Head of department: Mrs Roberts

Teaching staff: Mr Maidment, Mr Graham, Miss Gray, Mrs Cullen

Aims and objectives of the department

• To equip pupils with life long transferable skills that they will use to find, develop, analyse and present information, as well as to model situations and solve problems.
• To increased pupils capability in the use of ICT to support initiative and independent learning.
• To educate pupils so they can make informed judgments about when and where to use ICT to enhance their learning and the quality of their work.
• To provide pupils with an understanding of the social, ethical, legal and economic implications of ICT use.
• To inform pupils so they use ICT safely and responsibly.

Why study ICT?
Because the future is here!
ICT is the learning and teaching tool of the 21st century. By teaching pupils using ICT, you are not only helping them learn better, you are preparing them for a workplace – a world – already dominated by the computer. This is today's technology, not tomorrow's.
The national curriculum requires that students should be given opportunities to apply and develop their ICT capacity through the use of ICT tools to support their learning. In each specification candidates will be required to make effective use of ICT in ways appropriate to the needs of the subject.

Tools and resources within the department
There are 5 ICT suites containing enough computers so every pupil can work independently. The department has one interactive white board and all suites have AB Tutor control that allows the user to view teacher demonstrations on their screens.

ICT at Key Stage 3

Year 7
Pupils undertake a number of projects that are based around the national curriculum requirements.  At the end of year 7, pupils are assessed and then set according to ability.

Year 8
Pupils continue to acquire new application skills on a number of projects. The emphasis this year is to establish the system life cycle as a model of working and develop pupils’ ability to analyse and evaluate their work.

Year 9
This is a preparation year for GCSE. Pupils work on a series of tasks within the context of ‘Screen 7’ a cinema complex that has recently experienced a loss in profits. Pupils continue to develop their analysis, design, implementation and evaluation skills.

ICT at Key Stage 4
ICT is a compulsory subject at Hartford High School and is very much seen as a ‘core subject’.  Every pupil studies ICT as an exam subject in years 10 and 11. 

Exam board:
Pupils study specification A on the AQA exam board. The Assessment and QualificationsAlliance (AQA www.aqa.org.uk) is the largest of the three English exam boards. AQA has a leading reputation for promoting education for the public benefit and draws on long experience of setting and marking public exams such as GCSEs.

Specification A encourages the investigation and study of information and communication technology in a variety of contexts, for example home, school, recreation, community, business and industry. In these contexts, pupils are given opportunities to acquire competence, capability and critical skills through the creation, implementation, use and evaluation of a range of ICT systems.

Year 10
Pupils apply their knowledge, skills and understanding of ICT to a range of situations. These take on the form of tasks which require a solution such as a web site, spreadsheet model or a database.

Year 11
In the final year pupils work on an individual Major project. The projects involve designing and making a reusable database system for a real business. Pupils conduct an initial analysis into the businesses requirements and design a system to meet their needs.  The project offers pupils the opportunity to put into context the skills they have acquired on Microsoft Access by presenting a workable solution to an actual problem.

Over the duration of the course pupils will have achieved the following –

• Analysed, designed, implemented, tested, evaluated and documented information and communication systems for use by others.
• Developed an understanding of the wider applications and effects of ICT.
• Reflected critically on the way they and others use ICT.
• Discussed and reviewed the impact of ICT applications in the wider world.
• Considered the social, economic, political, legal, ethical and moral issues and security needs for data which surround the increasing use of ICT.
• Candidates will be assessed on their ability to organise and present information, ideas, descriptions and arguments clearly and logically,
  taking into account their use of grammar, punctuation and spelling.

Final methods of assessment:

Written Paper
Foundation Tier – 1.5 hours short answer questions
Higher Tier – 1.5 hours short and extended answer questions
40% of total marks

Coursework
AQA-set Assignment  
Pupils study a description of a situation and appropriately select the use of ICT to solve various problems.
30% of total marks

Coursework
Major Project
Pupils are required to submit a report on the solution to a problem that demonstrates their ICT capabilities. Wherever possible, pupils select a problem from their own area of interest.
30% of total marks