The Computing Curriculum Primary Schools Keep Getting Wrong
Here is an uncomfortable truth about computing in primary schools: too many schools are still teaching ICT and calling it computing. The subject changed name over a decade ago. The curriculum changed. The expectations changed. But in a significant number of schools, the actual provision did not change much at all.
Pupils log on. They open a Word document or a PowerPoint. They type something. They save it. They might use the internet to research a topic for their history project. The teacher calls this computing. It is not. It is digital literacy, which is one strand of computing, delivered in isolation from the other two strands that actually matter.
This is not a criticism of teachers. It is a criticism of the support (or lack of it) that teachers have received. Computing was dropped into the primary curriculum in 2014 with minimal training, minimal resources, and an expectation that classroom teachers with no background in computer science would somehow teach algorithms, programming, and logical reasoning to thirty Year 4 pupils on a Wednesday afternoon.
Twelve years later, some schools have figured it out. Many have not. And with Ofsted now publishing subject-specific research reviews and deep dives into computing becoming more common, the gap between schools doing it well and schools doing it badly is becoming harder to ignore.
The Three Strands Most Schools Forget
The National Curriculum for computing has three distinct strands:
Computer science. Algorithms, programming, logical reasoning, understanding how computers work. This is the core of the subject. It is the part most schools struggle with.
Information technology. Using technology to create, organise, and manipulate digital content. This includes using productivity software, creating multimedia content, working with data and spreadsheets.
Digital literacy. Using technology safely, respectfully, and responsibly. Online safety, e-safety, digital citizenship.
A balanced computing curriculum covers all three. In practice, most schools over-index heavily on digital literacy (because online safety feels urgent and accessible) and information technology (because it looks like the old ICT curriculum teachers are comfortable with), while under-delivering on computer science.
The result is Year 6 pupils who can create a PowerPoint presentation and recite a list of online safety rules but cannot explain what an algorithm is, have never debugged a programme, and have no idea how the computer in front of them actually processes information.
That is not a computing education. It is digital skills training with an e-safety bolt-on.
What Ofsted Expects
Ofsted's research review on computing, published in 2022, made several points that should have prompted every computing lead in the country to review their provision. The key findings are worth paying attention to.
First, Ofsted expects to see a curriculum with clear progression from Year 1 to Year 6. Not the same activity repeated at different year groups with minor variations. Genuine progression, where concepts build on each other and pupils' knowledge deepens over time. An algorithm in Year 1 is a set of step-by-step instructions. By Year 6, pupils should understand decomposition, abstraction, and pattern recognition. That progression does not happen by accident.
Second, Ofsted distinguishes between "using" technology and "understanding" technology. A pupil who can use Scratch is not the same as a pupil who can explain why their Scratch programme works. Using a search engine is not the same as understanding how search algorithms rank results. The curriculum requires both, and Ofsted looks for evidence that pupils are being taught the underlying concepts, not just the surface-level skills.
Third, Ofsted notes that physical computing (using programmable devices, sensors, robots, and hardware) is an effective way to teach computer science concepts. When a pupil writes a programme and sees a robot execute it, the link between code and outcome is immediate. This is harder to achieve with screen-based programming alone.
If your school's computing provision consists primarily of pupils using software, completing online safety worksheets, and occasionally opening Scratch to follow a tutorial, it will not hold up under scrutiny.
What Good Looks Like
So what does a strong computing curriculum in a primary school actually look like in 2026? Here are the characteristics we see in schools that are getting it right.
A Clear Progression Model
Good schools have a written progression document that maps the computing curriculum from Year 1 to Year 6. It specifies which concepts are taught in each year group, how they build on prior learning, and what pupils should know and be able to do by the end of each year.
This is not a scheme of work. It is a curriculum map. The scheme of work tells you what to teach in each lesson. The curriculum map tells you why you are teaching it and where it sits in the bigger picture.
For example, a progression model for programming might look like this:
- Year 1: Understand that algorithms are sequences of instructions. Give and follow simple instructions.
- Year 2: Create simple programmes on a device. Predict what a simple programme will do. Debug errors.
- Year 3: Write programmes that use sequence, selection (if/then), and repetition (loops).
- Year 4: Use variables in programmes. Write more complex programmes with multiple conditions.
- Year 5: Design programmes that use inputs and outputs. Decompose problems into smaller parts.
- Year 6: Create programmes that solve specific problems. Use logical reasoning to test and refine.
Each year builds on the previous one. A Year 4 pupil who has not been taught sequencing and debugging in Years 1 and 2 will struggle to work with variables. A Year 6 pupil who has never used selection and repetition cannot decompose problems effectively. The progression matters.
A Mix of Plugged and Unplugged Activities
The best computing curricula do not treat "plugged" (screen-based) and "unplugged" (no technology) as either/or. They use both strategically.
Unplugged activities are excellent for teaching concepts. Algorithms can be taught through cooking recipes, direction-giving games, or sorting activities without a computer in sight. Debugging can be taught by giving pupils a set of instructions with deliberate errors and asking them to find and fix the mistakes. These activities are accessible, require no equipment, and help pupils grasp concepts before applying them on screen.
Plugged activities are essential for applying concepts. Programming in Scratch, using block-based coding tools, and working with hardware all require actual technology. Pupils need regular, sustained time on devices to develop fluency. A once-a-fortnight slot is not enough.
Good schools alternate. Introduce a concept unplugged, then apply it using technology. Use unplugged activities for assessment (can the pupil explain the concept without the software doing the thinking for them?). Use plugged activities for creative application and skill development.
Physical Computing Alongside Screen-Based
This is where most schools fall short, and it is the area where Ofsted has been most pointed. Screen-based programming is valuable, but it is also limiting. When a Scratch sprite moves across the screen, the feedback is visual. When a robot moves across the floor, the feedback is physical and spatial. Pupils understand cause and effect differently when they can see and touch the output of their code.
Physical computing includes:
- Programmable robots (Bee-Bots for KS1, more advanced programmable robots for KS2)
- Microcontrollers and sensor-based projects
- Circuit building with programmable components
- Drone programming where code controls actual flight
- Robotics projects where pupils build and programme machines
The barrier is cost and expertise. A class set of programmable robots costs money. Maintaining the equipment takes time. Teaching with hardware requires confidence that many computing leads do not yet have. This is one area where specialist workshops genuinely add value, not as a replacement for your regular computing lessons, but as enrichment that gives pupils experiences your school cannot easily replicate.
Teacher Confidence Supported Through CPD
This is the elephant in the room. The single biggest predictor of computing provision quality is teacher confidence. Schools where the computing lead has strong subject knowledge and shares it with colleagues tend to deliver good computing. Schools where the computing lead inherited the role reluctantly and has had no training tend to deliver poor computing.
CPD is not optional here. Computing is a specialist subject. You would not expect a teacher with no maths background to teach maths without support. The same principle applies to computing.
Effective CPD for computing looks like:
- Hands-on training sessions, not slide decks. Teachers need to experience the activities they will be teaching.
- Modelled lessons. Watching a confident practitioner deliver a computing lesson is worth more than any amount of written guidance.
- Ongoing support, not one-off INSET. A single twilight session on Scratch in September will be forgotten by October.
- Access to quality resources. Good schemes of work (Teach Computing is free and comprehensive) reduce the planning burden and give teachers a structure to follow.
Some schools use our CPD sessions to build staff confidence in areas like robotics, physical computing, and cybersecurity. The format is practical: teachers experience the same workshop their pupils will do, then discuss how to embed the concepts into their ongoing computing provision.
Enrichment That Goes Beyond the Statutory Minimum
Meeting the National Curriculum requirements is the floor, not the ceiling. Schools that treat computing as a rich, exciting subject rather than a statutory obligation produce pupils who are genuinely engaged with the discipline.
Enrichment looks different in every school, but common elements include:
- Computing clubs (coding clubs, Tech Tigers clubs, robotics clubs)
- STEM days with specialist computing workshops
- Participation in events like Hour of Code, Safer Internet Day, or Computing at School challenges
- Links with local businesses or organisations that work in technology
- Competitions, both internal (school coding challenge) and external
Enrichment is not extra. It is the part of the curriculum that makes computing feel like a living, relevant subject rather than an hour a week ticking boxes. Pupils who programme a robot to navigate a maze, or build a machine learning model, or fly a drone using code they wrote, come back to their regular computing lessons with a different attitude to the subject.
What to Do If Your Provision Is Not There Yet
If you have read this and recognised your school in the "not good enough" description, do not panic. You are in the majority. And the route from where you are to where you need to be is not as complicated as it feels.
Step 1: Audit what you actually teach. Not what your curriculum map says. What actually happens in classrooms. Ask class teachers: what did your pupils do in computing last half-term? If the answers are mostly "used the internet for research" and "did online safety," you have a digital literacy curriculum, not a computing curriculum.
Step 2: Adopt a quality scheme of work. The Teach Computing Curriculum (from the National Centre for Computing Education) is free, comprehensive, and well-structured. It covers all three strands with clear progression from Year 1 to Year 6. You do not need to reinvent the wheel.
Step 3: Invest in CPD. Identify your staff's confidence gaps and address them. STEM Learning offers funded CPD for computing. Local Computing at School hubs run free or low-cost workshops. Use specialist providers for in-school CPD that is practical and directly applicable.
Step 4: Start with physical computing. If your provision is weak on computer science, physical computing is the fastest way to make an impact. Pupils respond to it. Staff see the engagement. It provides concrete evidence of computing learning that you can show to governors and inspectors.
Step 5: Build enrichment into your calendar. Book a STEM day with computing workshops. Start a computing club. Enter a competition. These activities create momentum and raise the profile of computing across your school.
The computing curriculum is not going to become less important. AI, cybersecurity, data science, and programming are increasingly central to the world your pupils will enter after school. A primary computing curriculum that stops at PowerPoint and online safety is not preparing them for that world. The schools that recognise this now and act on it will be the ones whose pupils arrive at secondary school ready to thrive.
