Computing
Subject leader - Mr M.Giles
Vision for Computing
At Kempshott Junior School, our Computing curriculum is ambitious, coherent and inclusive, enabling all pupils to develop as confident, responsible and creative users of technology. We aim for all children to develop secure knowledge of computer science, information technology and digital literacy, alongside the skills to apply this knowledge purposefully and safely in an increasingly digital world.
Our curriculum is underpinned by the Teach Computing curriculum, which we follow and adapt to meet the needs of our pupils and our school context. Through a carefully sequenced approach, pupils build knowledge and understanding over time across key concepts such as algorithms, programming, data, systems and networks. Learning is planned so that new knowledge is introduced incrementally, revisited regularly and applied in increasingly complex contexts, enabling pupils to build securely on prior learning and retain key concepts.
Computing is taught as a distinct subject, enabling pupils to develop both substantive knowledge and disciplinary understanding. Substantive knowledge includes the key concepts, vocabulary and technical understanding needed to understand computer science, information technology and digital systems. Disciplinary understanding focuses on how pupils apply this knowledge to design, create, debug, evaluate and improve digital solutions. Through carefully sequenced units, pupils develop increasing confidence, accuracy and independence in applying computational thinking and solving problems.
Online safety is a central aspect of our curriculum. Pupils develop a secure understanding of how to use technology safely, responsibly and respectfully, both in school and beyond. This learning is explicitly taught within Computing and reinforced throughout the wider curriculum. Language, reading and mathematics are meaningfully applied within Computing, supporting pupils in communicating ideas, evaluating digital content and using logical reasoning to solve problems.
Our curriculum reflects a ‘windows and mirrors’ approach. Pupils encounter technologies, innovations and digital creators from a range of cultures, communities and contexts, enabling them to understand both their place within the digital world and the experiences of others.
We are committed to ensuring that all pupils can access the full Computing curriculum. Through adaptive teaching, including modelling, scaffolding and structured practice, barriers are removed without lowering ambition. Through our Computing curriculum, pupils develop secure knowledge, confidence and digital competence. They leave Kempshott Junior School able to create, evaluate and improve digital solutions, solve problems logically and use technology safely, responsibly and effectively as confident digital citizens.
Our Curriculum
The long-term curriculum overview shows the Computing units children study in each year group. Our progression document explains how pupils build on their previous learning, developing their knowledge and understanding of computer science, information technology and digital literacy, alongside their computational thinking and programming skills, as they move through Key Stage 2.
What Children Learn
Select a year group to explore the units and knowledge organisers.
Year 3
Connecting computers – We will explore how digital devices work, identifying inputs, processes and outputs, and discover how computers connect to share information and resources.
Stop-frame animation – We will explore how still images can create the illusion of movement and plan, create and improve our own animated story using photographs, text and sound.
Sequencing sounds – We will use Scratch to combine movement and sound commands in a sequence, creating our own musical instrument and exploring why the order of instructions matters.
Branching databases – We will use yes/no questions to sort objects by their features and create and test our own branching database to help identify them.
Desktop publishing – We will combine text and images to create a magazine front cover, making choices about fonts, colours and layout to communicate clearly.
Events and actions in programs – We will explore how actions in Scratch are triggered by events and design, test and improve a program that guides a character through a maze.
Year 4
The internet – We will discover how networks connect to form the internet, explore how people share content on the World Wide Web and learn to question whether online information is reliable.
Audio production – We will plan, record and edit our own podcast, combining voice, music and sound while learning to respect ownership of digital recordings.
Repetition in shapes – We will use commands and repeating instructions in Logo to draw shapes and patterns, testing and improving our programs to make them more efficient.
Data logging – We will explore how sensors collect information over time and use data loggers to investigate questions, identify patterns and explain our findings.
Photo editing – We will explore how digital photographs can be changed by cropping, recolouring and combining images, and consider how editing can affect the messages photographs communicate.
Repetition in games – We will build on our understanding of repeating instructions to design and create a game in Scratch, exploring loops that repeat a set number of times or continue indefinitely.
Year 5
Systems and searching – We will explore how computer systems help us in everyday life and investigate how search engines find, select and rank information on the World Wide Web.
Video production – We will work together to plan, film and edit a short video, exploring camera techniques and making choices about how to communicate our ideas effectively.
Selection in physical computing – We will connect and program electronic components, using repetition and conditions to control what happens and create a project that responds to an input.
Flat-file databases – We will explore how databases organise information into records and use searching, sorting, charts and graphs to answer questions and present our findings.
Introduction to vector graphics – We will create digital drawings using shapes and lines, exploring how layering, grouping and duplicating objects can help us produce more detailed designs.
Selection in quizzes – We will design and program an interactive quiz in Scratch, using conditions to choose different responses and testing and improving how our program works.
Year 6
Communication and collaboration – We will investigate how information travels across the internet and explore how digital tools help people communicate and work together safely and responsibly.
Web page creation – We will design and create a website for a chosen purpose, considering page layout, navigation and copyright to make our content clear and easy to use.
Variables in games – We will explore how variables store information that can change, such as a score, and use them to design, program and improve our own game in Scratch.
Introduction to spreadsheets – We will organise information in spreadsheets, use formulas to carry out calculations and create charts to help us answer questions and explain our findings.
3D modelling – We will use digital tools to move, resize and combine three-dimensional shapes, developing our skills to plan, create and evaluate a model of a building.
Sensing movement – We will bring together our programming skills to create a micro step counter, using movement as an input and variables to record and display information.
