Computing

Computing Intent
At Horley Infant School we want our pupils to be able to thrive as responsible, digital citizens. Technology is everywhere and will play a pivotal part in our pupil’s lives. Our aim is to provide a high-quality computing education which is fully inclusive and accessible to every child.
Through the use of laptops, Beebots, code-a pillars and familiar IT equipment such as cameras, our teaching allows the children to gain secure knowledge, skills and vocabulary which will encourage them to use IT to develop ideas, express themselves, solve problems and become computational thinkers.
Computing skills allow children to become confident, creative and inquisitive learners who are able to be critical and challenge themselves.
By the time they leave us to move on to their next school they will be equipped, not only with the skills and knowledge to use technology effectively, but more importantly – safely. The biggest impact on our children is that they understand the consequences of using the internet and that they are also aware of how to keep themselves safe online.
What does Computing look like at our school? (implementation)
At Horley Infant School we use a variety of hardware throughout the school to develop the children’s IT and programming skills. We have 40 laptops so the children can learn to use technology purposefully to create, organise, store, manipulate and retrieve digital content. We use a platform called Purple Mash which helps them develop typing and word processing skills.
In Reception they first learn about programming using code-a-pillars, in Year One they use Beebots and in Year Two they use BlueBots where the device is programmed remotely. In Years 1 and 2, the children use laptops to access Coding in Purple Mash to understand what an algorithm is, to design algorithms and then code them and to know what debugging is and debug different programs.
Throughout their time at Horley Infant School, all children learn the importance of keeping themselves safe while online. In Reception they learn how to look after technology respectfully and what to do if they see something online that makes them feel uncomfortable. In Years One and Two they learn the importance of keeping their private information such as name, school, address and passwords private. They learn that talking online to someone is not the same as talking to a friend. They about cyber bullying and which games are appropriate to play (by understanding PEGi ratings).
Technology is used throughout the curriculum to support learning in other subjects such as Art (drawing pictures), History (watching videos and playing games to learn about the Great Fire of London), Geography (using Maps online), Science (completing fact files about animals or materials) and Music (creating music digitally).

Purple Mash
BBC Bitesize
Digital School House
Typing Games
Mouse Control

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