In Key Stage 1 ICT your child will learn about different sources of information and the forms in which it can be accessed. They will work with text, image, sound, and learn about how everyday devices respond to signals and instructions.

As your child progresses through the curriculum their knowledge, understanding and use of ICT will grow to include classifying and presenting information, planning and presentation skills, and storing and retrieving information.

Lesson examples:

Wondering what your child does in ICT lessons? Here are some examples:

• After learning about things they can control, such as a tape recorder and video, a group of year 1 pupils visited the school's office to look at the equipment being used. They also looked at the entry system on the front door of the office.
   
• Year 1 pupils take turns to control and predict the movement of a remote-control car and a floor turtle and then record their predictions and outcomes on the whiteboard.
   
• Year 2 pupils carry out a survey exploring the density and movement of traffic on different roads around the school. Back in class they use a graphing program to record and tally their results.
   
• Using a keyboard and music software, a year 2 class learn how to compose music. They are shown how to use the mouse to select and place musical phrases into the sequencer grid.

Help your child at home

• Show your child how to click and draw using the computer mouse - it's a skill that is needed in drawing programs.
   
• If you think your child is ready, demonstrate how to launch programs.
   
• They may be almost obsolete but, if you still have them around, cassette recorders and videos - alongside DVDs - offer opportunities for your child to take control of his or her own ICT experience. Teach your child how to play a tape, to rewind and fast forward to find what they want. Teach them how to record a programme, or themselves singing.
   
• Use music CD players to show your child how to play and change tracks.
   
• Many toys develop ICT skills, such as remote-controlled vehicles and animals, musical keyboards, electronic cash registers, and children's ‘electronic computers'.