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I.C.T

Subject Leader: Mrs Miriello

Teachers: Mr A Marsh & Rev. Bright


The ICT curriculum consists of varied knowledge and skills across ICT, Digital Literacy and Computer Science.

Within the Technology rotation Year 7, 8 and 9 students study ICT, Digital Literacy and Computer Science. The content of the lessons are based on the national curriculum and skills for the future. The topics covered are:

Year 7: Google suite & E-Safety, Spreadsheets and Block Programming

Year 8: User Interfaces, Binary and Text Programming

Year 9: Cyber Security, Computer Laws, Hardware and Environmental Impact

Year 9 students have Core ICT lessons where students develop skills in preparation for the BTEC Tech Award in Digital Information Technology. Students practice and develop skills in User Interfaces by researching, designing and developing a user interface and then evaluate the final system. Students use project planning techniques to monitor their progress and examples of all aspects are modelled and writing frames are available to scaffold the work, so they have practiced and are ready for the assignment brief in Year 10.  Students also have interleaving theory content in preparation for the Year 11 BTEC external exam.

ICT at Key Stage 4 is separated into 2 areas: BTEC ICT and Computer Science.

  • BTEC ICT lessons cover the specification to complete the theory and assignment briefs. Students are taught Component 1: Exploring User Interface Design Principles and Project Planning Techniques in Year 10 and then given the assignment brief to complete from Pearson, then students move on to the content for Component 2: Collecting, Presenting and Interpreting Data in preparation for the assignment brief in Year 11. Students then work independently to complete the assignment brief within the given deadline. Theory for Component 3, topics such as E-Safety, Cyber Security, Cloud Technology, Digital Technology and the future, Impact of Digital Technology, Ethical, Legal and Environmental Impact is interleaved with ILT’s and theory lessons throughout Year 9, Year 10 and Year 11.
  • Computer Science is delivered 5 lessons a fortnight covering Programming and theory topics from the specification - please see Computer Science Curriculum Intent.  

Learners who generally achieve at Level 2 across their Key Stage 4 learning might consider progression to:

  • A Levels as preparation for entry to higher education in a range of subjects
  • Study of a vocational qualification at Level 3, such as a BTEC National in IT, which prepares learners to enter employment or apprenticeships, or to move on to higher education by studying a degree in the digital sector.

Learners who generally achieve at Level 1 across their Key Stage 4 learning might consider progression to:

  • Study at Level 2 post-16 in a range of technical routes designed to lead to work, to progression to employment, to apprenticeships or to further study at Level 3.
  • Study of IT Support or Digital Technology through the study of a Technical Certificate.

The subject content contained within our curriculum is fully compliant with the statutory content outlined in the Key Stage 3 and 4 National Curriculum across the whole Academy if the students opts for Computer Science at KS4. We cover all the National Curriculum across Key Stage 3 and cover some in KS4 Core ICT.

Students who excel in ICT have the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills to different contexts, work independently and at their own pace, there are many opportunities for students to engage in many online platforms to develop subject specific knowledge further such as seneca, cyber discovery and code academy.

Students are encouraged to develop employability skills by entering online competitions, having visiting speakers for inspiration, developing ICT skills, planning and organising their own time for the assignment deadlines and using technology for their enterprise documentation.

We ensure that Year 7 effectively builds upon content delivered during Key Stage 2 by completing a Seneca Year 5 / 6 Computing Basics task as a baseline and discussions in class.

The ICT curriculum has links with the following subject areas:

  • BTEC’s due to the assignment briefs and time management
  • Art and Textiles for design skills
  • Complementary Studies for E-Safety and Computer Laws
  • Design Technology for Ergonomics, Health and Safety, Flow Charts, Project Planning, Inputs and Outputs,
  • English - Writing reports, evaluations and command words
  • Enterprise for developing coursework, presentation skills, enterprise documentation and research skills
  • History with the History of computers
  • Maths for Data representation, angles, repetition
  • MFL for E-Safety and Social media
  • Music for Video recording / editing
  • PE for modern technologies
  • RE with Ethics
  • Science for environmental issues, spreadsheets, graphs, data tables, data logging,

We develop students’ Cultural Capital whilst studying ICT by entering online competitions and encouraging students to engage with online platforms to develop knowledge.

Students are encouraged to engage in wider reading relevant to ICT such as news articles, ICT / Technology developments, GCSE Pod, Seneca, Google Classrooms content / website and BTEC Revision guides.