars programme is designed to teach children the skills they need for a
technological society in the future. Therefore it focuses on skills rather than specific programmes.
EYFS
In EYFS, children will have an computing lesson (1 hour) per week and computing will be integrated
into all topic work. Children will focus on key skills in becoming familiar with different forms of
technology and how this can support their learning. See below for the skills focussed on in EYFS.
We have
We are healthy
We are designers
confidence
We can take
We can listen
We are shape makers
turns
We are
We can understand
We are community
successful
instructions
members
We have feelings
We can understand
We are game players
messages
We can drive
We can email
We are creative
We are DJs
We can blog
We can record sound
trackers
We can exercise
We can count
We are film producers
These skills link to each area of the early learning goals.
Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2
Children will have a computing lesson once a week and will be given opportunities for the computing
to be used across the curriculum. This will be evident in medium term plans and weekly planning.
See appendix one for skills overview for Key Stage 1 and Key stage 2.
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Good practice in the use of technology in the curriculum
In Computing lessons
Pupils are timetabled for at least one visit per week to the Computer Lab, where they have
access to their own computer, for a Computing lesson, which covers the skills and experience
required to develop Computing Capability through the school’s Scheme of Work– with an
additional emphasis on e-safety (delivered in part through the use of our Social Networking
Platform) and Coding/Programming.
Teachers and pupils benefit from the use of the freely available LGfL Scheme, which gives
access to a wide range of resources, through their online curriculum bank, as well as a wide
range of resources purchased and maintained by the school itself.
Teachers ensure the teaching of Computing is evident within all areas of the curriculum
following a topic-based approach and creating cross-curricular links.
In learning and teaching across the curriculum
There are Interactive Whiteboards (IWBs) and Digital Visualisers in every classroom, used
throughout the day for whole class teaching in all subjects. Whiteboards are also used within
group activities by teachers or TAs or for collaborative activities by pupils. Whiteboards are also
regularly used by pupils themselves to participate in the class or group lesson, or demonstrate
what they have learned or to display work they have done.
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The IWB is connected to a main classroom computer which is on the school network with its
shared work area, with access to the content and activities on the London Grid for Learning,
and to the wider internet.
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Classes may visit the Computer Lab for additional sessions during the week to carry out
Computing-based work in other subject areas. In addition to this all children have access to
wireless laptops, Chromebooks and iPads for use in all curriculum areas.
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Staff and pupils regularly and confidently access links to online resources.
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Pupils are able to login to Makewav.es and the LGfL Content Grid, which gives them access to
the same online resources from home as they can access from school.
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Teaching and support staff are confident selecting programs and make extensive use of
resources for pupil to use from the school network, or online, particularly on the LGfL.
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The intention to use such resources appears in all teachers’ daily and topic planning, and is
marked clearly.
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Subject leaders regularly monitor teachers’ planning for Computing, and observe the use of
technology in lessons. Subject leaders also ensure that technology is used appropriately and
throughout the teaching of their subject areas.
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The school will develop the use of a shared work area, and a good practice area online on the
school’s Makewav.es platform, which can be seen from home by staff, pupils and parents.
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The school is going to begin the exploration of Digital Badges as a form of assessing the use of
technology and the Computing Curriculum within cross-curricular subject work.
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Classes maintain an electronic portfolio of good examples of their schoolwork.
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RM maths and matheletics are used for regular interventions in KS1 and KS2
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A bank of I pads are available to be booked out across the school. These I pads enable teachers
to use ICT across the curriculum. They give children the chance to explore and gather
information based on their own questions and lines of enquiry as well as using programmes to
develop discreet skills.
Thinking Hats
De Bono’s Thinking Hats will be used as a learning tool in computing across the school. They will be
used to support critical, analytical and creative thinking particularly related to problem solving. Class
teachers will reference the thinking hats in weekly planning and this will be monitored by the subject
leader. Thinking hats will be displayed in every classroom to support children with different types of
thinking.
Monitoring
The Head teacher and Computing Subject Leader are responsible for ensuring there is a Computing
policy and that it is implemented. The Computing Subject Leader is responsible for mapping the
Scheme of Work and for liaising with other subject leaders to map the delivery of further technology
use in learning and teaching across the curriculum.
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Members of the SLT will monitor learning and teaching in Computing as they do for literacy and
numeracy. The Computing Subject Leader will also be involved in monitoring class teachers’ curriculum
planning and teaching. The Computing Subject Leader will carry out an audit of staff skills annually and
support and training will be provided where necessary.
All staff will regularly update their displays and ensure that the use of technology is evident with
classroom and curricular displays.
Assessment
Assessment for computing is inline with the Rising Stars Computing Curriculum, we will begin to use
digital badges as a form of assessment. Initially this will be done using an editable, excel-based
progression record which allows staff to track children's progress against the Computing programme of
study statements. Badge images based upon the level of work can then be imbedded or printed off and
attached to work.
Over time, this will move on to a digital form of assessment using the same badges on the Makewav.es
Social Networking Platform. These badges will be earned by individuals from Year 3 upwards, and
earned as a class within Key Stage 1 using a class login. The badges themselves have been designed
from a ‘Using and Applying’ approach so that very few of the activities are ‘taught’ directly and the
pupils will need to use what they have learnt in order to complete the tasks asked of them. Additional
information can be found here – www.makewav.es/computingcurriculum
Within the EYFS, the children are to be assessed against a set of Key Skills, developed through
consultation with the teaching staff, which they have the chance to develop over the course of their
time spent at school (in the foundation stage). These Key Skills give the children opportunities to
develop a range of techniques within the ‘Computing Umbrella’, thus providing them with an excellent
grounding to further progress the knowledge of technology in the wider world.
Partnership with Parents
The children have access to a wide variety of resources that enable them to continue their learning of
Computing and technology at home. A list of these resources is to be made available to parents and
information should be available to explain how to best use them to aid their children and currently
they include; Mathletics/Spellodrome and a range of resources made available through the school’s
access to LGfL resources. Through these the children are able to completed set tasks, and save their
work virtually so that it can be shared both in school and at home with teachers and parents. A termly
parent/child coding session is to be planned in which the children and parent can work together to
complete a coding puzzle.
Identifying Gifted pupils in Computing
At Benedict, all staff have high aspirations to challenge and motivate children of all abilities. In
Computing, pupils who are identified as gifted are challenged within lessons in school, and are
additionally offered external workshops and challenges; as well as encouraged to attend extra
curricular activities.
Below are a series of markers that can help identify pupils who are gifted and talented.
Gifted Markers to look for in Computing
Finds and uses new technology (hardware/software) to further learning
Uses own skills and knowledge to help support (and ‘teach’) peers
Uses technology to help solve problems, and understands when it also creates problems
Considers the limitations of technology, and looks for ways to overcome these limitations
Considers the purpose to which information is processed and communicated, and how the
characteristics of different kinds of information influence its use
Uses technology innovatively to support learning in other subjects
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Understands the positive impact using technology has in supporting the learning of less able
pupils
Uses skills and knowledge of Computing to design, create and ‘debug’ programs when only
given a specified outcome
Consider some of the social, economic and ethical issues raised by the use of technology both in
and out of school
Equal Opportunities
Children of all ethnic and cultural groups, races, genders and abilities, have equal access to the
Computing Curriculum. Positive images in terms of all groups are promoted throughout the school,
both in the use of language and in the provision of resources.
Approved
Review Date
Signed
(Principal)
Signed (Chair of
Local Governing
Body)
Signed
(Company
Secretary)
Written by Scott Davis
March 2015
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