Supporting the use of ICT in the learning environment
Q1.1 Describe the setting’s policy for the use of ICT for teaching and learning.
Policy Statements
Education – Pupils/Teaching Staff
Children and young people need the help and support of the school to recognise and avoid
online safety risks and build their resilience. Online safety should therefore be a focus in all
areas of the curriculum and staff should reinforce online safety messages across the curriculum.
The online safety curriculum will be provided in the following ways:
- Should be provided as part of Computing/PSHE as well as all other lessons, should be
pre-planned, and should be regularly revisited.
- Key online safety messages should be reinforced in assemblies and classroom sessions
that are pre-planned, and particularly before school holidays when pupils will be online
more.
- Pupils should be taught in all lessons to be critically aware of the content they access on-
line and be guided to validate the accuracy of information, and pupils should be
supported in building resilience to radicalisation by providing a safe environment for
debating controversial issues and helping them to understand how they can influence
and participate in decision making.
- Pupils should be helped to understand the need for rules for using the internet and
encouraged to adopt safe and responsible use.
- Where pupils are searching the internet, staff should be vigilant in monitoring what
content is being accessed, and where possible pupils should be guided to sites that are
suitable for their use.1
Q1.2 Identify the ICT resources used for teaching and learning within the learning
environment.
Twinkle – Teachers often use Twinkl to find materials that link into their topics. Twinkl is an
online educational publishing house that produces teaching and educational materials. I
personally think of it as a google for teaching materials; teachers can search something specific,
for example ‘What is Christmas?’ and come across a plethora of materials they can print off and
use in their lesson.2
Purple Mash – every pupil has a Purple Mash log in, which is an online service full of resources
that can be used across the curriculum. Different teachers each use Purple Mash in different
ways and for different subjects and topics, as it has such a wide range of tools, materials and
games available that all link into national curriculum.3
1
XXX School, Online Safety Policy, ADD IN LINK TO YOUR SCHOOL’S ONLINE BEHAVIOUR POLICY
2
Twinkl, https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resources
3
Purple Mash, https://www.2simple.com/purple-mash/
, Ed Shed – EdShed is the umbrella for several educational products including Spelling Shed,
Maths Shed, and Literacy Shed Plus, which my school uses. Each pupil has an individual log in to
EdShed. Spelling Shed is a programme that makes the acquisition of spelling and word
knowledge fun and engaging for students. Maths Shed makes the acquisition of mental math
and mathematical fact knowledge fun and engaging for students. Literacy Shed Plus is a
collection of English resources for teachers to use.4
TT Rock Stars – Times Tables Roackstars is a programme of daily times tables practice with a
rock star theme. Each week concentrates on a different time table, with a recommended
consolidation week for rehearsing the tables that have recently been practiced. Each pupil has
their own TT Rockstars log in.5
Charanga – Provides exciting online learning for children and young people and contemporary
digital resources for teachers for music lessons in school. Provides week by week lessons for
each year group.6
Squeebles – A spelling app that allows teachers to set up customised spelling tests for children
with the words they need to learn, or pre-recorded tests can be downloaded. Teachers typically
use this app for children with SEND, to allow for important words to be learnt in a fun manner. 7
Nessy – The platform includes programs for reading, spelling, mathematics, writing and typing
and whilst it can be used for all pupils, is aimed primarily at children with Dyslexia. 8 The
platform helps children with dyslexia to read, write and spell more effectively.
Dynamo maths – A resource to support pupils with Dyscalculia and those struggling with maths
and not meeting age related expectations.9
Q1.3 Outline relevant legislation, regulations and guidance in relation to the use of ICT, e.g.
Software licensing.
Software Licencing Agreements
A software licensing agreement is the legal contract between the licensor and/or the author and
the purchaser of software and it establishes the purchaser’s rights. This agreement details how
and when the software can be used and outlines any restrictions that are enforced. For schools,
any programs they purchase or use will have software licensing agreements that dictate user
terms. For example, at the school I am undertaking my placement in, they have an annual
4
EdShed, https://www.edshed.com/en-gb/
5
TT Rock Stars, https://ttrockstars.com/
6
Charanga, https://charanga.com/site/musical-school/
7
Squeebles, https://keystagefun.co.uk/literacy-apps/squeebles-spelling-test/
8
Nessy, https://www.nessy.com/en-us/about-us/about-nessy
9
Dynamo maths, https://dynamomaths.co.uk/#:~:text=What%20is%20Dynamo%20Maths%3F,for%20ages
%206%20to%209.
Q1.1 Describe the setting’s policy for the use of ICT for teaching and learning.
Policy Statements
Education – Pupils/Teaching Staff
Children and young people need the help and support of the school to recognise and avoid
online safety risks and build their resilience. Online safety should therefore be a focus in all
areas of the curriculum and staff should reinforce online safety messages across the curriculum.
The online safety curriculum will be provided in the following ways:
- Should be provided as part of Computing/PSHE as well as all other lessons, should be
pre-planned, and should be regularly revisited.
- Key online safety messages should be reinforced in assemblies and classroom sessions
that are pre-planned, and particularly before school holidays when pupils will be online
more.
- Pupils should be taught in all lessons to be critically aware of the content they access on-
line and be guided to validate the accuracy of information, and pupils should be
supported in building resilience to radicalisation by providing a safe environment for
debating controversial issues and helping them to understand how they can influence
and participate in decision making.
- Pupils should be helped to understand the need for rules for using the internet and
encouraged to adopt safe and responsible use.
- Where pupils are searching the internet, staff should be vigilant in monitoring what
content is being accessed, and where possible pupils should be guided to sites that are
suitable for their use.1
Q1.2 Identify the ICT resources used for teaching and learning within the learning
environment.
Twinkle – Teachers often use Twinkl to find materials that link into their topics. Twinkl is an
online educational publishing house that produces teaching and educational materials. I
personally think of it as a google for teaching materials; teachers can search something specific,
for example ‘What is Christmas?’ and come across a plethora of materials they can print off and
use in their lesson.2
Purple Mash – every pupil has a Purple Mash log in, which is an online service full of resources
that can be used across the curriculum. Different teachers each use Purple Mash in different
ways and for different subjects and topics, as it has such a wide range of tools, materials and
games available that all link into national curriculum.3
1
XXX School, Online Safety Policy, ADD IN LINK TO YOUR SCHOOL’S ONLINE BEHAVIOUR POLICY
2
Twinkl, https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resources
3
Purple Mash, https://www.2simple.com/purple-mash/
, Ed Shed – EdShed is the umbrella for several educational products including Spelling Shed,
Maths Shed, and Literacy Shed Plus, which my school uses. Each pupil has an individual log in to
EdShed. Spelling Shed is a programme that makes the acquisition of spelling and word
knowledge fun and engaging for students. Maths Shed makes the acquisition of mental math
and mathematical fact knowledge fun and engaging for students. Literacy Shed Plus is a
collection of English resources for teachers to use.4
TT Rock Stars – Times Tables Roackstars is a programme of daily times tables practice with a
rock star theme. Each week concentrates on a different time table, with a recommended
consolidation week for rehearsing the tables that have recently been practiced. Each pupil has
their own TT Rockstars log in.5
Charanga – Provides exciting online learning for children and young people and contemporary
digital resources for teachers for music lessons in school. Provides week by week lessons for
each year group.6
Squeebles – A spelling app that allows teachers to set up customised spelling tests for children
with the words they need to learn, or pre-recorded tests can be downloaded. Teachers typically
use this app for children with SEND, to allow for important words to be learnt in a fun manner. 7
Nessy – The platform includes programs for reading, spelling, mathematics, writing and typing
and whilst it can be used for all pupils, is aimed primarily at children with Dyslexia. 8 The
platform helps children with dyslexia to read, write and spell more effectively.
Dynamo maths – A resource to support pupils with Dyscalculia and those struggling with maths
and not meeting age related expectations.9
Q1.3 Outline relevant legislation, regulations and guidance in relation to the use of ICT, e.g.
Software licensing.
Software Licencing Agreements
A software licensing agreement is the legal contract between the licensor and/or the author and
the purchaser of software and it establishes the purchaser’s rights. This agreement details how
and when the software can be used and outlines any restrictions that are enforced. For schools,
any programs they purchase or use will have software licensing agreements that dictate user
terms. For example, at the school I am undertaking my placement in, they have an annual
4
EdShed, https://www.edshed.com/en-gb/
5
TT Rock Stars, https://ttrockstars.com/
6
Charanga, https://charanga.com/site/musical-school/
7
Squeebles, https://keystagefun.co.uk/literacy-apps/squeebles-spelling-test/
8
Nessy, https://www.nessy.com/en-us/about-us/about-nessy
9
Dynamo maths, https://dynamomaths.co.uk/#:~:text=What%20is%20Dynamo%20Maths%3F,for%20ages
%206%20to%209.
