Year 7
Year 8
Beginning Computer Science
Overview
This unit allows students to gain the skills and knowledge to use and access work on a computer system, communicate with emails and use word processors to present information well. Students will gain knowledge of how search engines work to improve the way they search for information.
Building On
The disciplinary knowledge is essential to allow students to access files, folders, email software and Teams for the rest of their time within secondary school. It builds on students use of school systems from Primary but shows the use in a secondary school. The introduction of IT formatting allows students to build into selecting information for audience and purpose. From this student can understand how to use the IT systems in their academy
New Knowledge
Skills
Cultural Capital
All students are being introduced and given access to Industry Standard Software that will be useful in and outside of their school life.
Inside My Computer
Overview
This unit allows students to understand the key components inside a computer or computing device and how they work together for familiar contexts such as saving and accessing a file. Students are introduced to representation and the binary number system that computers use to represent text in computers. Through this learning students gain a foundation of how hardware and software combine.
Building On
Students build their digital literacy from the previous unit of using common office software, saving, accessing and uploading files. This unit introduces students to a range of substantive knowledge from binary conversion, representation, hardware and software and systems architecture to allow them to understand the components inside computers, their function and purpose. From this students can understand how computers work.
New Knowledge
Skills
Cultural Capital
Students will take part in the National bebras Computational Thinking Compeition.
My Personal eSafety
Overview
This unit allows students to understand the various dangers to them as individuals of using the Internet and the online world including, personal information on profiles, cyberbullying, digital footprints, fake news and screen time. Students will learn the dangers and the ways to minimise or remove threats from the online world. Furthermore, students learn additional digital literacy skills using office based presentation software and cover design based concepts to improve the look of publications.
Building On
Students need to be aware of the wider range of online dangers and how to protect and prevent for themselves. This unit runs at the same time as Safer Internet day and supports that worldwide initiative and discussion within the wider community. This unit builds on digital literacy from prior learning and strengthens students ability to select and use information from online searches but also present and format well for purpose and audience.
New Knowledge
Skills
Cultural Capital
Students will take part in the National Safer Internet Day campaign that includes dedicated assemblies and class activities and discussions surrounding current issues concerning the Internet.
Beginning to Program
Overview
This unit allows students to learn the main concepts used in computer programming which are essential to be able to select and use in problem solving. The lessons adopt a structured I do, We do, You do format that scaffolds the concepts and give students the support to problem solve themselves. The unit gives students access to programming is a simplified and visual way that does not overload with both substantive and disciplinary knowledge commonly associated with learning to code. Students gain an insight into how programming controls devices and real world systems through the use of software mimic systems.
Building On
The use of the programming concepts is essential to be able to program in any language. This unit focuses on the knowledge of those concepts and gives students a visual way to practise and build understanding of those concepts and key literacy. It builds on learning of hardware and software and their connectivity, showing students that input and output devices combine to make systems but they now need the software and instructions to run.
New Knowledge
Skills
Cultural Capital
PRIMM Programming
Overview
This unit allows students to write programs that solve problems using block based code and deepens the knowledge of the key concepts of programming. The use of the PRIMM methodology supports students learning and scaffolds their progression in programming through developing code. The block based code allows students to have a visual representation of what their code will do and can easily recognise their practical work and success
Building On
Using block based programming reduces the cognitive load and chances for students making errors when programming. This subsequently allows for problem solving and computational thinking skills to be nurtured without other cognitive load as with text based programming languages. The unit builds on and reinforces the previous work on the key concepts of programming, showcasing how those concepts can now be used to build solutions with code.
New Knowledge
Skills
Cultural Capital
Micro:bit Computing
Overview
This unit allows students to be independent with programming and problem solving in a new but familiar block-based programming environment. Students will branch out using literacy based problems cards to encourage reading and provide the tasks and support to problem solve and create useful programs for testing. Following research in gender imbalance for computer science, the use of physical computing devices helps to engage both girls and lower ability background students with programming and code rather than other programming experiences
Building On
The use of equipment is exciting and rewarding but can easily be too much cognitively due to learning about the physical device and its functions. As this unit follows and builds on a base of programming units already studied, students will be more comfortable with both programming and problem solving. Therefore, the introduction of physical computing is the new element and the adjustment to use and program for them is minimal following on form learning.
New Knowledge
Skills
Cultural Capital
Students will have the opportunity to take part in a Trust-wide Game Jam Competition.
Binary Maths
Overview
This unit focuses on how computers represent data in binary form. Students will learn how to add binary numbers together, read and write logic tables/circuits using the AND, OR and NOT logic gates. This will help deepen students knowledge on how to calculate and convert file sizes for units of information (bit, nibble, byte, kilobyte, megabyte and gigabyte).
Building On
It is important that students understand simple Boolean logic (AND, OR and NOT) and of it's uses in circuits and programming. This unit builds on the binary knowledge they learnt in year 7 to help understand how numbers can be respresented in binary and to carry out simple operations on binary numbers e.g. binary addition and conversion between binary and decimal numbers.
New Knowledge
Skills
Cultural Capital
All students are being introduced and given access to Industry Standard Software that will be useful in and outside of their school life.
Paired Programming
Overview
Using a tried and tested learning method of paired programming students will work alonside other students to design, build and debug programs. Using text based code students will learn how to write code to allow user input and storing the input using variables. They will learn how to cast data from one data type to appropriate data types to allow the output of information to the user. Students will use mathematical and relational operaters to create sequences of text based code as well as creating sequences that use selection/iteration.
Building On
Students will build on their computational thinking skills by using a text based programming language to help solve a variety of computational problems. Using algorithms students will build on thei decomposition skills when it comes to solving problems. They will learn how to debug and fix problems.
New Knowledge
Skills
Cultural Capital
Students will take part in the National bebras Computational Thinking Compeition.
Cyber Security
Overview
"This unit will provide students with life-long knowledge and skills on how to protect themselves from online security threats. Students will learn about various different cyber attacks from Malware to Social Engineering. Most importantly students will learn how to select the best methods to protect and prevent cyber attacks.
To aid this learning, students wull use Desktop Publishing Skills to create materials and products for a sepcific audience and purpose."
Building On
This unit builds on their personal e-safety unit they did in year 7 by introducing them to network related cyber attacks that they may face in the future. It will equip students will knowledge on how to spot these cyber attacks but most importantly how to prevent and protect themselves from it.
New Knowledge
Skills
Cultural Capital
Students will take part in the National Safer Internet Day campaign that includes dedicated assemblies and class activities and discussions surrounding current issues concerning the Internet.
How my computer works
Overview
Understanding how a computer is built with its various hardware and software aspects is a key part of understanding how to use it to get the best out of it. This unit will enable students to understand the link between hardware and software and how instructions are processed. Hardware that is covered during this unit include the CPU, Memory and Storage. Software applications and the Operating systems are also covered as part of this unit.
Building On
Students were introduced to the basic hardware and software requirements a computer needs to function in Year 7. This unit will take that knowledge further and teach students about how the hardware and software work together to process instructions.
New Knowledge
Skills
Cultural Capital
Digital Grqaphics
Overview
Students will focus on the Information Technology side of Computer Science and understand how Graphic Editing sofftware can be used to manipulate graphics with clear design and layout. Students will use these graphics to create digital products for a specific audience and purpose.
Building On
This unit is designed to build on skills required when needing to create products for a specific purpose or audience. Students will increase/improve their software knowledge in terns of Grpahic Editing Software.
New Knowledge
Skills
Cultural Capital
Computational Thinking
Overview
Students are continually improving their computational thinking skills through their computer science lessons, however this unit teaches students to problem solve through the creation of project that encompasses all of their learning to date. Their knowledge of algorithms, conversion between number systems, programming constructs (sequence, selection and iteration), hardware and softtware and the ability to cfreate products for a specific audience and purpose will be included.
Building On
This topic builds on students knowledge as they have the chance to put all of the skills and knowledge learnt over the last two years into practice by completing a project that covers many of the topics covered to date.
New Knowledge
Skills
Cultural Capital
Students will have the opportunity to take part in a Trust-wide Game Jam Competition.
Augmented Reality
Overview
Augmented Reality has increased in popularity over the last decade or so to the point where we are using it in everyday life for various activities both educationally, professionally and personally. This unit will introduce the concept of AR technology and how and where it is currently used. Students will have the opporunity to design and build AR program for a given purpose and audience using purpose built AR software.
Building On
Students will have another opportunity to show that they can take a given audience and purpose and design a program that will meet the audiences need. Using knowledge from previous topics students will have the chance to design and build an Augmented Reality program. Students will be building on their wider skills of resilience and problem solving as they navigate their way through a new piece of software and undoubtedly errors along the way.
New Knowledge
Skills
Cultural Capital
All students are being introduced and given access to Industry Standard Software that will be useful in and outside of their school life.
Problems in Python
Overview
Now that students have a sound knowledge of various aspects of programming, they will have the opportunity during this unit to use arrays and procedures using Python, a text based programming language. Students will be familiar with this language as they were intorduced to it in Year 8. They will be able to practice prior learning on writing sequences of code, variable assignments and casting to data types.
Building On
Students are continually building their programming knowledge and in particulae this unit will allow them to build on their Python knowledge. Students will practice prior learning of ensuring their code is written in a logical sequence, uses correct variable assignments and outputs information using appropriate data types. In addition to this, students will also progress their knowledge of debugging code, decomposing problems and witing and reading algorithms.
New Knowledge
Skills
Cultural Capital
Students will take part in the National bebras Computational Thinking Compeition.
Spreadsheet Modelling
Overview
Students will have the opportunity to learn how to use spreadsheets, an industry used piece of software. Basic spreadsheet skills and tools will be taught and used to collect, analyse and present data in suitable outputs for a given audience and purpose.
Building On
Students are building on their knowledge of how they can present data in different forms based on the audience and purpose. This unit allows them to transfer their skills to a spreadsheet modelling software that will be useful to them beyond their school life.
New Knowledge
Skills
Cultural Capital
Students will take part in the National Safer Internet Day campaign that includes dedicated assemblies and class activities and discussions surrounding current issues concerning the Internet.
Data Representation
Overview
Students are already aware of how computers reseprent data in binary form when it comes to text. This unit delves into how computers store images and sound in binary form. They will also understand how to calculate file sizes for sound and image files. This unit will also introduce the hexidecimal number system, why and how it is used and will as the knowledge to convert between hexidecimal, binary and decimal number systems.
Building On
The introduction of this unit in year 9 is important as the prior learning of the binary and decimal number system plays a big part in understanding how images and sound are stored as binary. The unit will also build on the various number systems students are already aware of by introudicng a new one, hexidecmial.
New Knowledge
Skills
Cultural Capital
Networking Computers
Overview
Students will be introduced to the idea of networking computers together through the use of specific networking hardware and software. Students will understand how instructions are processed through a network in order to communicate with other computers. Students will see how hardware and software work together to process instructions for communication purposes.
Building On
Students will be building on their current knowledge of hardware and software and apply it to the building of computer networks. Students are already aware of how a computer process instructions, however this will deepen their knowledge on how instructions are processed through a network.
New Knowledge
Skills
Cultural Capital
Mobile App Development
Overview
Students will have the opportunity to learn how to design and build a mobile app using block based HTML. They will learn how an app is created from an idea into something that is useful and can be used by the target audience. This unit allows students to be introduced to a new programming language. Having learnt the necessary coding aspects students will be presented with 4 project to choose from to design and build using App Lab.
Building On
Students will build on their existing programming knowledge by using what they know about the 3 programming constructs (sequence, selection and iteration) and apply it to a new programming language (HTML). This is a great way to show students how transferable their programming skills are when it comes to learning new prigramming languages.
New Knowledge
Skills
Cultural Capital
Students will have the opportunity to take part in a Trust-wide Game Jam Competition.
