Computing

Staff Members

Mr G Hetherington

Technology Head of Faculty: Mrs S Bakerwood

Prior Learning

At KS1 and 2 the aim was for students to:

Be taught basic Digital Literacy Skills in order for students to express themselves and develop their ideas through computer technology for us in the future workplace
Be taught the basic understanding behind Digital Citizenship for students to understand the risks and dangers of IT and online use as well as the impacts of the use of IT on our own mental health and ability to socialise.
Be taught the principles of digital systems and how to plan these for programming
Be taught how to apply their computational thinking skills through coding. Students are aware of how to make things happen and the need for debugging. Feeder schools use Scratch

Key Stage 3

The aim of our Key Stage 3 curriculum is to develop a range of practical skills and theoretical knowledge to prepare our students in a curriculum that mixes Computing, IT, Media and digital literacy to ensure our students have the right skills for use beyond school. Our students are encouraged to experiment with software and learn transferable skills that can be applied to any system or software. With jobs of the future involving IT systems that do not even exist yet, we want each student to develop enquiry skills and an understanding of software and hardware that can be transferred to a modern world. Students undertake a varied IT and Computing Curriculum at Hadleigh High School and build upon their expertise each year to prepare them for making their guided choices at Key Stage 4.

Year 7 – Getting Organised, Computer Hardware, Basic Spreadsheets, Microbit, Vector Image creation.

Year 8 – My Digital World, Bitmap Images Editing, Advanced Spreadsheets, Python Programming, Data Representation.

Year 9 – Back to the Future of Computing, Flash Animation, Python Programming, Networking.

Assessment at Key Stage 3

Students are formally assessed twice a year in their knowledge week assessments. Throughout units of study, knowledge and practical skills will be tested regularly to check for understanding of the content.

ICT Long Term Plans - Year 7

ICT Long Term Plans - Year 8

ICT Long Term Plans - Year 9

Key Stage 4

We offer two qualifications at Key stage 4:

Computer Science (9-1) – OCR
Creative iMedia - OCR Cambridge Nationals

Each student will have four lessons per fortnight for their chosen course.

Computer Science

This qualification aims to encourage students to develop their understanding and application of the core concepts in computer science. It covers computer hardware, networking, ethical legal and cultural concerns, as well as developing skills and understanding in computational thinking. This course consists of two exam papers and a programming project. At the end of the course students will be awarded a grade 9-1.

Computer Systems (50%) written paper
Computational Thinking, algorithms and programming (50%) written paper
Programming Project

Year

Term 1 (Autumn)

Term 2 (Spring)

Term 3 (Summer)

Computer Architecture

Memory

Storage

Data Representation

System Software

Programming

Algorithms (Sort and Search)

Robust Programs

Computational Logic

Networking

Programming Continued

Programming Project Prep

Programming Recap

Programming Project

Translators and IDE

Computer Ethics

Examination prep for Unit 1 and Unit 2

Creative iMedia

This qualification will assess the application of creative media skills through their practical use and equip learners with a range of transferable skills such as research, planning and reviewing. At the end of the course students are awarded a Pass, Merit or Distinction at either level 1 or 2. With a Distinction* at Level 2 available to inspire students to achieve more. This course consists of 3 units of work.

R093: Creative iMedia in the media industry (40%) written paper
R094: Visual identity and digital graphics (25%) moderated coursework unit
R096: Animation with audio (35%) moderated coursework unit

Year	Term 1 (Autumn)	Term 2 (Spring)	Term 3 (Summer)
10	Media industry sectors and Products. Media codes used to convey meaning, create impact and/or engage audiences. How style, content and layout are linked to the purpose. Client requirements and how they are defined. Documents to support idea generation. Purpose, elements and design of visual identity	Graphic design and conventions. Properties of images and graphics Techniques to plan visual identity and digital graphics. Tools and techniques of imaging editing software used to create digital graphics. Technical skills to source, create and prepare assets for use within digital graphics. Saving and exporting techniques. Coursework completion R094	Coursework completion R094 Features and conventions of animation and audio Techniques to obtain, create and manage assets. Techniques used to create animation with audio. Techniques to save, test and review animation with audio.
11	Planning, creating and reviewing a digital animation. Coursework completion R096. Research methods, sources and types of data. Legal issues that affect media.	Intellectual property rights. Regulation, certification, and classification. Health & Safety Distribution platforms and media to reach audiences Properties and formats of media files File formats	Examination preparation. R093 examination.