The UK Computing Curriculum 2014

(Copied word-for-word here to save wading through the original document!)

Computing

Purpose of study

A high-quality computing education equips pupils to understand and change the world through logical thinking and creativity, including by making links with mathematics, science, and design and technology. The core of computing is computer science, in which pupils are taught the principles of information and computation, and how digital systems work. Computing equips pupils to use information technology to create programs, systems and a range of media. It also ensures that pupils become digitally literate – able to use, and express themselves and develop their ideas through, information and communication technology – at a level suitable for the future workplace and as active participants in a digital world.

Redbridge Discount - Brainpop

Thank you Brainpop for offering an attractive discount for Redbridge schools.  The discount period is open until July 15th.  If you work in a Redbridge school and wish to find out more please follow the link.

http://www.brainpop.co.uk/blog/about/redbridge-ict-offer/

If you contact the company directly through the link above the nice people at BrainPop have even said that they are happy to give all Redbridge schools a free trial.  It's definitely worth a look.

(Thank you to Oakdale Junior School for putting them in touch with us.)

Do we know what we don't know?

An ICT Coordinator is often responsible not just for the curriculum plan, but also to ensure that it is deliverable in your context. To this end you could annually audit where your staff 'are at' with regard to their own ICT development, and you can then recommend to your senior management team how future professional development planning should reflect the identified needs.

 

Your underlying philosophy for this aspect of ICT Leadership should be:

It’s time to ask - is it all worth it?

The Education Endowment Foundation toolkit – recommended to be used in conjunction with Pupil Premium – suggests that digital technologies provide “Moderate impact for high cost, based on extensive evidence.” I have to say without reservation that this is a ludicrously sweeping generalisation for such an influential toolkit.

You can read their assertions in more detail on their site but let me respond emphatically with my view:

Why code in school (and how to get involved)...

Last night was the first Computing At Schools Hub meeting of 2013 in Redbridge with colleagues from Primary and Secondary schools hosted by Ilford County High School.

A very powerful video entitled “What most schools don't teach” was screened and if you are currently talking to year 9 students about their options (or indeed senior management teams about the 2013-14 timetable allocation) this video could be a very good thing to show.  Please take 5 minutes now to watch it if you can.

Is your Tech Support team any good?

This is such a loaded question as the immediate implication is that ‘they’ are not, and more to the point it implies that there is a ‘them’ – which also means there is an ‘us’. As many within the Redbridge school community know I have worked as a member of Tech Support teams in several organisations before I trained as a teacher. I therefore have tremendous respect for the role.  If you are a senior IT manager in a school it is, however, your responsibility to be self-evaluative and ensure that the Tech Support function is effective.

Tech Support – they’re diamonds!

It can be helpful to see our Tech Support colleagues as a diamond that has several different aspects. Each facet shows a different side of their sparkle, and their precious quality arises out of the fact that they often have to handle tremendous heat and pressure! It also provides a helpful mnemonic for reviewing their work:

Switched on and Networked for Learning

The ICT Subject Leaders have been meeting and working together in Redbridge longer than I can remember.  The Redbridge Technicians' Forum is a much younger community - starting just 4 years ago.  Yesterday the two communities spent the day together...and they seem to have liked it!

LGFL eSafety Survey - initial findings

Over the last couple of months schools across Redbridge have taken part in the LGfL eSafety survey 2013.  To date over 10,000 students have responded.  LGFL launched their interim report (which includes analysis of 8482 pupils responses) today - on Safer Internet Day. 

Some statements from the report include:

• Facebook usage increases rapidly in Year 9 but over half of the students who identified Facebook as a favourite site were under 13 (the minimum age for Facebook sign-up).