The national curriculum for computing aims to ensure that all pupils:

• can understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation.
• can analyse problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems.
• can evaluate and apply information technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies, analytically to solve problems - are responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology.

At C.A.S, our computing curriculum is underpinned by the core values of welcoming • learning • achieving • enjoying. Our values foster respect and responsibility, whereby, pupils know that their actions online can affect the feelings of others, and pupils develop the enthusiasm to become users and programmers of information and communication technology for greater good.

Many pupils from our community are 'digital natives'. They have constant access to technology and the Internet, however, they may not know how to use them appropriately and safely. Pupils may post comments or images online which are inappropriate or unkind to others because they have not realised the effect of their actions online and their permanency.

Pupils today need to be 'tech literate' and familiar with computer programming as the careers they will be working towards in the future are increasingly reliant on these fields.

C.A.S. pupils often lack resilience when confronted with problems or challenges. By studying computational thinking, pupils learn how to recognise problems and approach them in a controlled and systematic way.

Within Computing and ICT, we promote tolerance of other people’s ideas that may be built on cultural diversity. This promotes mutual respect. We link this to pupils' behaviour online and how respect and tolerance are applicable to the online world as well as in society. Pupils have the opportunity to work on tasks independently and as a team. This helps to build resilience and self-esteem. Working in teams is vital in coding and debugging tasks. Pupils are expected to share ideas and resources and encourage and support each other. By promoting high expectations through the setting of ground rules, pupils are rewarded for positive behaviour. We promote fundamental British Values of Democracy, Rule of Law, Individual Liberty, Mutual Respect and Tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.

In many contemporary situations where children come into contact with computers, the computer is used to put children through their paces, to provide exercises of an appropriate level of difficulty, to provide feedback, and to dispense information. By teaching computational thinking, we aim to reverse this relationship: the pupil programs the computer. Through learning how to program, pupils embark on an exploration about how they themselves think.

Within each year and term, pupils learn the social context of computing by looking at how we interact with computers and technology, both within and beyond school. This is done within the context of 'e-safety' and 'digital literacy and citizenship' which are the threads that run vertically through the curriculum. Information Technology and Computer Science are taught through half termly projects and themes. Pupils learn how to engage with technology on a practical level. This is then explored further by learning the computational thinking behind the ideas and principles that underpin how digital technology works.

Pupils study discrete Computing sessions each week. Sessions are delivered in three strands: digital literacy and citizenship (e-safety), information technology and computer science. Pupils also have opportunities to apply their computational thinking across other areas of the curriculum e.g. within Mathematics, Science, Resistant Materials, Food Technology when solving problems and their Information Technology Skills throughout the curriculum.

At C.A.S. Computing is accredited via Functional Skills Pathway. Pupils IT skills also support their achievements at ASDAN and Duke of Edinburgh Award.