At Robert Miles Junior School we understand the importance of preparing children to be digitally literate in an ever-changing world. Our children will learn the principles of computing: how to manage information digitally, how digital systems work, how to develop their computational thinking through programming as well as how to develop their creativity and skills to keep themselves safe online. This will be taught through carefully planned, subject-specific lessons. Children will then deepen their understanding by using these skills elsewhere in the curriculum. This prepares children for Key Stage 3 and beyond, where they will engage, as an adult, in an increasingly digitally world. Our aim is to provide a broad and balanced curriculum while ensuring all children become digitally literate, digitally resilient, and understand appropriate use of technology.

Our computing curriculum is taught through four key elements: Computer Science, Information Technology, Digital Literacy, and eSafety. These continuous strands are carefully planned and sequenced to build upon previous learning and deepen children’s understanding of each element, while new skills and concepts are learnt. Our Computing Curriculum is delivered through the iCompute scheme, which is an inspirational, creative resource that provides full statutory coverage of the National Curriculum for Computing at Key Stage 2. This ensures clear progression of the curriculum throughout school, as teaching revisits and builds upon specific learning under each of these four elements. Units vary by year and cover a full range of computing components such as programming, art, spreadsheets, databases, communication networks, animation, and online safety.

Lessons are structured to develop skills in small, manageable steps, building upon prior knowledge by revisiting topics. Learning is designed to allow all children to access the computing curriculum, whatever their individual need, with additional challenge built in that allows for a greater depth of understanding where appropriate. We use a computer suite alongside two class sets of Ipads, which enables the flexible teaching of units, across the whole curriculum. This suits the needs of the children and develops meaningful, relevant teaching in context. This also enables the teaching of computing unplugged -without computers, where concepts can be embedded in a variety of ways.

We want our children to be confident and knowledgeable in the use of technology during their time at RMJS and beyond. Our children are excited to talk about their computational thinking, creativity and ways they have developed their digital literacy during their time at our school.