Computing

Curriculum - Computing

 

Intent

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School aims to provide a broad and balanced Catholic education. Our Computing curriculum is designed to equip pupils with the knowledge, skills, and understanding to thrive in a digital world, while reflecting our Gospel values of respect, responsibility, and integrity.

We aim to develop:

o Digital Literacy: Pupils learn to use technology confidently and responsibly.

o Computational Thinking: Problem-solving, logical reasoning, and creativity through coding and programming.

o Online Safety: Embedded throughout the curriculum, ensuring pupils understand the risks and responsibilities of online interactions, aligned with the 4 Cs of Online Safety (Content, Contact, Conduct, Commerce).

Our curriculum follows the National Curriculum for Computing and integrates Catholic Social Teaching, promoting respect and care for others in digital spaces. Our computing Curriculum fits within our wider curriculum intent in aiming to make connections with other subjects to empower and develop children’s understanding of the digital world. Technology has become an essential part in most of our lives, at home and at work. We prepare pupils for an ever-changing digital world by teaching them to critically evaluate online content, protect personal information, and engage positively in digital communities

Implementation

At St Joseph’s, we aim to provide our children the opportunity to develop their skills in the three aspects of the Computing curriculum Computer Science (CS), Information Technology (IT) and Digital Literacy (DL). Computing is taught weekly across all year groups, following a clear progression of skills mapped in our Computing Curriculum Overview.

Online Safety is revisited every half term and reinforced through:

• Dedicated lessons using Project Evolve and Twinkl resources.
• Annual Safer Internet Day activities.
• Links to RHE curriculum (Respectful online communication, personal boundaries, challenging harmful attitudes).

Pupils learn through practical, engaging activities:

• Coding courses (A–F) using Code.org.
• Cross-curricular links (e.g., using spreadsheets in Maths, presentations in English).

Staff receive regular CPD on online safety and computing pedagogy. Parents are supported through workshops and newsletters.

Monitoring and assessment:

• Teachers assess computing skills through observation, questioning, and digital outcomes.
• Online safety understanding is assessed through discussion and scenario-based activities.

 

We deliver an inclusive curriculum that empowers all pupils—regardless of SEND or disadvantage—to explore their creativity and feel inspired to achieve their full potential. Teachers plan and adapt the curriculum and resources to meet the needs of all pupils allowing them to develop essential knowledge and skills they need.

In Key Stage 1, the children will:

• learn to use technology safely and respectfully, keeping personal information private; identify where to go for help and support when they have concerns about content or contact on the internet or other online technologies.
• Learn to use a range of technologies purposefully to create, organise, store, manipulate and retrieve.
• develop an understanding of algorithms—what they are, how they can be represented as programs on digital devices, and how these programs run by following precise, step-by-step instructions.
• learn to design, create, and debug simple programs, applying logical reasoning to predict and explain how these programs will behave.

 

In Key Stage 2, pupils will:

• use technology safely, respectfully, and responsibly, recognising acceptable and unacceptable behaviour and knowing how to report concerns about content or contact.
• develop an understanding of computer networks, including the internet, and explore the opportunities they provide for communication and collaboration.
• design, write, and debug programs to achieve specific goals, including controlling or simulating physical systems, by breaking problems down into smaller, manageable parts.
• apply programming concepts such as sequence, selection, and repetition, using logical reasoning to explain how algorithms work and to identify and correct errors.
• use search technologies effectively, understanding how results are selected and ranked, and learn to critically evaluate digital content.
• select, use, and combine a variety of software across different digital devices to create programs, systems, and content that meet given objectives.

Impact

Pupils leave St Joseph’s as confident, responsible digital citizens who:

o Understand how to stay safe online and know how to report concerns.

o Can use technology creatively and effectively for learning and communication.

o Demonstrate resilience and problem-solving skills through coding and computational thinking.

Evidence of impact:

o High engagement in computing lessons.

o Pupils articulate online safety principles and apply them in practice.

o Digital work showcases progression in skills (coding projects, presentations, data handling).

 

Progression in Computing is assessed throughout each key stage through the children’s ability to know, apply and understand the knowledge, skills and processes specified in the relevant programme of study. We assess the children through: • Observing children during weekly Computing sessions. • Questioning the children in relation to their programme of study, in order to assess their understanding and comprehension. • Assessing the work produced by the children and discussion of their next steps through verbal feedback. • Code.org assessment records for each class (Computer programming units). An age-related assessment will be given to parents/carers through annual reports

 

Our approach ensures pupils are prepared for the next stage of education and life in a digital society, grounded in Catholic values.

Documents 

Computing Curriculum Mapping

Online Safety Policy