Computer Science at Callington Community College aims to develop ‘thinkers of the future’ through a modern, ambitious and relevant curriculum. We want to equip pupils to creatively use computational thinking that will enable them to become active participants in the digital world. We understand the importance of empowering our students to use ever-changing technologies to express themselves and as a means to drive themselves forward into the future.

Whilst ensuring students understand the benefits and risks of digital technology, we want students to develop habits which reflect our school values of being respectful, committed and safe when online.

Our aim is to provide a computing curriculum that is designed to balance acquiring a broad and deep knowledge alongside opportunities to apply skills in various digital contexts. Beyond teaching computing discreetly, we will give pupils the opportunity to apply and develop what they have learnt across wider learning in the curriculum.

By the end of their education in Computer Science at Callington Community College, all students of Computer Science will:

• Be able to understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation.
• Be able to analyse problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems.
• Be able to evaluate and apply information technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies, analytically to solve problems. 
• Be responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology. 
• Hold essential knowledge, transferable skills and tools, which will help learning in other subjects such as time management, referencing, researching and review, working with others and communicating concepts effectively.

In order to fully appreciate Computer Science and develop a deep schema, topics in computer science have been developed using the following rationale:

• Content delivered at KS3 has been carefully selected from the NCCE Curriculum to develop and support understanding in preparation for GCSE studies and to ensure students who do not continue with their studies have a foundational and transferrable knowledge of Computer Science.
• We are working collaboratively within the trust to implement a KS4 Curriculum to ensure students develop a broad understanding of a range of theoretical and practical Computer Science. This alignment will enable use to continually develop our curriculum to be responsive to the needs of our students.
• We will build on the foundational understanding of Python Programming developed in year 7 and 8.

The Computer Science Curriculum at Callington Community College has been influenced by:

Our continued work with outside agencies such as...

• Our collaboration with schools within our trust.
• Developing an understanding of computer science curricula at KS2 and KS5 to so that we can effectively foreshadow and echo core knowledge within our curriculum narrative.

Our subject addresses disadvantage through:

• Sharing clear Learning Outcomes at the start of each lesson to direct and frame students’ thinking.
• Using our Get To Work Tasks to deliberately bring knowledge from the long term memory to the working memory to act as a mental velcro for students’ thinking and learning.

We believe that Computer Science contributes to the personal development of all of our students through:

Giving students the opportunity to show initiative and develop self-confidence and adaptability – students will have a wide range of tools and a well-developed understanding which they will need to solve problems through effectively communicating with their peers. Studying computer science will help students to develop their critical thinking and complex analytical skills. Computer Science is fundamental in terms of equipping students to be successful in a digital and globally competitive world.

Opportunities to build an understanding of Social, Moral and Ethical issues are developed alongside links to the wider world, including careers through:

Discussing and investigating moral and ethical issues; consider the care and use of equipment; making clear the guidelines around the ethical use of the internet and how we keep ourselves safe. Understanding the safe disposal of old ICT equipment and how this could be used to benefit disadvantaged people.  Understanding the impact of digital and ICT developments on the environment (such as how technology has meant the old ways of working can be changed to benefit the environment). Understanding the social isolation that people/countries might face because they cannot keep pace with technological and digital developments and form skills gaps.