Welcome to the Computing Curriculum Page.

Computing Subject leader - Jocelyn Lane

Email address - jlane@longcause.plymouth.sch.uk

Computing Curriculum Intent Statement

Children who attend Longcause have a diagnosis of Autism and a variety of other complex communication needs. Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how people perceive the world and interact with others. They are very vulnerable online as they find it difficult to understand the context of danger and may find it difficult to interpret people’s intentions, thoughts and feelings through online communication and are not always able to distinguish between reality and the online world. While the internet can be a very positive place to make online relationships, this exposes them to grooming, abuse or exploitation so we focus on helping them to develop strategies to keep themselves safe. We also recognise that for many of our pupils they perceive the people they communicate with online as their ‘friends’ and they often have limited friendships outside of school. They are therefore extra vulnerable online and we prioritise this aspect of their education. 

Intent:

What will our pupils experience throughout their computing curriculum at Longcause?

We want our children to experience and understand the potential and capabilities of technology whilst developing an awareness of how to maintain a safe and healthy digital life. This may look different across the different pathways but the overarching themes still remain consistent.

We want to help them to become independent members of the digital world they live in and:

• be curious and creative
• be knowledgeable in sending, receiving  and participating in electronic communications safely
• be aware of the law around technologies and how this applies to them
• be confident using software for a given purpose
• question the validity of what they access
• make informed choices

Why do we want this?

Computational thinking; that is the golden thread running through the computing curriculum: looking at problems in a way that a human or a computer can understand in order to help us solve them. It draws together such concepts as logical reasoning, decomposition, patterns, abstraction and algorithms, as well as approaches such as tinkering, making, debugging, persevering and collaborating. These are all essential skills that can support their development in a myriad of other areas throughout their lives. 

How does this look?

We have looked at the aims of the National Curriculum and aligned this with the core skills we want our children to develop at Longcause.

Implementation:      Curriculum progression

• Weekly sessions of Computing
• Weekly sessions of online safety  - coupled with LLfL
• Modules are structured throughout the year to cover three main areas of digital literacy, IT and computer science
• Real world applications from outside agencies (Plymouth University, TecGirls, Space Cornwall)
• Awards achieved in Computing and digital skills alongside online safety (AQA Unit Awards)

Impact:

Our main aim for Computing at Longcause is for children to transfer this knowledge and have the confidence to implement these skills in functional everyday situations. We want them to be able to:

• Engage safely and creatively with a variety of technology and applications.
• Develop confident and independent learners.
• Plan, design, create, program and evaluate information.
• Make links to the application of Computing in real world situations.

Our approach to the curriculum results in a breadth of experience to develop our children’s understanding of themselves as individuals within their community and also as members of a wider global community.

Longcause celebrates receiving Computing Quality Mark!

Longcause has been recognised for delivering high-quality computing education to young people, developing their digital skills and preparing them for the future.

We have achieved the national Computing Quality Mark after an evaluation of our computing education and we demonstrated high-quality provisions. The Computing Quality Mark is awarded by the National Centre for Computing Education and recognises excellence of computing education offered by a school as part of their curriculum development through the Computing Quality Framework (CQF).