Computing

Intent

At Balfour Infant School, we understand that a high-quality computing education is essential for pupils to understand modern information and communication technologies, and for them to use these skills to become responsible, confident and creative participants of an increasingly digital world.

We believe that every child should have the right to a curriculum that is supportive and nurturing to allow them to achieve to their full potential. We understand the immense value technology plays in supporting the Computing and whole school curriculum of our school. We believe that technology can support the needs of all our pupils; it can provide enhanced collaborative learning opportunities, better engagement of pupils; support conceptual understanding of new concepts and support the development of language.

The aims of our Computing Curriculum are:

• To enable pupils to explore computing and use it to achieve specific outcomes in the core subjects of the National Curriculum and across all other areas of the curriculum as appropriate
• To encourage pupils to use computing skills to develop their ideas and to record and present their work
• To ensure pupils gain experience in, and become familiar with, a wide range of computing tools, information sources, hardware and software
• To provide all pupils with opportunities for both collaborative and independent learning
• To teach pupils to use technology safely and responsibly.
• To equip pupils with the confidence and skills to use computing throughout their lives

Implementation

As a school we have chosen the Purple Mash scheme of work. This supports our teachers in delivering engaging lessons which help to raise standards and allow all pupils to achieve their full potential. In the Early Years the approach is through cross-curricular learning with an emphasis on hands on experiences, aiming to embed their knowledge of technology within their curriculum. In Year 1 and 2, we use Purple Mash as a cohesive scheme of work addressing the statutory aspects of the National Curriculum.

To help with our implementation of the computing curriculum we have a variety of hardware available, including:

• Laptops, plus classroom based laptops
• Tripods
• Programmable robots
• Desktop computers
• Microphones

A key part of implementing our computing curriculum is to ensure that safety of our pupils is paramount. We take online safety very seriously and we aim to give children the necessary skills to keep themselves safe online. 

Impact

Learning in Computing will be enjoyed across the school and pupils will be confident using a range of hardware and software. Teachers will have high expectations and quality evidence will be presented in a variety of forms showing high outcomes. The pupils will be confident and respectful digital citizens going on to lead happy and healthy digital lives.

What do our children think of Computing at Balfour Infant School?

Year R child: “We can log on to the purple mash game. I like the drawing game, I made a gingerbread man covered in sweets.”

Year One child: "In Year One we have been learning about Purple Mash. We had to log in and it was fun when we could change our avatar. I have to click on the orange 2Do and do my work. It was a picture with fireworks."

Year Two child: “We have been learning about Purple Mash and I like making music on there. We tap on the musical instrument and listen to what sound it makes to make a tune.”

Computing Gallery