YSGOL GYNRADD CADLE

CADLEPRIMARY SCHOOL

Dream, Believe and Achieve and be the best that you can be.

ICT Policy

2013- 2014

Date of Review:November 2013

May 2014

Signature: C. Shoemark

J.Davies

Introduction

This policy document sets out the school’s aims, principles and strategies for the delivery of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) through the LNF. The implementation of this policy is the responsibility of all staff.

The Significance of Information and Communication Technology

A child’s education must respond to the needs of individuals and society. We have a duty to prepare children for a society which is becoming more and more reliant on electronic information transfer.

As well as being an important curriculum requirement, the ability to use ICT effectively is a vital life skill.

We interpret the term Information Communication Technology to include the use of any equipment, which allows users to communicate or manipulate information electronically.

The School’s Aims

The overall aim is to produce learners who are confident and effective users of Information Communication Technology and to ensure that teachers develop confidence and competence to use Information Communication Technology through Literacy and Numeracy across the curriculum and to facilitate effective teaching. Pupils should be given opportunities to:

  • Use ICT with purpose, enjoyment and become autonomous users
  • Evaluate the benefits of ICT and its impact on society
  • Meet the requirements of the National Skills Curriculum and the LNFas fully as possible and help all pupils achieve the highest possible standards of achievement
  • Celebrate success in the use of ICT
  • Use ICT individually and co-operatively in groups with particular regard to their individual needs

Delivery of ICT in the National Skills Curriculum

Foundation Phase

In the Foundation Phase, pupils should be taught to become familiar with Information and Communication Technology (ICT) hardware and software. They will learn to use ICT confidently and purposefully to achieve specific outcomes. They will start to use ICT to develop their ideas and record their creative work.

  1. Create and communicate

Pupils should be given opportunities to:

  • Generate and communicate their ideas in different forms, using text, tables, pictures and sound as appropriate
  • Enter and store information
  • Retrieve, process and display information that has been stored
  1. Find and Analyse

Pupils should be given opportunities to:

  • Use ICT-based models or simulations to try things out and explore aspects of real and imaginary situations

Key Stage 2

  1. Create and Communicate

Pupils should be given opportunities to:

  • Use ICT equipment and software to communicate, share and exchange ideas and information in a variety of forms, incorporating text, graphs, pictures and sound, as appropriate, showing sensitivity to the needs of their audience
  • Use ICT equipment and software to organise, reorganise and analyse ideas and information
  • Select suitable information and media, and classify and prepare information for processing with ICT, checking for accuracy
  • Interpret, analyse and check the plausibility of information held on ICT systems, and select the elements required for particular purposes, considering the consequence of any errors
  1. Find and Analyse

Pupils should be given opportunities to:

  • Explore the effect of changing variables in simulations and similar packages, to ask and answer questions of the ‘What would happen if…?’
  • Recognise patterns and relationships in the results obtained from ICT-based models or simulations, predicting the outcomes of different decisions that could be made

Details of the implementation of the National Skills Curriculum requirements to ensure continuity and progression can be found in the online ICT Scheme of Work and the skills continuum.

Cross Curricular use of Information Communication Technology and its role within the LNF.

ICT is a powerful tool, which can be used to enhance teaching and learning across the curriculum, challenging the most able while supporting those with learning difficulties. Through the LNF,ICT opportunities are provided for learners to apply their Literacy and Numeracy skills and to consolidatethese skills through highly motivating activities. This will be achieved as follows:

ICT is incorporated in the planning of all subjects. Word processing skills are developed throughout all English lessons using IPads and computers.

When planning lessons involving the use of ICT, teachers identify activities in which the emphasis is on both the development of ICT skills and the subject being supported.

Curriculum Management

The ICT Co-ordinator will ensure that resources are distributed and effectively timetabled when appropriate and facilitate the use of Information Communication Technology in the following ways:

  • By updating the Policy and reviewing the online Scheme of Work, continuum and LNF
  • Identifying the need to update resources
  • By co-ordinating and/or providing INSET
  • To keep staff abreast of new developments
  • By providing support to enable staff to develop their pupils’ capability
  • Monitoring the ICT curriculum
  • Oversee and maintain records of software licences

Internet and E-mail

When the Internet is being used, then the School’s Acceptable Use Policy will always be strictly adhered to.

Inclusion

All pupils, regardless of race, gender, culture or disability shall have the opportunities to develop their ICT capability. The school will promote equal opportunities for computer usage and fairness of distribution of ICT resources. Children with a computer at home are encouraged to use it for educational benefit and to share their experiences in school.

Provision for Special Needs

Pupils with Special Educational Needs can benefit from using ICT as it enhances access to the curriculum, and this in turn encourages motivation and the development of skills.

Children at CadlePrimary School with special educational needs are allocated support time with a designated support teacher, the time given dependent on the individual needs of the child. Pupils with special needs are given help to gain access to all equipment wherever possible. The use of mobile technology will be used to support the learning of ALN children in class and small group situations.

MAT

Able and talented pupils will be challenged and stimulated with open ended tasks, to motivate and inspire them.

Continuing Progression

A portfolio will be established by phases containing examples of ICT carried out throughout the year. Each child will have an electronic portfolio which will be passed on at the end of the academic year ensuring that there is evidence of continuity and progression. The children’s J2E and JIT accounts will also continue with the child throughout the school.

Assessment

It must be remembered that the process more than the outcome is the important issue when assessing ICT. Wherever possible assessment will be planned into schemes of work and will be used both formatively and diagnostically, helping teachers to meet the developmental needs of each pupil. The use of many ICT packages encourages collaborative work. Differentiation in set tasks, as well as the outcome from pupils will enable the teacher to assess whether a pupil needs extra time to consolidate skills or whether the pupil is ready to acquire more. Foundation Phase and Key Stage 2, pupils’ levels of attainment in ICT will be assessed by their class teacher using the skills continuum and SIMs level descriptions.

Monitoring and Review

ICT is very much a progressive subject with new resources and ideas always being introduced both into schools and everyday life. The policy will need to be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that the policy is up to date with current issues.

Monitoring is carried out by the ICT Co-ordinator, in the following ways:

  • Informal discussion with staff and pupils
  • Observation of ICT displays
  • Collection of class ICT files
  • Classroom observation
  • Collection of continuum skills files

This policy will be reviewed at regular intervals and updated as necessary.

CadlePrimary School ICT Policy - 1 -