Computing and Online Safety

At Hawes Down, we aim to provide our students with the tools necessary to become active participants in the modern world. We aim to equip them with up-to-date and informative digital knowledge by embedding computing within the curriculum as well as teaching it as a stand-alone subject. At the forefront of all Computing lessons is E-Safety. We teach the children to use technology safely and respectfully, including what steps to take if they are unsure about online content. This is regularly revisited in assemblies and other focus days, such as Safer Internet Day in the spring, as well as in other subjects within the curriculum, particularly PSHE.

We have two computing suites within the school, one each in KS1 and KS2 which contain laptop and tablet devices, alongside headphones and other appliances to assist children with accessing technology for their learning.

Our curriculum is carefully tailored to meet the needs of our children whilst adhering to the National Curriculum requirements. We use the Oak National Academy resources in our teaching which is strategically aligned but operationally independent from the Department for Education. This is used in conjunction with carefully selected 'coding for children' resources such as studio.code. The main external websites we use on a regular basis are Times Table Rockstars and EdShed for grammar, spelling and punctuation.

We are very conscious of the pressure parents and carers can feel regarding 'screen time' outside of school. The following link tackles these issues and we feel it may be helpful for our wider community - https://nationalcollege.com/pages/wake-up-wednesday