Sandhurst School – Computing and IT

Curriculum Aims

It is the aim of the Department to enable students to develop skills and knowledge in computer science and digital technologies to prepare them for a future in a world where the use of this technology is fully embodied. We wish to enthuse students to have an understanding far deeper than the interface that they currently operate.

We aim to enable students to develop a love of learning for the subject and an understanding that there are no limits to their own development in programming and IT. Using the strands of computational thinking will aid them with their Computer Science studies and, as it is embedded within everyday life activities, they will understand that they cannot run before they can walk. Students will be given guidance on how to work safely online so that it will be second nature to carry out all the necessary steps for their own safety as well as those around them.

At KS3 students will be given the opportunity to develop their computer coding and digital technology skills. Learning the language of code is an important added bonus as students who develop their coding skills will be able to grasp the magic behind the computers. This will allow them to take their studies onto KS4 and to Further and Higher education if they desire and ultimately secure a career within a large range of industries.

KS3 Curriculum Summary

Computing	Autumn	Spring	Summer
Year 7	E-Safety Personal Social media Hardware Inputs Outputs Storage Software Applications Text-Based Patterns iteration (repeats/loops) Commands Sequencing Procedures and embedded procedures Variables	Algorithms Pseudocode (step by step) Flowcharts (basic and symbols) Block Programming Patterns iteration (repeats/loops) Commands Sequencing Procedures and embedded procedures Variables Data representation Binary Converting Denary to Binary Binary addition ASCII Conversion ASCII/Denary	Data Modelling/Spreadsheets Functions (SUM, AVERAGE, MIN, MAX) Formulae (+-/) Basic Charts/Graphs Networks* Types of Network – LAN/WAN Advantages/Disadvantages Networks and the Internet Topologies and Protocols Packet Switching
Assessment	E-Safety Quiz – Doddle Hardware- Identify QuizSnowflake Assessment	Levels on Code.org used to translate to grade. Conversions binary to denary to binary. ASCII to Denary – coding and decoding exercises	Data Modelling/Spreadsheets Doddle quiz Network Assessment
Year 8	E-Safety Data Security Issues and preventative methods Control and Monitoring Sensors Algorithms – Flowcharts Data Representation Images/Resolution/Compression Sound	Block Programming Algorithms for a Maze game Data Handling Sorting and Searching algorithms Filtering Data Modelling Formulae and Functions If Statements	HTML and CSS Basic tags Text and Images Navigation and links Tables and lists Style sheet design and application
Assessment	Data-Safety Quiz Password worksheet Control Super Quiz Flowchart worksheet	Completion of block coding Data handling task to complete	HTML quiz and worksheet CSS worksheet and Interactive Activity
Year 9	E-Safety Wider Issues Digital footprints Sexting Consequences Health and Safety Cybersafety DoS Attack Shoulder surfing Keylogger Cyber Crime Main legal Acts Covered Text based programming (Python) Variables Sequence Selection If Statement	All year 9 students Databases and GUI Spreadsheets and Graphs Website Development (Expression Web)	Computer Science Students Sorting and Searching Algorithms Key algorithms, i.e. linear and binary search, bubble, insertion and merge sorts Computer Systems Systems Architecture CPU and registers Programming Constructs Iteration Condition controlled iteration Count controlled iteration iMedia Students and all others not taking an option Mood boards Digital Information Technology Research GUI’s
Assessment	Health and Safety Quiz Python task	Variety of skilled based tasks – teacher assessed – holistic view Several knowledge quizzes on topics

GCSE Computing Year 10/11

Component 1

1.1 Systems Architecture
	1.1.1 Architecture of the CPU
	1.1.2 CPU Performance
	1.1.3 Embedded systems
1.2 Memory and storage
	1.2.1 Primary storage (Memory)
	1.2.2 Secondary storage
	1.2.3 Units
	1.2.4 Data storage
	1.2.5 Compression
1.3 Computers networks, connections and protocols
	1.3.1 Networks and topologies
	1.3.2 Wired and wireless networks, protocols and layers
1.4 Network security
	1.4.1 Threats to computer systems and networks
	1.4.2 Identifying and preventing vulnerabilities
1.5 Systems software
	1.5.1 Operating systems
	1.5.2 Utility software
1.6 Ethical, legal, cultural and environmental impacts of digital technology
	1.6.1 Ethical, legal, cultural and environmental impact

Component 2

2.1 Algorithms
	2.1.1 Computational thinking
	2.1.2 Designing, creating and refining algorithms
	2.1.3 Searching and sorting algorithms
2.2 Programming fundamentals
	2.2.1 Programming fundamentals
	2.2.2 Data types
	2.2.3 Additional programming techniques
2.3 Producing robust programs
	2.3.1 Defensive design
	2.3.2 Testing
2.4 Boolean logic
	2.4.1 Boolean logic
2.5 Programming languages and Integrated Development Environments
	2.5.1 Languages
	2.5.2 The Integrated Development Environment (IDE)

Level 2

Creative iMedia – Pre-production skills, creating digital graphics, multi-page website and interactive multimedia products

A Level Computing

Year 12- Component 1, structure and function of the processor, types of processor, input, output and storage, operating systems, applications generation, introduction to programming, types of programming language, compression, encryption and hashing, databases, networking, web technologies, data types, data structures and algorithms, legal, moral, cultural and ethical issues.

Year 13- Component 2, elements of computational thinking, problem solving and programming, algorithms to solve problems and standard algorithms.

Level 3 in Information Technology- information technology systems, creating systems to manage information, using social media in business and website development.

Computing and IT