Curriculum Information for Computing and Business
Curriculum Key Stage 3:
- Support our students to become active members of a rapidly changing digital world.
- Ensure that student’s develop computational thinking and programming skills to enable them to have a positive approach to a real-world problems.
- Allow students to develop transferable skills in both ICT and computing, including the ability to program in various languages, and use of a wide range of hardware and software and devices.
- Challenge students to create high quality digital products and take pride in demonstrating their skills and creativity.
- Ensure students to consider their digital footprint, the impact of their digital presence and the robustness and accuracy of information found online.
- Encourage a culture of resilience where learning from failure is the key to success.
- Develop skill sets that are a mixture of- Learning how to use software and how ICT fits into the real world, Creative ICT, and Technical Programming to develop computational thinkers.
- Enable students to operate in the 21st century workplace, to know the career opportunities that will be open to them if they study ICT and computing.
- Ensure students are challenged and stretched by developing their leadership, organisation, resilience, initiative and communication skills in order to provide foundations for every aspect of school life.
Curriculum Key Stage 4:
In key stage four, students have the option to choose a specific pathway to include Computer Science, Enterprise and Marketing and Creative I-Media to further develop skills gained from key stage 3.
Computer Science is an increasingly important subject in today’s connected digital world and is designed to introduce students to some of the founding concepts in Computer Science and develop their understanding of how computers can be used to solve problems. Students will gain experience using a modern text-based programming language (Python) that is widely used in professional contexts.
Enterprise and Marketing equips pupils with a knowledge and understanding of key business concepts, terminology, business objectives, the integrated nature of business activity and the impact of business on individuals and wider society. The curriculum equips the learners with the essential skills to undertake financial transactions confidently. They will learn how to understand contemporary issues as well as different types and sizes of businesses in local, national and global contexts.
The Cambridge Nationals in Creative iMedia qualification is a vocational digital skills course to equip pupils with creative media skills and transferable skills such as research, planning, and review, working with others and effectively communicating creative concepts. This also includes key media industry skills such as concepts in creating professional media products, using industry standard software and character development using story boarding as used in the industry. Pupils will use these skills to develop creative media products to meet client requirements.
The Computing curriculum is built on a spiral curriculum, which encompasses development of digital skills whilst introducing students to progressively more challenging concepts.
By the end of year 7 pupils will be able to:
- Know the importance of E-safety covering a range of platforms and social media, including how to prevent and report problems to the correct channels.
- Know how to use sequencing skills to develop a comic strip using appropriate software.
- Know how to use Adobe Photoshop to enhance their digital literacy skills for real world problems/skills.
- Know how to use the four stages of computational thinking to break down real world problems linked to computing or other skills.
- Know how to use sequencing to complete a Scratch Programming project – creating a Pacman game.
- Know how to effectively use sequence and selection to structure their python programming
By the end of year 8 pupils will be able to:
- Know how to use algorithms and flow charts to solve problems step by step.
- Know how to use advanced techniques in scratch including sequencing, selection and iteration to create a Space Invaders game.
- How to use various data types and programming techniques to build a quiz project in Python.
- Know how to use Adobe Photoshop to create a logo linking to a specific target audience and branding.
- Know how to program an application to be used on a mobile phone
- Know how to use HTML skills to build a multi page website.
By the end of year 9 pupils will be able to:
- Know how key components of computer hardware and software affect the performance of a computer
- Know specific network hardware that affect the performance of a network.
- Know how to build data representation skills to understand how a computer works and translates instructions.
- Know how to build programming skills in Microbit to help develop a variety of programs.
- To build a Python program that contains external file retrieval
- Know how to prevent attacks from cyber security
Computing lessons use the THS Teaching and Learning Foci and common pedagogical approaches to deliver skills across the computing curriculum. A variety of techniques will be used including modelling and guided practice, scaffolding tasks, knowledge organisers, checking for understanding, Q&A, regular retrieval practice, responsive and adaptive teaching, teaching to the top and strategies around behaviour and relationships.
In computing, our assessments have a clear purpose and provide meaningful information about pupil’s capabilities.
Formative Assessment:
- Knowledge recall/retrieval
- Short 1 to 5 question quizzes to recall key knowledge components
- Challenging pupils to answer a GCSE Exam Style question at the end of every lesson based on the Tier 3 Vocab and key content of the lesson which are used in GCSE Written exams.
- Self and peer assessment using OneNote
- Lesson exit tickets
- Online quiz at the end of the lesson for consolidation
- Q&A
Summative Assessment:
- End of topic assessment test based on key knowledge components that make up the big picture. Complete with reflective piece acknowledging areas of strength and areas for improvement, addressing those gaps.
Keep an eye on the extra-curricular timetable for exciting opportunities this academic year. We have also built immersion opportunities within our KS3 curriculum to enhance and bring learning to life.
By studying computing, students become competent computer scientists as.....
Increasingly, further education, higher education and employers and seeking people who posess the skills to succeed in an ever growing digital and technological world. It is vital potential candidates have advanced computer and technology skills to excel in an IT position. This can include knowledge of hardware, understanding of operating systems, proficiency in typing, problem solving skills and programming skills in several languages.
Jobs directly related to computer science:
Application analyst
Applications developer
Cyber security analyst
Data analyst
Forensic computer analyst
Game designer
Games developer
Machine learning engineer
Penetration tester
Software engineer
Systems analyst
UX designer
Web designer
Web developer
Jobs where computer science would be useful include:
Business analyst
IT sales professional
IT trainer
Nanotechnologist
Network engineer
Telecommunications researcher
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