Rationale

Today’s young children are growing up in a world in which technology is ever changing and ever evolving. Developing early computing skills is essential in order that children can access this modern world. At Old Town we strive to provide the starting point for the fundamental communication and technological skills they will develop throughout education and life. Computers are now part of everyday life, technology surrounds us and therefore nurturing computing capability is an essential skill for life to enable learners to participate more readily in this rapidly changing world.

In order to equip our children for this, we offer an exposure to a range of technology so that they may adapt to new technologies as they arise. Computing at our school encourages our children to become critical thinkers, problem solvers, inquisitive learners, and allows children to create programs and express themselves in a digitally literate manner.

At Old Town Infant School we want our pupils to be able to thrive as digital citizens, who are confident and competent to use technology positively, responsibly and safely. At the forefront of our teaching of computing is Online Safety. We will ensure that each child will be confident in making safe choices when using the internet, keeping personal information private and know where to go for help and support if they are concerned about anything they might encounter online. Online safety is covered explicitly in specific e-safety lessons but also revisited and reinforced within many other opportunities across the curriculum.

We aim to provide an exciting and engaging Computing curriculum that is accessible to all children. Computing teaching at Old Town is delivered through explicit lessons in KS1. Knowledge and skills are revisited across the whole year to embed key learning, linking particularly with literacy, maths, science and design and technology. We believe it is important our children are able to use computing skills to access learning across the curriculum.