Computing curriculum in England
I attended a meeting on Friday, in London, about the new Computing curriculum in England, which was introduced in September 2014 to replace the previous ICT curriculum. It’s an ambitious curriculum that aims to deliver computer science at all stages of compulsory education (Key Stages 1-4). The main change is the move away from ICT to computer science, with a focus on algorithms, data structures and coding. This is in keeping with many other countries (such as the US, China and Thailand), which are also focussing on computer science.
England’s plans are ambitious. Learners at Key Stage 1 (age 5-7) will be introduced to algorithms and simple programming; at Key Stage 2 (age 8-11) they are expected to know how computer networks work and to use logical reasoning; at Key Stage 3 (age 12-14) they are introduced to computational abstractions and must know two or more programming languages; and at Key Stage 4 (age 15-16) they must study computer science at sufficient depth to allow them to progress to higher levels of study. Computational thinking is emphasised throughout all Stages.
The event I attended was specifically about creating item banks for formative assessment questions to help learners evaluate their progress through the Stages. I enjoyed both aspects of the day – learning about England’s approach to computer science and also their plans for this item bank.
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