Lark Hill Primary School

Computing at Lark Hill Primary School

At Lark Hill Primary School, we aim to equip our children to become confident, computational thinkers and responsible, creative digital citizens. Using the Kapow Primary Computing scheme of work, our curriculum balances technical understanding with creative application, preparing pupils to navigate, innovate and thrive safely in an increasingly digital world.

Our Computing learning is deeply rooted in our four core school values:

• Respect: Pupils demonstrate respect online by following digital citizenship rules, acknowledging copyright/intellectual property and communicating thoughtfully across shared digital platforms.
• Responsibility: Pupils learn how to manage their digital footprints, protect personal information, report concerns and keep themselves and others safe online.
• Creativity: Children apply digital tools creatively through video production, web design, vector artwork, animation, digital music creation and game design.
• Challenge: Children are challenged to think like computer scientists, decomposing complex problems, spotting patterns, designing efficient algorithms and systematically debugging code.

The Three National Curriculum Strands & Five Key Areas

Kapow Primary organises the Computing curriculum across the three core National Curriculum strands:

1. Computer Science (CS): Understanding how digital systems work, writing algorithms, coding and debugging.
2. Information Technology (IT): Using hardware and software purposefully to create, store, retrieve, manipulate and present digital content and data.
3. Digital Literacy (DL): Becoming discerning, safe and critical users of technology online.

These strands are delivered progressively across five key areas:

• Computing Systems and Networks: Identifying hardware/software and understanding local and global connectivity.
• Programming: Logical reasoning, algorithms, execution, sequence, selection, variables and debugging.
• Creating Media: Capturing, editing and designing digital audio, video, images, vector graphics, and websites.
• Data Handling: Gathering, logging, searching, sorting, and analysing data using spreadsheets and databases.
• Online Safety: Explicit, age-appropriate instruction mapped to the Education for a Connected World 

Oracy (Voice 21 Framework)

In Computing, articulate communication is essential for explaining technical logic and collaborative problem-solving. Using the Voice 21 Oracy Framework, we develop student talk through four strands:

• Cognitive (Computational Reasoning & Logic): Pupils explain how an algorithm works, talk through their line-by-line code logic and explain why a bug occurred during debugging.
• Linguistic (Technical Terminology): Pupils actively practice using technical vocabulary (e.g., variable, abstraction, decomposition, network, HTML, encryption) in pair programming.
• Physical (Demonstration & Presentation): Pupils adapt tone, speed and visual cues when presenting digital media outcomes or pitching website designs.
• Social & Emotional (Collaborative Debugging & Online Empathy): Pair coding builds resilience and peer support. Group discussions around online safety build empathy and respectful online behaviour. 

British Values

Pupils learn Individual Liberty by making informed decisions about privacy settings and personal digital identity. The Rule of Law and Mutual Respect are taught through copyright law, licensing, fair use of media and anti-cyberbullying practices.

Class Structure & Rolling Cycle Strategy

Due to our unique mixed-age class organisation, Kapow Primary's single-year progression model is adapted into a 2-Year Rolling Cycle for mixed key stages, ensuring full coverage without missed skills or repeated content.

Curriculum Overview: Class Mapping (Kapow Units)

Differentiated Progression in Computing: In mixed-age classes (e.g., Robins Y1/2, Starlings Y2/3, Kestrels Y4/5), both year groups tackle the shared core project theme. Differentiation and progress are secured through scaffolded coding blocks, task complexity, independent debugging expectations, and depth of technical vocabulary.

Robins (Year 1 / Year 2)

Cycle A

• Autumn Term (Systems & Networks / Online Safety): Improving Mouse Skills & Year 1 Online Safety — Logging in, navigating desktop environments and learning online safety rules.
• Spring Term (Programming): Algorithms & Bee-Bots — Unplugged directional commands and physical floor robot programming.
• Summer Term (Creating Media / Data): Digital Imagery & Introduction to Data — Capturing digital photos, cropping images and grouping physical/digital data.

Cycle B

• Autumn Term (Systems & Networks / Online Safety): What is a Computer? & Word Processing / Y2 Online Safety — Identifying inputs, outputs, keyboard shortcuts and font editing.
• Spring Term (Programming): ScratchJr / Algorithms & Debugging — Creating sprite sequences, blocks and fixing broken code.
• Summer Term (Creating Media / Data): Stop-Motion Animation & International Space Station — Storyboarding, filming frame-by-frame tablet animation and exploring space sensor data. 

Starlings  (Year 2 / Year 3)

Cycle A

• Autumn Term (Systems & Networks / Online Safety): Computer Networks & Year 3 Online Safety — How digital devices communicate, routers, servers and managing privacy settings.
• Spring Term (Programming): Scratch: Animation & Events — Block coding, loops, triggering events and sprite movement in Scratch.
• Summer Term (Creating Media / Data): Video Trailers & Comparison Card Databases — Video editing with transitions, recording media and sorting/filtering records.

Cycle B

• Autumn Term (Systems & Networks / Online Safety): Journey Inside a Computer / Emailing & Y2/3 Online Safety — Inputs/outputs, hardware paper modelling and writing/sending secure emails with attachments.
• Spring Term (Programming): Algorithms, Debugging & MakeCode / ScratchJr — Building block programs, testing outputs and systematically fixing errors.
• Summer Term (Craft / Media & Data): Desktop Publishing & Sensor Systems — Combining text and graphics, manipulating layouts and tracking environmental data. 

Kestrels (Year 4 / Year 5) 

Cycle A

• Autumn Term (Systems & Networks / Online Safety): Collaborative Learning & Year 4/5 Online Safety — Real-time cloud collaboration, web research and evaluating search engine accuracy.
• Spring Term (Programming): Further Coding in Scratch (Variables & Selection) — Designing interactive games using if-then conditions, scores and variables.
• Summer Term (Creating Media / Data): Website Design (HTML) & Spreadsheets (Weather Data) — Editing HTML tags, building web page layouts and using formulas in spreadsheets.

Cycle B

• Autumn Term (Systems & Networks / Online Safety): Search Engines & Cryptography / Online Safety — How search indexers work, rank results and basic encryption methods.
• Spring Term (Programming): Computational Thinking & Micro:bit / Python Intro — Decomposition, abstraction, pattern recognition and hardware programming.
• Summer Term (Creating Media / Data): Vector Graphics / 3D Modelling & Flat-File Databases — Layering geometric vector shapes, manipulating 3D objects and executing complex database queries.

Skylarks (Year 6 - Single Year Group)

• Autumn Term (Systems & Networks / Online Safety): Internet Communication, Bletchley Park Cryptography & Y6 Online Safety — Packet switching, IP addresses, historical ciphers and managing digital footprints.
• Spring Term (Programming): Scratch: Text-Based Variables, Sensing & Complex Game Design — Advanced variable logic, collision detection and user interface design.
• Summer Term (Creating Media & Data Handling): 3D Computer-Aided Design (CAD) & Big Data / Spreadsheets — Creating scale 3D models for purpose and analysing real-world complex data sets.

Vocabulary Progression

Robins (Year 1 / Year 2)

Starlings (Year 2 / Year 3)

Kestrels (Year 4 / Year 5)

Skylarks (Year 6)

 Assessment, Impact & Classroom Implementation

The impact of the Computing curriculum is evaluated through real-time practical tasks, digital portfolios, and low-stakes knowledge checks:

Digital Portfolios & Working Files

• Every child saves their ongoing practical work (code files, documents, stop-motion clips, vector graphics) in secure, personalised digital folders or cloud spaces.
• Practical tasks emphasize iteration and debugging: pupils are taught that broken code or flawed layouts are valuable learning opportunities rather than failures.

Kapow builds continuous assessment opportunities directly into every lesson plan so teachers can gauge practical and technical understanding in real time:

• Lesson Assessment Guidance & Success Criteria: Each lesson details clear success criteria tied directly to the learning objective. Teachers use these statements during tasks to evaluate whether pupils are working towards, meeting, or exceeding
• Retrieval Practice (Recall & Connect): Low-stakes questioning at the start of sessions tests retained technical knowledge (e.g., algorithms, inputs/outputs, network vocabulary) from previous lessons or units.
• Collaborative Debugging & Code Talks: Since computing relies heavily on problem-solving, teachers assess computational logic (disciplinary knowledge) by listening to pupils explain their line-by-line code or walk through how they debugged an error.

Summative Assessment (End of Unit)

At the end of each computing unit, Kapow provides specific tools to evaluate skill acquisition and knowledge retention:

End-of-Unit Assessment Quizzes

• Kapow provides multiple-choice unit quizzes that check factual recall, computing concepts, technical terms and online safety rules.
• These offer a clear picture of whole-class knowledge retention and highlight any technical gaps before moving to the next block.

Knowledge Catchers

• Pupils complete a Knowledge Catcher task (a visual mind map or structured graphic organizer) at the beginning and end of a topic.
• This visual tool helps track distance travelled, showing how much technical vocabulary and computational understanding the child has gained over the unit.
• Practical Project Outcomes & Digital Portfolios

• Units culminate in a practical project outcome—such as a working Scratch game, an edited video trailer, an HTML web page layout, a vector graphic, or a populated database.
• Teachers review these digital files against the unit rubric, evaluating not just the finished digital product, but the logical structure and iteration behind it.
• Tracking & Progression

• Progression of Skills & Knowledge: Kapow provides a comprehensive framework detailing expected outcomes across Years 1–6. Teachers make informed professional judgments based on practical code performance, quiz results, and digital project execution.