Intent: Why We Teach Computing (Research-Informed)

The intent of the Computing curriculum at Waterwells Primary Academy is to cultivate digitally literate citizens and creative computational thinkers. We aim to equip all pupils with the foundational knowledge and skills required to thrive in an increasingly digital world, viewing technology not just as a tool for consumption, but as a powerful medium for creation, communication, and problem-solving.

This means ensuring our curriculum provides a robust balance across the three core strands:

- Computer Science (understanding logic, algorithms, and programming)

- Information Technology (using technology to create and process data)

- Digital Literacy (e-safety and responsible use).

Our goal is to explicitly teach and practice the concepts of abstraction, decomposition, logic, and algorithms, fostering general problem-solving skills that are transferable across the wider curriculum. Research indicates that developing this Computational Thinking (CT) is a crucial 21st-century skill that enhances critical and analytical thinking in other subjects like Maths and Science. The Ofsted Computing Research Review (2022) confirms that a high-quality computing curriculum must successfully balance these three areas of knowledge and ensure that the development of computational thinking is underpinned by domain-specific knowledge that is explicitly sequenced.

Implementation: How We Teach Computing (Pedagogical Evidence)

The Computing curriculum at Waterwells Primary Academy is implemented using the Teach Computing Curriculum (TCC) from the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE), which is built on current educational research. The core of this implementation is the TCC's spiral curriculum model, where the five key strands are systematically revisited and deepened each year to build secure knowledge and aid long-term memory retention. Lessons are taught as dedicated, regular sessions, utilising a blended approach:

1. Unplugged Activities to introduce abstract computational concepts before moving to screen-based tasks.

2. Explicit Instruction is prioritised, with teachers modelling new ideas clearly to reduce the demands on pupils' working memory, as advocated by the Ofsted review for novices.

3. Block-based Programming (e.g., Scratch) is used for early instruction, as extensive research shows this approach reduces syntax errors and lowers the cognitive load for novice programmers, leading to better acquisition of programming knowledge. While Ofsted encourages a curriculum-led choice of language, we use block-based tools as a key scaffold to ensure foundational concepts are secured before considering a transition to text-based languages, which demand a higher cognitive load.

The school ensures high standards by leveraging the TCC's fully resourced lesson plans and supporting teacher professional development (CPD) through the NCCE. The Ofsted Research Review explicitly states that teachers' content and pedagogical knowledge are important factors in high-quality computing education, and school leaders must provide sufficient CPD to remedy the existing shortage of subject-specific expertise. Crucially, we explicitly avoid the misconception that pupils are 'digital natives'; instead, Digital Literacy and Online Safety are taught sequentially and non-assumptively across the curriculum, in line with Ofsted's warning against assuming pupils have sufficient prior knowledge in this area.

Impact: What Pupils Will Achieve

The impact of the Computing curriculum is measured by pupils' ability to articulate, apply, and demonstrate their computational knowledge, skills, and understanding across a range of contexts. Pupils will leave primary school demonstrating a secure understanding of key computational concepts and technical vocabulary, evident in end-of-unit assessments and the quality of their digital outputs. They will be confident, independent users who have become 'skilful programmers', capable of applying the problem-solving skills of decomposition and abstraction to design, write, and debug programs. Assessment is designed to check what pupils 'know and remember', focusing on subject-specific knowledge rather than generic competencies, and formative assessment is used to identify misconceptions early, a key recommendation from the Ofsted review. Crucially, pupils will be able to confidently articulate the potential benefits and risks of digital technology, demonstrating the ability to make informed digital choices and applying safe, respectful, and responsible behaviours when communicating and collaborating online, thereby securing their entitlement to essential Digital Literacy knowledge.

Oracy

Oracy in Computing at Waterwells Primary Academy involves using spoken language to understand, explain, and develop ideas related to technology. It includes pupils explaining how code works, discussing curriculum concepts, and supporting each other by providing peer feedback. Integrating oracy helps students build confidence, think critically, and become more effective communicators in a digital world.