Departments > ICT
Staff
S. Partington (Subject leader)
J. Young
S. Fleetwood
D. Barker-Boyd
Z. Livermore (Lead TA)
Aims
- to develop, in all children, confidence and proficiency in the use of ICT.
- to develop an appreciation and proficiency in the use of ICT in the context of the wider world.
- to enrich learning and to promote both autonomous study and group work.
- to develop the ability to use ICT appropriately and to choose software suitable for a particular task.
- to provide continuity and progression in the strands of the ICT National Strategy (see below)
- The National Curriculum programmes of study for ICT in Key Stages 3 and 4 group the knowledge, skills and understanding that pupils need to acquire into key processes (strands). These strands, which characterise what people normally do when they work with ICT, are:
- Finding information
- Developing ideas
- Communicating information
- Evaluating
- The National Curriculum programmes of study for ICT in Key Stages 3 and 4 group the knowledge, skills and understanding that pupils need to acquire into key processes (strands). These strands, which characterise what people normally do when they work with ICT, are:
- to develop ICT skills through curriculum contexts.
- to encourage problem solving and investigation.
To give learners access to resources for anytime, anywhere, learning using a VLE.
Curriculum Content
There are taught ICT lessons in Year 7, 8 and 9. In addition ICT will also be delivered within subjects in every year group. (Design Technology Control and CAD/CAM)
ICT capability in Key Stage 3
ICT capability involves information gathering, presentation and technical processing skills, underpinned by understanding of key concepts related to the nature of information and of technology. It includes, but is much broader than, a set of technical competences in common software applications.
The aim is to ensure that by the end of Key Stage 3, all pupils can use ICT securely, creatively and independently, are confident enough to keep their skills up to date, and are able to generalise from their ICT experiences. The knowledge, skills and understanding that they need in the subject are closely intertwined and may be summed up as follows.
- Knowledge: Pupils need some knowledge of the technology; for example, that a computer requires different software to control peripherals such as printers or scanners, or that internet search engines use different methods to find information, which affects results from a search. They also need to know the technical terms associated with the ICT facilities that they use.
- Skills: To handle information efficiently, pupils need both technical skills in using ICT facilities, such as how to use a particular software package to reorganise information for a new purpose, and information skills, such as skimming and sifting. They also need interpersonal skills; for example, in cooperating with others, both face to face and remotely, in an ICT-based task.
- Understanding: Pupils need to understand the concepts that underpin effective use of ICT; for example, when and when not to use ICT for a given purpose. They should appreciate how their use of ICT or of an ICT product might be improved, for example to make it more efficient, versatile, interesting or fit for purpose. Understanding helps pupils to become reflective and responsible users of ICT, with an awareness of the impact of ICT on daily life and society.
Year 7, 8 and 9
Children arrive in school with variable ICT experiences: the systems are different and sometimes the software is different. We view these prior achievements as an advantage and aim to build on them.
The ICT National Strategy will be followed with these Year groups.
In Years 7, 8 students will be taught for 1 hour per week. In Year 9 students are taught for 2hrs per fortnight.
In year 7 students are asked to develop their skills in all aspects of ICT. In Year 8 and 9 students are asked to apply these skills to answering tasks that can lead to the award of The OCR Nationals First Award (1 GCSE) by the end of Year 9
Year 10 and 11 OCR ICT Nationals and Business Studies GCSE
Students opt for all courses and have the chance to opt for Business Studies GCSE and OCR Nationals in ICT as part of the programme. Those students who do not opt for a specific ICT course are catered for in subject areas.
Cross curricular use is also made by: Science, Maths, Design and Technology, RE, English, Music and Geography
Sixth form
Students have the opportunity to opt for:
AS/A2 ICT (OCR GCE Syllabus), OCR Nationals in ICT (1 year course)
Upcoming Events & Trips
U2 is open for Students to have access to computers at lunchtime and after school to do coursework and homework.
During holidays students can access computers in U2 to complete coursework. Please see Mr Partington to arrange this.
Useful Links
The following websites give further information about the National ICT Strategy that we follow:
ICT National Strategy: http://nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/secondary/ict
http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/schemes2/secondary_ICT/?view=get
The new ICT Curriculum: http://nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/node/16035
ICT Capability in KS3: http://nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/node/16088?uc=force_uj
The following sites are used by students to complete work:
www.atain.co.uk/ocr-ict (students have the username and password for this site)
Students in years 7 and 8 use the following site for ICT homework (This site is also used by subjects for revision for all exams):
www.samlearning.com (for logon details see the homework section of the website)
