COMPUTING
At Poppyfield Academy we are determined to provide children with the essential computing skills to aid them in today’s modern lifestyle.
At our school we want pupils to be MASTERS of technology and not slaves to it. Technology is everywhere and will play a pivotal part in students’ lives. Therefore, we want to model and educate our pupils on how to use technology positively, responsibly and safely. We want our pupils to be creators not consumers and our broad curriculum encompassing computer science, information technology and digital literacy reflects this. We want our pupils to understand that there is always a choice with using technology and as a school we utilise technology (especially social media) to model positive use. We recognise that the best prevention for a lot of issues we currently see with technology/social media is through education. Building our knowledge in this subject will allow pupils to effectively demonstrate their learning through creative use of technology We recognise that technology can allow pupils to share their learning in creative ways. We also understand the accessibility opportunities technology can provide for our pupils. Our knowledge rich curriculum has to be balanced with the opportunity for pupils to apply their knowledge creatively which will in turn help our pupils become skilful computer scientists. We encourage staff to try and embed computing across the whole curriculum to make learning creative and accessible. We want our pupils to be fluent with a range of tools to best express their understanding and hope by Upper Key Stage 2, children have the independence and confidence to choose the best tool to fulfil the task and challenge set by teachers.

Early Years Foundation Stage
In Nursery and Reception, the children have daily access to computers with appropriate games and apps to support their learning. They also have access to range of technology including programmable toys, an interactive whiteboard, computers and CD players. Computing makes a significant contribution to developing a child’s understanding of the world (UTW) especially their understanding of technology.
E-Safety
Through our computing curriculum we aim to ensure that pupils become digitally literate so that they can use technology safely and respectfully. This includes keeping personal information private and knowing where to go for help and support when they have concerns about inappropriate content or contact through the internet.