By the end of KS3 pupils will have been taught programming in every year group with the skills delivered made progressively more challenging over Key Stage 3, to embed key programming concepts and build on prior knowledge, to cover skills needed for further study and employment in this sector. This includes key sequence, selection and iteration concepts that are the fundamentals of logical thinking and problem-solving.
All years will encompass Computing and more creative IT cycles to engage with all types of learners and to develop skills for the vastly different types of employment within IT and Computing.
E-safety is covered in every year to develop an understanding of the responsibilities of using online methods of communication and methods to stay safe online.
At KS4 students can choose between Computer Science and IT – offering a broad educational experience and allowing students the opportunity to specialise in different areas of the digital world. With Computer Science, pupils will expand upon the sequence, selection and iteration programming skills harnessed at KS3, gaining further experience of different programming concepts, whilst also expanding on the numeracy elements delivered at KS4 including number systems and computational logic. Within the more creative IT qualification, pupils will gain key employability skills, creating interactive products like images, audio, video and websites to meet a design brief.
Programming concepts of sequence, selection and iteration are progressively delivered through a text-based language to all years, with the complexity increasing as pupil understanding and confidence increases. This has been identified within the Recovery Curriculum document. Pupils will gain an experience of a wealth of different applications and software including Python and different GSuite applications. These are all web-based applications, allowing pupils to access work in their own time and allowing equal opportunities for all.
Pupils leave the Academy with a developed ability to problem-solve and answer computational algorithms using analytical skills and being able to work independently, with these skills being transferrable and desirable for future study and employment in the digital world.