Computer Science

The intent of the Computing curriculum

The Computing curriculum at Diss High School has been created to give a broad experience so that students develop their digital literacy, knowledge and computational problem solving skills and practical computing skills in a range of applications. We aim to develop digital literacy, so that students can work online safely and responsibly, and to build their confidence using a range of applications so that they can be competent creators of digital assets and technology. Students will understand fundamental concepts of computer science and be able to evaluate, adapt and create solutions to problems using programming languages.
At the end of Year 9, students should be able to make informed decisions about continuing their studies, and have a good understanding and appreciation of Computing and ICT skills that they could use in further studies, education or the workplace.

How is the Computing curriculum implemented?

In KS3 the curriculum is split into half termly units of work, which build on previous knowledge and allow students to demonstrate their computational thinking skills.

Throughout year 9 students complete Computer Science through a rotation of taster options. All students complete two units before considering their GCSE option choices; these are designed to reflect the theory and practical elements of GCSE Computer Science.

The impact of the Computing curriculum at the end of Key Stage 3

The key impact of the KS3 Computer curriculum is to give students the opportunity to study  Computer Science and Information Technology at sufficient depth to allow them to progress to higher levels of study towards a professional career.

How is it assessed?

The Computer Science curriculum is assessed by the end of unit tasks that cover the materials and assess the student’s ability to apply and use their knowledge. Assessments are a mixture of multiple choice, practical problem solving, written answers or a combination thereof.  All assessed tasks will be marked and their results recorded.

In Year 9 each Applied Skill unit is assessed, using the success criteria shared with the students. The Computer Science units have two assessments each, an interim assessment, on one piece of work, and a summative assessment at the end of the unit, which covers both practical computation thinking, problem solving and theoretical knowledge within the unit.

How can I help my child? 

You can help your child by discussing their experience and understanding about what they have learnt during the units, they can show you their work on google classroom. Encourage them to use technology to be a creator of content, rather than just a consumer of it (for example, when creating videos they learn many skills, rather than just watching them!). They could expand their problem solving and computational thinking by completing puzzles on bebras.uk , their practical programming skills by adapting or creating scratch projects, or have a look at the code.org website.

Careers

Studying computer science will develop skills in computational thinking, critical thinking, analysis, problem-solving and lateral thinking. As well as the careers clearly linked to computer science (computer programming, software engineer, website/app designer, computer game development and cybersecurity) the skills you have developed will make you very attractive to employers in other areas. Other career ideas can be found here.

KS4 : OCR GCSE Computer Science