At Riverside, our vision is to embed computing in as many learning opportunities as possible. This will provide our children with concrete experiences of when and how they can use digital media in different aspects of their lives. Through stimulating and challenging experiences children will continue to develop their love for learning and through this become confident and independent users of a range of software and hardware. In the ever-changing digital world, we aim to provide all children with not only the skills to use the technology that exists today, but the life-long thinking skills and passion to continue to develop their love for computing through secondary school and beyond. At Riverside, we promote digital citizenship and Online Safety through modelling how social media should be used responsibly with a strong focus on creating a good digital footprint.
For more information about Riverside’s approach to computing, please refer to the documents below:
Mrs H Mills
Computing Lead
If you have any questions regarding the curriculum, please email our Curriculum lead and Deputy Head, Mrs Watts.
Within the new EYFS curriculum the ‘Technology’ strand has been removed from ‘Understanding the World’ and has not been replaced with any updated guidance. However, computing and technology are still vitally important subjects to teach to Foundation children. Teaching computing within the curriculum ensures that children enter Year 1 with a strong foundation of knowledge.Computing lessons in the EYFS also ensure that children develop listening skills, problem-solving abilities and thoughtful questioning — as well as improving subject skills across the seven areas of learning.
We live in a technological world and there is no escape from the reality that technology is integrated into the lives of young children.Just as we ensure the children in our care are ready for the adult world by teaching them maths and literacy, we should also make sure that they are fluent in computer literacy and all-important online safety.
Ways to support at home
beinternetawesome.withgoogle.com/en_us/interland
www.ceopeducation.co.uk/4_7
www.childnet.com/young-people/4-11-year-olds
This is the first of the PlanIt online safety units and is aimed at teaching basic online safety and digital literacy skills. In this unit, children learn about the potential dangers in the online world and what basic steps we all need to take in order to have positive digital experiences. The first lesson, which is intended to be taught at the start of the school year, focuses on why it is important for children to name their creative work. They go on to learn about using a search engine safely to find pictures. Children learn the SMART rules and look at what information should be kept safe when using the Internet. The lessons then explore the positives and potential negatives of online communication, such as email, and children will develop the skills to recognise potential dangers and act accordingly to keep themselves and others safe.
Ways to support at home
beinternetawesome.withgoogle.com/en_us/interland
www.ceopeducation.co.uk/4_7
www.childnet.com/young-people/4-11-year-olds
In this unit about Computing Skills, children will learn the basic computer skills required to be able to use a PC device successfully. They will begin by exploring the different parts of a PC device, focusing particularly on a desktop computer and laptop. Children will be taught how to switch on and shut down a PC device. Children will learn how to navigate a computer mouse or laptop trackpad and will have the opportunity to explore their functions, such as clicking, double-clicking and dragging. Children will also learn about the main keys on a keyboard and use an application to
explore their functions. Children will be taught how to use their mouse, trackpad and keyboard skills to log on to and log off from a PC device. They will also apply these skills in the following ways: to launch an application; to adjust the window; to save, find and open a file in a folder. Children will end the unit by using the computing skills they have learnt to create a piece of work on their PC device.
Ways to support at home
www.roomrecess.com/games/DragonDrop/play.html
thisissand.com
jacksonpollock.org
weavesilk.com
In this unit about programming toys, children will be introduced to the principles of programming through unplugged tasks and the use of Bee-Bots. They will be introduced to algorithms as a set of step-by-step instructions given to a device, will learn how to debug simple algorithms and how to use logical reasoning to predict how a program will behave.
Ways to support at home
beebot.terrapinlogo.com
weblogo.terrapinlogo.com/?app=tuff-bot
probot.terrapinlogo.com
In this unit about Digital Painting, children will learn the skills associated with painting pictures on a PC device. Children will explore changing brush style and size; changing colours; drawing shapes and filling them; using tools to remove mistakes and adding text. Applying these skills will be built upon in each lesson through various digital painting activities. The unit ends with children having the opportunity to consolidate their newly learnt skills by creating a self-portrait as an end-of-unit
piece of work.
Ways to support at home
www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/makes
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zr386sg/articles/zy2v34j
tuxpaint.org
Windows Paint (alternatives include Doddle Buddy for iPads and PicsArt for Android tablets)
This unit introduces children at Key Stage 1 to the principles of coding, using the age-appropriate ScratchJr software. A more accessible version of the popular Scratch Programming and aimed at age 5-7, ScratchJr is available as a free app for Apple, Amazon and Android tablets. The platform encourages basic understanding of algorithms and how to create precise instructions for visual working programs. It begins to develop a sense of creating, debugging and logical reasoning, which are required for further programming at KS2.
Ways to support at home
www.scratchjr.org
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/z3tbwmn/articles/z3whpv4
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/z3tbwmn/articles/zpcj2v4
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/z3tbwmn/articles/zykx6sg
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/z3tbwmn/articles/z6vkwnb
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/z3tbwmn/articles/zqnc4wx
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/z3tbwmn/articles/ztgjq6f
This Word Processing Skills unit will teach your class basic typing and word processing skills. Children will learn how to type with two hands, use the shift, space and enter key properly, and edit work by using the backspace, delete and arrow keys. Children will then go on to learn how to use undo and redo and to select and format text.
Ways to support at home
Google Docs
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zbhgjxs/articles/z2s49j6
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zbhgjxs/articles/zjnrkhv
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zf2f9j6/articles/z3c6tfr#zf8yg2p2
In this unit, children learn about how what they do online leaves a trail called a digital footprint. They will look at how to improve the efficiency of their online searches, the types of websites that are best for children to access when looking for information, as well as how to identify inappropriate content and the actions they should take if they do. Children will be introduced to the term ‘cyberbullying’ and look at how they should communicate online and deal with instances of people being unkind via digital means.
Ways to support at home
beinternetawesome.withgoogle.com/en_us/interland
www.ceopeducation.co.uk/4_7
www.childnet.com/young-people/4-11-year-olds
This ‘Computer Painting’ unit will teach your class key skills that will support progression within the KS1 Computing curriculum. The children will have the opportunity to learn about reproducing the painting styles of great artists using computer programs. Each lesson focuses upon a different artist and their particular style. The children will use this as inspiration for mastering specific techniques within design-based software. At the end of the unit your class will have the opportunity to use a mixture of the styles and skills learnt within this topic to produce their own computer-painted masterpiece!
Ways to support at home
www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/makes
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zr386sg/articles/zy2v34j
Windows Paint (alternatives include Doddle Buddy for iPads and PicsArt for Android tablets)
Lessons 1 and 6 focus on important computer skills needed for safe and effective computer use and introduce some further skills concerning the use of folders, searching for files and printing. Lessons 2-5 introduce children to presentations and teach the skills needed to create a simple presentation.
Ways to support at home
Google Slides
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zbhgjxs/articles/z2s49j6
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfpneIqnXT
This unit has two main aims, to enable children to create, test and debug algorithms, and preparing children to use the language of Turtle Logo. The children begin by giving and following instructions to move forward and make quarter turns, followed by walking different rectilinear shapes. The language is extended to use the main Turtle Logo commands. Children will create, text and debug algorithms for shapes and routes around school in preparation for using the commands in online programs such as Turtle Logo/Logo Interpreter or MSWLogo.
Ways to support at home
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/z3tbwmn/articles/z3whpv4
beebot.terrapinlogo.com
weblogo.terrapinlogo.com/?app=tuff-bot
probot.terrapinlogo.com
This Programming Turtle Logo and Scratch unit will teach your class to create and debug algorithms. Following on from the earlier Year 2 unit on Preparing for Turtle Logo, the children use the basic commands in Logo to move and draw using the turtle on screen, and then further develop algorithms using the “repeat” command. These skills are then developed by teaching children to create algorithms in Scratch using a selection of blocks.
Ways to support at home
turtleacademy.com
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/z3tbwmn/articles/z3whpv4
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/z3tbwmn/articles/zpcj2v4
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/z3tbwmn/articles/zykx6sg
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/z3tbwmn/articles/z6vkwnb
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/z3tbwmn/articles/zqnc4wx
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/z3tbwmn/articles/ztgjq6f
This unit introduces children to using the Internet safely and with a purpose. Children are shown how to search the Internet using one word; how to make sense of the returned results; how to use “for kids” to return more suitable results; how to follow links and return to the search results. Children are encouraged to use a range of search engines, including Google, Bing and Yahoo, and some more child-friendly engines like Kidrex. (Note: many of the child-friendly searches use Google.) The children then learn to blog safely and responsibly. The focus of the lessons is less on the technical aspects, which will vary according to which blogging site is used, and more on how to blog in a safe and responsible way, looking at how to blog well, and how to post and respond to comments effectively.
Ways to support at home
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zymykqt/articles/zgqfyrd
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zymykqt/articles/zym3b9q
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zymykqt/articles/zwbq7ty
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zymykqt/articles/zrmqm39
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zbhgjxs/articles/z6qj2v4
beinternetawesome.withgoogle.com/en_us/interland
In this unit, children learn about preventing and dealing with cyberbullying; how to use search engines efficiently; how to avoid plagiarism online; and how to be a good digital citizen. The unit ends with children applying their new knowledge to design a character to be displayed around school to promote online safety.
Ways to support at home
beinternetawesome.withgoogle.com/en_us/interland
www.ceopeducation.co.uk/8_10
www.childnet.com/young-people/4-11-year-olds
This unit is aimed at developing children’s graphic and presentation skills by introducing drawing as opposed to painting. It also goes on to further children’s understanding of layouts using a desktop publishing application. Children will learn to draw, order, group and manipulate objects to make a picture. They will also learn to evaluate and create effective layouts, combining text and images.
Ways to support at home
Google Drawings
sketch.io/sketchpad
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zf2f9j6/articles/zcjs3qt
This is the third word processing unit, following the units in Years 1 and 2, aimed at teaching basic word-processing skills to children. In this unit, children will learn to use various features for formatting text. The first lesson focuses on some important computer skills and introduces children to screenshots and the Snipping Tool, and secure use of passwords.
Ways to support at home
Google Docs
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zf2f9j6/articles/z3c6tfr
In this unit about Online Searchers and Surfers, children will learn about what the Internet is, how the Internet works and the three different types of connections that can be used. They will then have the opportunity to explore web browsers and search engines, learning how to detect if a web page can be trusted whilst also ensuring that they know how to stay safe online. Finally, they will learn how to copy
and paste images from the web and complete their own scavenger hunt project at the end of the unit.
Ways to support at home
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zs7s4wx/articles/ztbjq6f
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zv63d2p/articles/zt9thyc
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zs7s4wx/articles/z3tbgk7
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zs7s4wx/articles/z2nbgk7
This unit develops children’s use of presentation software. The first three lessons teach children new skills, following on from previous skills learnt; setting the theme, slide transitions, animating objects onto the slide, creating hyperlinks in the action settings and adding audio and video.
Ways to support at home
www.inklestudios.com/inklewriter
This Programming Turtle Logo and Scratch unit will teach your class to create and debug algorithms. Following on from the earlier Year 2 unit on Preparing for Turtle Logo, the children use the basic commands in Logo to move and draw using the turtle on screen, and then further develop algorithms using the “repeat” command. These skills are then developed by teaching children to create algorithms in Scratch using a selection of blocks
Ways to support at home
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zs7s4wx/articles/zqrq7ty
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zs7s4wx/articles/z8ngr82
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zs7s4wx/articles/zxgdwmn
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zs7s4wx/articles/z23q7ty
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zs7s4wx/articles/ztkx6sg
www.twinkl.co.uk/teaching-wiki/scratch
scratch.mit.edu/parents
turtleacademy.com/lessons
In this unit, children learn about preventing and dealing with cyberbullying; how to use search engines efficiently; how to avoid plagiarism online; and how to be a good digital citizen. The unit ends with children applying their new knowledge to design a character to be displayed around school to promote online safety.
Ways to support at home
beinternetawesome.withgoogle.com/en_us/interland
www.ceopeducation.co.uk/8_10
www.childnet.com/young-people/4-11-year-olds
In this unit children will learn about formatting images and organising content into and effective layout. The first lesson focuses on formatting images and making them suitable for a poster advertising a cake sale. Throughout the rest of the unit, children will learn new skills and techniques and apply them to creating a range of different word documents (posters, letters to parents, job rotas, recipe cards and e-vouchers) which they will use during the cake sale project.
Ways to support at home
Google Doc
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zf2f9j6/articles/z3c6tfr
This unit teaches children the basic principles and techniques of simple animation. Beginning with the history of animation, children research some of the early animation techniques used before the use of computers. The lessons then compare a range of free animation software and children incorporate the different techniques into their own animation. After experimenting, children are then given the
opportunity to evaluate their experiences in the final lesson.
Ways to support at home
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zf2f9j6/articles/zt2yg2p
www.wallaceandgromit.com/films/crackingcontraptions
amazingmorph.com
pivotanimator.net
moviesoup.co.uk
This Programming Turtle Logo unit will teach children how to create an algorithm to program a procedure. Lessons are designed to be used with online programs such as Turtle Logo/Logo Interpreter or MSWLogo. Children are reminded of the basic commands and how to repeat alongside a variable. The children are then shown how to program their own procedures, use colour and set the position of the turtle using coordinates. In the concluding lesson they use the arc command to create patterns using different shapes and randomly selected colours, which they are encouraged to share with the rest of the class.
Ways to support at home
turtleacademy.com
In this unit about Coding with Scratch: Questions and Quizzes, children will learn what a quiz is and the features that make them exciting. They will then create their own multiplication quizzes on Scratch, using a variety of Scratch blocks. The children will have the opportunity to experiment with adding various effects to make their quizzes more visually appealing and interactive. The unit is completed by the children creating a competitive multiplication quiz, creating variables and using Sensing and
Operators blocks.
Ways to support at home
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zs7s4wx/articles/zqrq7ty
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zs7s4wx/articles/z8ngr82
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zs7s4wx/articles/zxgdwmn
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zs7s4wx/articles/z23q7ty
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zs7s4wx/articles/ztkx6sg
www.twinkl.co.uk/teaching-wiki/scratch
scratch.mit.edu/parents
In this unit about Communication and Collaboration, the children will begin by gaining an understanding of the difference between online and offline communication. Then, they will explore online communication in detail, as well as looking at the positives and negatives of different online communication methods. Children will also learn all about emails. They will learn about: the features of email in detail; the process of how emails are sent; explore what email protocols are and then practise sending emails themselves. They will also learn how to send attachments in an email and understand what spam emails are, delving into the concept of phishing. Finally, children will explore how to collaborate online using a cloud storage service and the tools they offer for editing online documents, working collaboratively alongside others.
Ways to support at home
In this unit, children will learn about email safety with a focus on preventing and dealing with spam. They will consider the importance of strong passwords and learn how to create them. Children will build on their knowledge of plagiarism and fair use of people’s work by learning how to write citations and references for websites they may use. They will scrutinise photographs that they see online and learn how easy it is to manipulate pictures and present them as reality.
Ways to support at home
beinternetawesome.withgoogle.com/en_us/interland
www.ceopeducation.co.uk/8_10
www.childnet.com/young-people/4-11-year-olds
www.bbc.com/ownit
This unit introduces children to flowcharts and how they are used to program and control devices. Lessons are designed to be used with Flowol software (version 4.0), which includes simulations of real life automatic computer systems. Children are taught to build sequences of instructions, control multiple outputs and structure algorithms with decisions and inputs. Although many external hardware interfaces can be attached and linked to a computer using Flowol, this unit is designed as an introduction to the software and the concepts of flowchart programming. Further learning can be extended by using external devices.
Ways to support at home
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zs7s4wx/articles/zx4ybqt
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zs7s4wx/articles/zd3pf82
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zs7s4wx/articles/zx3q7ty
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zs7s4wx/articles/zjmj2v4
This unit allows children to use software and digital devices for recording sound. Based around the theme of a Radio Station, it is designed to encourage a creative approach that includes interviewing, making adverts and using jingles. Other software is incorporated where children write scripts and design additional advertising for their Radio Station. Opportunities are included for children to present, listen, review and evaluate their own content as well as professional and commercial examples, plus those created by their peers.
As part of our radio stations unit in computing, Year 5 had a visit from Chris Brooks on Wednesday 2nd February. Chris hosts The Big Drive Home on Radio Essex. He talked to the children about how he got started working on a radio station. He discussed the significance of maths (to work out timings of the show) and English (to be able to compose scripts). He also discussed the legal aspects of working in live radio and emphasised the importance of adhering to all of the laws while on air. He described the planning process he goes through before starting the show as well as some of the technology that is utilised to create it. He also talked about the team of people involved behind the scenes. The children had a chance to question Chris as the session came to a close.
Ways to support at home
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p007g5y4
This unit combines the further development of children’s skills for searching the Internet with the introduction of creating and editing a webpage using Google Sites. Children will learn how to use some of the other advanced search features in Google, such as fill in the blanks; and how to create a webpage with a layout of their choosing which includes images and links to other webpages. Children are encouraged to consider related e-safety issues such as use of logins and passwords, and the use of their own images and photos and those of others.
Ways to support at home
classroom.thenational.academy/units/web-page-creation-0205
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zs7s4wx/articles/zjbf3j6
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zs7s4wx/articles/znhmtrd
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zv63d2p/articles/zjr8qyc
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zf2f9j6/articles/znn8qyc
In this unit the children extend their drawing skills to create 3D models based on using the software SketchUp Make. This is a free application available for download on Windows or OSX (Mac). Children will learn how to create simple and complex 3D models. They will be able to add detail and manipulate 3D models using a variety of tools.
Ways to support at home
edu.sketchup.com/app
classroom.thenational.academy/units/3d-modelling-961b
This unit builds on the previous unit in Year 4 (Questions and Quizzes). In this unit about Coding with Scratch: Developing Games, children will learn how to design their own backdrop with increasing complexity. They will also learn how to code a sprite to move when certain keys on a keyboard are pressed. Children will also become familiar with if, then statements to create conditions with a game.
Ways to support at home
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zs7s4wx/articles/zx4ybqt
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zs7s4wx/articles/zxxdqfr
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zs7s4wx/articles/zgwckty
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zs7s4wx/articles/zd3pf82
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zs7s4wx/articles/zjmj2v4
www.twinkl.co.uk/teaching-wiki/scratch
scratch.mit.edu/parents
In this unit about online safety, children will be taking a more in depth look at a variety of online safety issues, most of which they will have been familiarised with in previous years. They will be introduced to the idea of the internet, as a type of media, and how it can shape our ideas about boys and girls through stereotypes. Children will be given ways to deal with online content that they find worrying or even believe to be dangerous.
Ways to support at home
beinternetawesome.withgoogle.com/en_us/interland
www.ceopeducation.co.uk/8_10
www.childnet.com/young-people/4-11-year-olds
www.bbc.com/ownit
The unit is designed to help children in continuing to develop their skills in writing their own algorithms as well as editing and debugging existing codes. New skills are introduced to structure code and animate characters and scenes, gradually building to create a short animated story. These lessons are intended for use in conjunction with Scratch 2 software installed. They can also be used with the Pyonkee App on iPads.
Ways to support at home
www.twinkl.co.uk/teaching-wiki/scratch
scratch.mit.edu/parents
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zs7s4wx/articles/zx4ybqt
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zs7s4wx/articles/zd3pf82
Children are given an understanding of spreadsheets and how they can be used. In the first five lessons, a different spreadsheet template is provided in which children learn skills in formatting and entering specific formulas. Lessons 4 and 5 include investigative skills in using the spreadsheet to solve specific problems. Examples include number calculations, sports league tables, test scores, and budget planning. The final lesson allows an open-ended task for pupils to design their own spreadsheet, with ideas and direction provided for particular purposes.
Ways to support at home
classroom.thenational.academy/units/spreadsheets-ecb4
This unit introduces children to programming with Kodu, a simple visual programming language made specifically for creating games. The distinguishing features of Kodu are visual icons that are added together like building blocks to form instructions and game environments constructed by the user in a 3D scene editor. It is designed to be accessible by children and enjoyable by anyone. As well as on PC, Kodu is also available via Xbox 360, which adds appeal for many children. If you are unfamiliar with Kodu, then a useful starting point are the sample games and tutorials that are provided as ‘Built-in Worlds’. Each sample game is editable so after playing, they can be opened up to see how they work.
Ways to support at home
www.kodugamelab.com
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zs7s4wx/articles/zxxdqfr
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zs7s4wx/articles/zjmj2v4
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zf2f9j6/articles/zjds3qt
The aim of this unit is to allow children to explore various aspects of film-making. In doing so, they must choose and use appropriate software in order to complete tasks such as writing a script, researching information, filming and editing. As well as using digital devices for recording (video camera or tablet), children work through pre- and post-production stages, planning good-quality interviews for a documentary and completing the process with use of video editing software such as Windows Movie Maker.
Ways to support at home
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zf2f9j6/articles/zyb72hv
In this unit about Know Your Networks, children will develop a deeper understanding of computer networks and be introduced to technical key words and phrases associated with computer networks. Children will study home networks, global networks, and network protocols, such as IP, HTTP and DNS. Finally, children will learn about cloud computing, broadband, communication online and malware.
Ways to support at home
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zs7s4wx/articles/z9n6p4j
We are thrilled to congratulate all the participants of the recent ‘Design an app competition’ held at our school. We were amazed by the creativity and innovation demonstrated by each and every entry. We want to commend each student for their hard work and dedication to this project. After careful consideration, the judges have chosen a winner, and we are delighted to announce that Cody N has been awarded first place for her outstanding design. George B came in second place. We hope that all participants will continue to nurture their creativity and innovation in future endeavours. Congratulations to everyone who took part!