Computing at Beckfoot Hazelbeck – Beckfoot Hazelbeck Special School

ICT for entertainment

From the very early stages of responding to ICT equipment to being able to evaluate their use of ICT. It covers responding and making choices about ICT, activating and using ICT for entertainment, and selecting for purpose and audience. Through this scheme, students will develop their knowledge and the breadth of ways they may use ICT for entertainment so all students can develop their control and therefore independence in this area.

Creating art

Starting with students making unintentional marks using ICT through to using complex tools to produce a detailed piece of Art. It covers the use of Drawing and Paint programmes, the use of images and photos in ICT and, for students from the concrete stage onwards, how to refine and evaluate their work. It encourages students to make choices about the effects they want to use and use the medium of ICT to arrange visual effects in different ways for different purposes.

This scheme offers students a different way to express themselves and the range of mediums they can use to share their choices, interests, and ideas with others.

ICT for communication

This Scheme of work is suitable for all learners, as using ICT for Communication is an essential life skill for all, but especially for students who have difficulty communicating. It covers the use of AAC devices to communicate, the use of symbols and images and the use of ICT for written and verbal communication.

For many of our students, using ICT to effectively communicate and get their message across to others can make a huge difference to their quality of life and enable them to have a voice. For students who have difficulty accessing other communication strategies, ICT includes equipment which can be individualised and used with success.

ICT for everyday use

This scheme is suitable for all learners and covers Controlling Everyday Equipment, Controlling Remote Toys and Gaming equipment and at the later stages, programming equipment to control it. It focusses on students learning to use a range of ICT equipment, from a single switch through to cameras and laptops, with increasing intentionality and accuracy. This control is important for daily living skills, such as using a microwave to make warm food, and selecting the correct type of ICT for the person/ situation.

The knowledge covered in this scheme ensures that students learn to use increasingly complex ICT equipment for fun and functional tasks, which in turn enables them to make confident choices when using ICT in its broadest sense.

ICT for research

This scheme is appropriate for students from the Concrete developmental stage onward, as from this stage students can begin to use ICT for meaningful research purposes. It covers Finding information out and Collecting information/data, teaching the knowledge of how to use online information safely and effectively for a given purpose. At the Abstract stage, this scheme also covers the knowledge students need to consider carefully information found on the internet and decide how accurate or otherwise it may be.

Multimedia

This scheme is appropriate for students from the concrete developmental stage onwards and covers Collecting and manipulating assets, using multimedia apps/ software and planning, testing, and evaluating to analyse their work. It gives students the knowledge to manipulate, organise and edit their work and the use of sounds and images on a screen to create the effect that they want. It also introduces students to programming software using commands.

Using ICT safely and online safety

This scheme is essential for all learners to underpin their use of ICT, both from the early developmental stages through to giving students who are accessing information independently online the knowledge of how to keep safe. The scheme covers social media, Advice and who to turn to, Protection of information and Digital Content. From the early stages of recognising familiar/ unfamiliar people through to knowing who and how to block people online and how to get help if they are worried, this scheme is key to supporting students use ICT responsibly and with care.

This scheme also teaches students to be more aware of their own and others’ potential vulnerabilities online and how to avoid frightening situations, supporting them to become increasingly aware, responsible citizens.