Telephone: 01352 756414

Email: contact@argoedhs.co.uk

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Business & ICT Department

KS3 – Course Content

In Years 7,8 and 9 pupils have one lesson a week of ICT/Computing. Topics covered are aligned to the Digital Competence Framework for Wales (DCF) and include:

  • Web Design
  • E-Safety
  • Copyright Awareness
  • Raising pupils awareness of their digital footprint
  • Awareness of bias in the news and general stereotyping
  • Graphic Design
  • Animation
  • Presentation Software
  • Text-based Programming (coding) in Python
  • Basic Algorithms/Computational thinking
  • Block-based programming using Scratch and the BBC Microbit
  • Word Processing
  • Spreadsheets
  • Databases

Pupils will also complete digital literacy projects in other lessons (as per the DCF, schools are required to improve pupil’s digital skills in all subject areas). A digital portfolio of work will be saved to Class Notebook (through Microsoft Teams on Office 365).

The Digital Competence Framework (DCF)

In 2017, the Welsh government made teaching digital skills and how to be a good digital citizen one of their top priorities for schools. The DCF comprises four strands.

Strands and elements

The DCF sets out the digital skills to be attained by learners aged between 3 and 16 across four strands.

  • Citizenship
  • Interacting and collaborating
  • Producing
  • Data and computational thinking

Each strand is split into a number of elements, as shown below.

Inspiring Digital Enterprise Award (iDEA)

To compliment their ICT and computing studies, we will be starting the IDEA (Inspiring Digital Enterprise Award) with all year 7, 8 and 9 pupils.

The IDEA certificate is very similar to the Duke of Edinburgh award but instead of a pupil’s outdoor skills, it recognises digital skills, entrepreneurial skills and employability skills.

There are three award levels Bronze, Silver and Gold. To achieve each level pupil’s have to reach a certain number of points by attempting different online challenges(badges).

Useful resources – Key Stage 3

https://www.teach-ict.com/
https://hourofcode.com/uk

KS4 GCSE Business Studies (WJEC) – Course Content

Unit 1 : Business World – 2 hour exam – 62.5% of qualification (exam taken at the end of Year 11)

Unit 2 : Business Perceptions – 1 ½ hour exam – 37.5% of qualification (exam taken at the end of Year 11)

Aims and objectives

The WJEC GCSE in Business encourages learners to understand business concepts, business terminology, business objectives, the integrated nature of business activity and the impact of business on individuals and wider society.

The aims of the course are to develop knowledge and understanding of setting up a business and to have a broad understanding of the four key functions of business:

  • Marketing
  • Finance
  • Human Resources
  • Production

WJEC GCSE Computer Science – Course Content

  • Unit 1: Understanding Computer Science – Written examination: 1 hour 45 minutes – 50% of the qualification – End of Year 11
  • Unit 2: Computational Thinking and Programming – On-screen examination: 2 hours – 30% of the qualification – End of Year 11
  • Unit 3: Software Development – Non-exam assessment: 20 hours – 20% of qualification – Autumn term, Year 11

Overview – This course covers how a computer works and the basics of network management and data security. Learners will also have some proficiency in at least two programming languages by the end of the two-year course.

Pupils will be encouraged to understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including; abstraction, decomposition, logic, algorithms, and data representation. The course will also enable pupils to analyse problems when designing, writing and debugging programs.

WJEC GCSE ICT – Course Content

  • UNIT 1 – Understanding ICT (Exam – 20% of final grade) – Year 10
  • UNIT 2 – Solving problems with ICT – Spreadsheets, databases, publications, web design (Controlled assessment – 30% of final grade) – Year 10
  • UNIT 3 – ICT in Organisations (Exam – 20% of final grade) – Year 11
  • UNIT 4 – Developing Multimedia ICT solutions – Web Design, Sound-editing, Movie-editing and Animation (Controlled assessment – 30% of final grade) – Year 11

The WJEC ICT course has been designed to prepare candidates for a future role in ICT, but is also equally relevant to anyone entering the modern workplace. An ICT qualification is useful for any job role and is a useful addition to your CV.