Hermitage Primary School

Subject Leader: Miss L. Smith

"Computers themselves, and software yet to be developed, will revolutionise the way we learn." - Steve Jobs

Our vision for Computing at Hermitage is:

• that it is an integral part of school life; it is used across the curriculum to enhance all subjects, with children using it as naturally as any other classroom resource
• that children can understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation
• our learners will be able to analyse technological problems with appropiate knowledge and vocabulary, and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems.
• to continue professional development for staff as we believe this is paramount to success and the positive promotion of ICT in school - especially in regards to the use of new technologies
• through the use of our technology provision including 6th generation iPads and laptops, children will become confident, safe and respectful users of technology, equipping them for their future lives.

Click here to view the National Curriculum for Computing.

Our Computing curriculum is designed to develop both skills and knowledge. This curriculum puts an emphasis on three areas of learning:

Computer Science - How computers work and how to write algorithms and solve problems to eventually create a computer program.
Information Technology - How data is represented and managed on computers.
Digital Literacy - How to understand digital information and interact with it safely and appropriately.

Children are taught computer science, which includes the craft of coding from KS1 onwards – from Beebots at KS1 to Scratch and Probots at KS2.  Children learn about programming, data, algorithms and networks, enabling them to develop an understanding of the principles of computer science, consequently developing computational thinking. There is also a focus on problem solving to rewrite faulty programs.used in pupils’ lives - both in their future employment and in enabling them to be good 21st century global citizens through safe use and respect for other online users.

Digital Literacy also includes e-safety. Safeguarding is at the forefront of everything we do at Hermitage and therefore e-safety is taught yearly to the pupils. We also work with the school council to ensure e-safety skills are applied both inside and outside of school.

At Hermitage Primary School, we are extremely proud of the level of access we provide for our pupils to use ICT within the classroom and outside. We have a class set of 32 iPads and 32 laptops to be used across the curriculum. All children in years 3 and 4 have access to their own school iPad on which they do a proportion of work on within school where the iPad will be used to enhance learning. This iPad can also be taken home by these children to allow them to continue working on outside the classroom. We strongly believe that technology is a useful tool to enhance education in a multisensory way to meet the needs of all children within our school, thereby reducing barriers to learning.