Leading computing in your school? We’re here to help
Leading computing in your secondary school is an amazing opportunity. As our MD for Education and Public Benefit, Julia Adamson said at the ‘Education for 11 - 16 years olds parliamentary committee’:
"Computing is like glitter: it gets everywhere"
And of course, Julia is right; digital technology is woven through today's society and jobs, it is part of the fabric of modern life, and pupils must be educated to use that technology confidently, competently and responsibly.
The ever-changing pervasiveness of technology brings fantastic opportunities to educators, letting your pupils tinker with new AI games or go on virtual field trips under VR goggles for example. But it can also bring challenges: keeping your curriculum up to date and continuing professional development for staff, to name just a couple.
CAS is here to help you on both counts: the opportunities and the challenges. Many members of our community are subject leaders, with varying degrees of experience but with a shared ethos of supporting one another.
The resources below have been collated to support you in your role as a subject leader. There are also some great materials to support you with teaching computing on our Secondary Teaching page.
Communities of Practice
At its heart, CAS is about teachers supporting teachers through our various communities. Our communities are made up of teachers and subject leaders sharing advice, resources and support. Whatever your experience level, you’re welcome.
Secondary Heads of Departments
This group aims to support current (and aspiring) Heads of Computer Science/Computing in Secondary schools. Use this group as a chance to to share what we're doing in our own departments, share resources and ideas for building a thriving department.
Local Communities
CAS has a network of local communities across the UK run by our volunteer Community Leaders and specialising in offering relevant local support to teachers. Communities can either be primary or secondary specialised or focus on both – called ‘Mixed Communities’.
Computing Quality Framework
The Computing Quality Framework (CQF) is intended to help schools review their progress in developing an exemplary computing curriculum. It provides a means of systematically assessing 7 strands of computing education provision in your school from leadership and vision to curriculum to Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and SEND.
Ofsted & Computing
As a subject leader, you’ll be responsible for representing your subject in an Ofsted inspection, so here’s some key information to support you. You can find further support by searching for Ofsted related resources or by posting your question in the forum.
In our 2020 CAS Virtual Showcase ex Headteacher and Ofsted inspector, Nick Templeton delivered a session for our community on ‘Preparing for an Ofsted Deep Dive’.
In May 2022 Ofsted released their ‘Computing Research Review’ review which explores literature relating to the field of computing education. Its purpose is to identify factors that can contribute to high-quality school computing curriculums, assessment, pedagogy and systems. This review would then be used to inform inspections of schools’ computing provision.
Whilst released before the publication of the research review, this webinar by Marc White HMI Lead Inspector for Computing covers many of the key areas of what Ofsted consider to be high-quality computing education.
UK Computing Curriculum Links
Read more about the Computing curriculum in your UK nation using the links below:
- England - 2014 National Curriculum Computing
- Scotland - Curriculum for Excellence Technologies
- Northern Ireland - The Northern Ireland Curriculum
- Wales - Curriculum for Wales Science and Technology