1. SCHOOL POLICY FOR: I.C.T.

Responsible person:- R.Hollwey

Date adopted: 22.01.01 Review by: Summer 2003

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2. HOW THE POLICY WAS DEVELOPED

The current practice was audited and matched to the strands contained in the new orders for Information & Communication Technology following the QCA Scheme of Work.

A software audit has been conducted to ensure that there was sufficient and

relevant materials for all children to access all strands of the new orders. A programme of in service training is in place for all members of staff to enable them to undertake Information & Communication Technology tasks with greater confidence and understanding. This policy has been developed to reflect the practice exemplified in the current QCA Scheme of Work.

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3. HOW IT RELATES TO THE SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

Information & Communication Technology in the curriculum, is one of a range of subjects being reviewed during the school year 2000/2001. Information & Communication Technology has been identified as a curriculum area of major importance and the new policy will reflect that fact. The new ICT suite is now on-line and the Internet can be accessed via an ISDN line. Hardware provision is currently under review to enable each classroom to have its own P.C. to support work in literacy and numeracy.

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4. INTENTIONS

In Windmill School, good practice in Information & Communication Technology means that all pupils will be allocated sufficient time to develop Information & Communication

Technology capability. This time is required both for teaching I.C.T. skills, knowledge and understanding, and for practising and consolidating them. Children will practice word processing or information handling skills using ideas and information related to any area of the curriculum. All children will have the opportunity to use information sources and I.C.T. tools to solve problems. They will also use I.C.T. tools and information sources, such as computer systems and software packages to support learning in a variety of contexts. Children will also be taught to understand the implications of I.C.T. for working life and society. Children will have direct access to the Internet. The sending/receiving of E-mails has been introduced. Making use of a scanner and digital camera are also central aspects of I.C.T. practices at Windmill School.

All children currently carry out I.C.T. tasks using information stored on floppy or hard disks, and all pupils have access to C.D. ROM systems, the Internet and E-mail.

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5. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The exemplar scheme is underpinned by assumptions about the aims and purposes of teaching I.T. and Key Stages 1 and 2, which also underpin the National Curriculum programme of study.

These are that I.C.T. teaching should offer opportunities for children to:

· develop I.C.T. capability, including their knowledge and understanding of the importance of information and of how to select and prepare it;

· develop their skills in using hardware and software to manipulate information in their processes of problem solving, recording and expressive work;

· develop their ability to apply their I.T. capability and I.C.T. to support their use of language and communication, and their learning in other areas;

· explore their attitudes towards I.C.T., its value for themselves, others and society, and their awareness of its advantages and limitations.

These aims and purposes are expanded below.

Knowledge and understanding

Children should:

· understand how I.C.T. can be used to communicate and handle information, control and monitor events, and model real and imaginary situations.

Processes and skills

Children should:

· acquire and develop the skills associated with using I.C.T. to:

- pass on ideas by communicating, presenting and exchanging information

- find things out and handle information

- make things happen by controlling and monitoring events

- try things out by modelling real and imaginary situations

· acquire and refine the techniques e.g. saving, copying, checking the accuracy of input and output needed to use I.C.T.;

· practise mathematical skills e.g. ordering numbers including negative numbers , measuring and calculating to an appropriate number of decimal places, drawing and interpreting graphs and bar charts in real contexts;

· learn why numerical and mathematical skills are useful and helpful to understanding;

· develop the skills of collecting first-hand data, analysing and evaluating it, making inferences or predications and testing them, drawing and presenting conclusions, and use all these in their work with I.C.T.

Language and communication

Children should:

· develop language skills eg in systematic writing and in presenting their own ideas;

· use the appropriate technical vocabulary;

· read non-fiction and extract information from sources such as reference books or CD-ROMs.

Values and attitudes

Children should:

· work with others, listening to their ideas and expertise and treating these with respect eg co-operating and collaborating when using a computer as part of a group to ensure that all contribute;

· acknowledge the ownership of ideas and recognise the value of information held on I.C.T. systems eg recognising how much work has gone into producing a computer file and how easily careless access can destroy it;

· be aware of the security of their own and other people's information in electronic form eg recognising that they should ask before reading or copying from other's work;

· recognise the importance of printed output eg keeping examples of graphics work safe so that source files may be easily identified when work is developed at a later date;

· be creative and persistent eg when assembling a computer file from a large amount of source material;

· consider the origin and quality of information and its fitness for purpose;

· evaluate critically their own and others' uses of I.C.T.;

· recognise the strengths and limitations of I.C.T. and its users eg recognising that a word processor is an effective and efficient tool to help writing, but, on occasion, handwritten text is more appropriate;

· develop knowledge and understanding of important ideas, processes and skills and relate these to everyday experiences;

· learn about ways of thinking and of finding out about and communicating ideas;

· explore values and attitudes through I.C.T.

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6. PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING AND LEARNING

It is important that principles of teaching and learning are consistent with whole school policies.

Teachers will have a thorough understanding of National Curriculum I.C.T. and use a variety of teaching methods.

Pupils will be encouraged to learn through practical activities, including investigations which are open-ended in nature, as well as more structured practical tasks. These activities may be whole class, group, or individual based.

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7. EQUAL ACCESS AND OUTCOME

Children with special educational needs, whether intellectual or physical, will have full access to all aspects of the Information and Communication Technology curriculum. This will be achieved by matching I.C.T. tasks to individual pupils' abilities and aptitudes.

Keyboard overlays and laptop computers are available for pupils with specific motor control problems.

For children with special learning difficulties, I.C.T. can be used as a means of support for writing and as a catalyst for developing their literacy and numeracy skills. For some children, I.C.T. may be the means by which they gain access to the curriculum.

Children with SEN will benefit from I.C.T.'s presentation of information in new and accessible ways using images and sound as well as text.

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8. HEALTH AND SAFETY

Staff at Windmill School will ensure that all children are taught to use all I.C.T. equipment safely, by instruction and good example. Children will be shown how to switch computers on and off in the appropriate way, in order to develop independent use of such equipment.

9. IMPLEMENTATION

The policy provides a structure for Information and Communication Technology throughout the two key stages, ensuring that a range of opportunities will be given to all children, and that skills, knowledge and understanding in a variety of contexts will occur.

The curriculum manager will arrange staff meetings and training sessions according to need. The progress of pupils in I.C.T. will be reported annually in the end of school year report.

The curriculum managers' role will be to prepare guidelines; support all staff; organise and order new resources, including both hardware and software; keep abreast of current practice through in service training and monitor the delivery of I.C.T. throughout the school.

It will be the class teachers' role to decide upon the objectives for the teaching of I.C.T. in their medium term plans and daily plans. The new orders state that I hour of I.C.T. should be taught each week and this objective will be implicit in planning across both Key Stages.

Teachers will also be expected to discuss informally with parents about their child's progress in and experience of I.C.T.

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10. CONTINUITY AND PROGRESSION

To ensure children make progress in I.C.T., teaching should promote opportunities for children, as they move through Key Stages 1 and 2, to progress:

· from using single forms of information to combining different types of information, matching the form of presentation to the audience and what is being communicated;

· from personal use of I.C.T. to using I.C.T. to meet the needs of, and communicate with, others;

· from using I.C.T. to replicate and enrich what could be done without I.C.T. eg playing a word game or drawing a picture to using I.C.T. for purposes that could not have been envisaged without it such as exploring 'what if' situations and modelling new ones;

· from using everyday language to describe work with I.C.T. to increasingly precise use of technical vocabulary and ways of recording;

· from personal use of I.C.T. in a few areas to understanding a wider range of uses of I.C.T. and the consequences of its use for themselves, their work and others;

· from using I.C.T. to address a single task eg writing a story to addressing more complex issues, and balancing conflicting needs and criteria eg writing an account of an event for the school magazine that fits in the space provided and communicates the relevant details to the anticipated audience;

Assessment of the progression of skills will be continuous and based upon the

Programme of Study for Science. Teacher assessments will focus upon each pupil's

class work, in conjunction with the pupils themselves.

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11. RESOURCING

The curriculum manager has undertaken an audit of software across the key stages, to ensure that there is adequate available material to support work in the four I.C.T. strands. New software will be purchased when necessary and all members of staff will be kept informed about the use and application of such software, especially in cross curricular applications.

Since I.C.T. changes so fast, both within and beyond education, it will be necessary to update existing hardware on an annual basis to accommodate the ever changing I.C.T. environment.

Funds for new hardware will be made available over a five year period and will be the central issue of a five year programme of I.C.T. upgrading.

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12. REPORTING

The progress of each child in Information and Communication Technology will be monitored and reported to parents in the Windmill annual report in accordance with the schools A.R.R. Policy.

All members of staff will have the opportunity to discuss and to review the reporting arrangements for Information & Communication Technology.