Introducing our computing curriculum partner

Stuart Davison is the computing subject lead at Oak National Academy. Prior to joining Oak, Stuart taught computing for nearly 20 years and also trained computing teachers as a senior lecturer in an ITT university setting. Stuart has contributed widely to the development of the subject nationally, authoring resources for many different publishers and also fulfilling various roles at the subject community Computing At School including being part of the team that ran the CAS Regional Centre for the West Midlands.

Developing our new computing curriculum

Our focus is on lowering workload and supporting teachers to increase their expertise. Over the coming year we’ll be creating a new primary and secondary computing curriculum with teaching resources designed to better support your planning, in-class teaching and to help you develop your own curriculum.

Our fantastic partners reflect the diverse range of educational providers and expertise across the country. We are one of many teaching resource and curriculum suppliers, and I am delighted that we can improve this offer so that teachers have an even better choice of foundation materials to build upon in their classroom.

Curriculum partner

I am proud to announce that we will collaborate once more with the Raspberry Pi Foundation to develop an updated curriculum and lesson resources for primary and secondary Computing.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation is a UK-based charity with the mission to enable young people to realise their full potential through the power of computing and digital technologies. They worked with us on our original computing curriculum for key stages 1–4. The Foundation team's expertise — gained through years of teaching in classrooms, designing successful curricula, training teachers through in-person and online CPD courses, and doing computing education research — will ensure the lesson resources will model best practice and support non-subject experts as well as experienced teachers. Findings from research into how to make computing engaging for young people from groups currently underrepresented in the subject will be incorporated throughout the resources to offer teachers practical ways to support all their learners.

Our curriculum approach

Our computing-specific principles dovetail with our overall approach to curriculum design, and how we hope teachers can use Oak, as explained by Emma McCrea, our Head of Curriculum Design. You can also find out more about the new partners and subject experts we’re excited to be working with.

As well as our overarching curriculum principles, our computing curriculum principles are a rigorous guide to guarantee that our new curriculum is grown from a strong foundation of core values and key ingredients, ensuring that our curriculum is cohesive and enriching. In primary and secondary, these focus on the knowledge and skills specific to computing, including:

• How computer systems and networks function;
• The use of data to represent complex information and inform decision-making;
• The design and application of algorithms and data-driven models to create programs and AI solutions.

The curriculum will also:

• Enable pupils to use technology to present information and create solutions to real problems.
• Examine the impact of current and emerging technologies on individuals and wider society including the legal, ethical and moral implications.

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