Pathway to leading primary computing – supporting established leaders
08 July 2024
Leading computing in primary is rather paradoxical. It feels like the most rewarding yet challenging subject. It's fast-moving, creative and well-resourced, however is often taught in a very instructional manner by teachers who perhaps lack confidence to deliver more engaging lessons for pupils.
Whatever your experience of leading computing, I hope that this leadership journey is of use and gives you plenty of helpful direction, guidance and access to resources.
Welcome to the Established Leader section of the Primary Computing Leadership Journey, and congratulations for making it this far! Your journey as an established leader should begin with the brand-new Leading Primary Computing Module 3 course following your completion of Leading Primary Computing Module 1 and Module 2 courses.
Remember that the journey gives a suggested sequence of roles, responsibilities and actions that a subject leader could follow. It gives an idea to those who aren’t sure where to start, but also serves as a checklist for those who have been in the role for a while.
The journey of a computing subject lead is different in every school; for example, you might be a new leader and have been told to get SEND and inclusion sorted as a priority. There’s nothing to stop you jumping to that point in the journey and having a look at courses and resources. Similarly, you might be an established leader and haven’t really looked at your policies, in which case you might want to head to Roles and Responsibilities in the New Leader section to have a look at that, or you might want to explore Physical Computing more, in the Developing Leader section.
In the Established Leader section, you will discover aspects that you may have touched on previously, but this time in much finer detail, featuring even more research-led approaches and tried and tested resources. For example, in the New Leader section (especially on the Leading Primary Computing Module 1 course) you will have discovered that your curriculum needs to be broad, rich and deep, reaching all pupils including those with SEND. In the Established Leader section, there is a specific feature on SEND and Inclusion that will really help you fine-tune your provision so that you are reaching all children to the best of your teachers’ ability. Similarly, you’ll have learnt about the best approaches for Assessment and Evidence in the New Leader section, but then how to multiply the effect of formative assessment and other techniques in the Adaptive Teaching element of the Established Leader section.
Explore the links along the Established Leader route and book your place on the Leading Primary Computing Module 3 as soon as you’re able, for the best CPD concerning all of those features mentioned on this part of the journey. Also, please sign up to the free annual Big Computing Leadership Conference in Oxford Brookes University, on Thursday 12th December 2024 – an event not to be missed, whatever stage of leadership you are in! Here is the wrap up from the 2023 conference, so you can see what went on:
Hopefully I’ll catch you there!
About the author:
Phil Wickins is the NCCE Subject Specialist for Primary Computing Leaders