I.C.T.

Why is ICT Important?

The young person of today needs the skills of ICT to be a part of the local and global community. From understanding the importance of issues such e-safety with social networks, like Facebook, and cyber bullying with email and text, through the functional skills that enable all of us to access the information super highway that is the internet, to contributing to it creatively either through more traditional forms of software such as MS Office to the equally important world of web graphics and applications.

ICT at KS3

Many of the modern concerns are covered in KS3. Not just what skills are needed to engage in the modern information/digital age but also what implications there are in terms of safety and responsibility. students engage in a range of creative aspects of ICT from formal documents to radio commercials, multimedia products to graphics and websites. students also progress through a series of eLearning skills tests and tutorials to prepare them in terms of skills for KS4. The KS3 programme supports students in other subject areas and in the general use of ICT.

ICT at KS4

KS4 really starts in Year 9 with the first tasks of the project-based Unit 1 of the OCR National – this provides the basics of the first unit of the course which is developed in year 10, after accessing the module on computer graphics. Students who have progressed well currently have the option of including work experience as a unit and completing Unit 20, 'Animation', as an additional GCSE equivalent.

The department has in most years offered the AIDA course at level 1 and 2 to select students but has developed the OCR National as its main qualification more recently. Level 2 DIDA or GCSE is under consideration for the future as well as a possible return to Applied ICT to complement the A level in the Bishopsford Sixth Form.

ICT Post-16

A-level Applied ICT will be launched as part of the Bishopsford Sixth Form curriculum offer in September 2010. Amongst the knowledge and skills that students will develop will be an understanding, in detail, of what the information age is and means. Why and what is the digital divide? What impact does digital technology have on our lives both at work and at home? How has it changed the way we live and the way we will live?

Beyond the Classroom

ICT has progressed over the last five years at Bishopsford with the development of personalised learning pathways within the KS3 and 4 curriculums. KS3 students have benefited from individual learning paths intrinsic to the curriculum but supported with elearning and student logins. Students and teachers alike can track a student's self training and testing in the skills curriculum. KS4 is still developing with the choice of different module options to suit the students' specialisms in animation, computer graphics, multimedia and webdesign for example, while the exam results have increased year on year to an outstanding double value added outcome – that is students generally achieve two grades above their data predicted results. 

Developments in a number of projects within the department include focused activity clubs, for example 'Mission Maker', as well as drop-in school catch up clubs and lunchtime and after school for clubs for study support.

How can parents support their child?
 
If you have a PC at home, online or not, all students can benefit from developing their skills. Many students may just be social networking or playing games when they could be extending their knowledge and skills. Borrow some skills software CDs from the department and practice ‘how to’ at home.