4-7 Years
- File management, Internet safety, Emailing and Word processing
- Presentations, handling data and graphics
- Programming: Using LOGO to control a screen turtle to draw complex patterns using just a few lines of code
- Scratch and ProBots
St Faith's Prep
Computing
Computing combines logic and creativity in problem-solving, while also enabling competence and confidence in the use of developing technologies. As Head of Computing, I wrote our curriculum specially for St Faith’s, hoping to inspire this generation to love writing their own apps as much as I did as a child.
Brief Computing curriculum highlights include:
Year 3
Year 4
- File management, Internet safety, word processing and emailing: attachments and multiple recipients
- Presentation skills, desktop publishing and handling data
- Graphics and Programming: Pupils use Scratch and ProBots, robotic floor toys with programmable sensors that link in with their understanding of angles in maths.
Year 5
- Binary: counting, converting, ASCII, bitmaps
- Programming: Pupils write their own games in Scratch and share them so that other can view the code and leave feedback
- Robotics: Lego WeDo
- Cryptography
- Graphics: GIMP
- E-safety
Year 6
- Binary: addition, multiplication, subtraction, division
- Robotics: Lego SPIKE Prime
- 3D Graphics
- The Internet
- Fractals
- Scratch and Raspberry Pis: Pupils program Raspberry Pis to switch lights on and off and control buzzers and switches
- Programming: Python
- Web design: KompoZer
- E-safety
Year 7
- Number bases: binary fractions, bases 2-9, bases 11-16, hexadecimal
- Flowcharts
- Programming: Python
- AI and expert systems
- History of Computing
- Computer systems
- Robotics: Lego SPIKE Prime. Pupils program robots to use sensors to interact with their environment.
- Programming: HTML
- E-safety
Year 8
- Binary: Negative numbers
- Programming: Python turtle. Pupils write their own text adventure games using Python.
- Algorithms: bubble sort, shuttle sort, quicksort, linear search, binary search
- Reverse Polish
- Binary trees and Boolean logic
- Networks
- E-safety
Our children have had many successes in national competitions: a group of our Year 8s won the University of Cambridge Team Coding competition, and one of our pupils was national champion in the Oxford University Computing Challenge.
For outreach, I deliver courses for teachers throughout UK to help them acquire the subject knowledge to enable them to teach Computer Science at Key Stages 3&4. We also deliver specialist lessons to visitors from other schools and participate at local STEM events.
Jamie Mitchell
Head of Computing