ICT

ICT Curriculum Overview

Curriculum Overview - ICT

Rationale

The Computing / ICT study matrix covers each element of the National Curriculum but also contains other content that provides pupils with the opportunity to extend their rich learning of ICT through participation in initiatives such as the Duke of York IDEA (Inspiring Digital Enterprise Award) and E-Safety initiatives provided both internally and by external providers such as County Durham police. The matrix promotes a love of both computer hardware and software. Today’s fast changing and unpredictable world is ever more dependent on ICT systems. Today’s pupils are highly likely to be self-employed entrepreneurs whose success will be aided by a love of, and confidence in ICT. ICT skills support pupils’ cultural capital and will open options for life choices whilst equipping them for ambitious futures. Each year the content taught will allow the pupils to add to their umbrella of knowledge and apply the skills to new topics or software. The aim is to give pupils the skills and confidence to be able to go safely into the modern technological world and apply them.

Intent

Pupils will be provided with the opportunity to progress from an awareness of the use of software towards hardware and programming. These fall under the banner of Computer Science. Programming has been part of the ICT National Curriculum for some time but has frequently been overlooked or treated superficially. However, there is more to Computer Science than programming. Computer Science incorporates techniques and methods for

solving problems and advancing knowledge, and includes a distinct way of thinking and working that sets it apart from other disciplines. The role

of programming in Computer Science is similar to that of practical work in other sciences; it provides motivation and a context within which

ideas are brought to life. Computational thinking is core to the study matrix. It is the process of recognising aspects of computation in the world that surrounds us, and applying tools and techniques from computing to understand and reason about both natural and artificial systems and processes. Computational thinking provides a powerful framework for studying Computing, with a wide application beyond computing itself. It allows pupils to tackle problems, to break them down into solvable chunks and to devise algorithms to solve them.

The intent of the study matrix as a whole also reflects a distinction between four key strands: 1) Pupils can understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of Computer Science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation. 2) Pupils can analyse problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems. 3) Pupils can evaluate and apply Information Technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies, analytically to solve problems. 4) Pupils are responsible, competent, confident and creative users of Information and Communication Technology.

Implementation

The study matrix includes 5 topics to be taught in Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9. As we have a 2 Year KS4 it is essential that pupils are skilled enough to complete the KS4 courses. The curriculum covers a broad range of topics to help pupils prepare for KS4 and give them the essential skills and knowledge necessary to do so. Each year prior learning will be tested upon the retrieval of skills from the previous year. The curriculum is designed so that pupils can add to their learning in each unit in order to have a wealth of skills to retrieve come KS4. Pupils who do not grasp all of the skills required attend interventions after the AP assessments to build on the knowledge to allow future progression. Pupils who grasp the knowledge and skills quickly are issued extension activities or put onto more advanced software to further their skills.

Impact

The study matrix impact will be the development of pupils’ love of ICT and digital skills. Pupils will be able to apply their skills and knowledge into the modern digital world. ICT skills will support pupils’ cultural capital and will open options for life choices whilst equipping them for ambitious futures. The core impact of the study matrix will to enable pupils to:

• Design, use and evaluate computational abstractions that model the state and behaviour of real-world problems and physical systems.
• Understand several key algorithms that reflect computational thinking [for example, algorithms for sorting and searching].
• Use logical reasoning to compare the utility of alternative algorithms for the same problem.
• Use two or more programming languages, at least one of which is textual, to solve a variety of computational problems; make appropriate use of data structures [for example, lists, tables or arrays].
• Design and develop modular programs that use procedures or functions.
• Understand simple Boolean logic [for example, AND, OR and NOT] and some of its uses in circuits and programming.
• Understand how numbers can be represented in binary, and be able to carry out simple operations on binary numbers [for example, binary addition, and conversion between binary and decimal].
• Understand the hardware and software components