Completing the Teach primary computing certificate - Laura
Hi, nice to meet you. Could you tell us who you are, and your background/experience in teaching computing?
I’m Laura Dickinson, a primary school teacher and Computing Lead. I have been teaching 20 years and for most of that time, have led on ICT/Computing and Assistive Technologies. My degree was in Information Technology Education (key stages 2 to 3) which meant that half of my degree was based around IT and computing with the remaining half based on education. Ironically, some of the content that I studied at university back in the day is what we are now teaching our key stage 2 children in their computer science lessons!
I have had a number or roles in my teaching career including being an Assistant Headteacher and an eLearning Lead Teacher for a trust of 46 schools, but the thread of computing has always seemed to weave it’s way through all of my different roles.
What did you gain from participating in the Teach primary computing certificate? How has it impacted your teaching and development?
There are so many CPD opportunities out there for Computing, it’s often difficult to know which one is the right one, but with the Teach primary certificate, I felt that I learnt so much and developed myself not only professionally but as a leader in computing.
The wealth of CPD opportunities that The National Centre for Computing Education offer allowed me to really tailor my CPD to my needs and the needs of my school. The courses were timely and well written and I felt that the content was something that could really impact on my practice.
At first, I hadn't thought about doing the primary certificate, but when I saw how easy it was to achieve - as I was already attending a number of courses as Computing Lead as part of our school’s development plan - it just seemed the sensible thing to do.
What activities did you do as part of the certificate? How did they support pupil learning and engagement?
I had already identified several free courses on the National Centre for Computing Education's site that I wanted to attend that would support me in leading computer science this year in my school. The courses I had already booked onto online went towards my accreditation, such as: Teaching Programming to 5- to 11-year-olds and Creating an Inclusive Classroom: Approaches to Supporting Learners with SEND in Computing. Prior to this, I was already downloading and adapting Teach Computing Curriculum resources on a weekly basis for my Computing Lessons.
It made perfect sense then to look at how to achieve the primary certificate as I was already over half way to achieving it. I found MyLearning so useful for the remote courses as I was able to access the materials and engage with the platform so that the training felt meaningful, not just something I was doing to ‘tick a box’.
Being able to see other delegates' reflections and thoughts allowed me to reflect on my own practice and experience, which in turn allowed me to develop our computing curriculum and delivery to maximise engagement for our pupils, not only in their computer science lessons but through their use of their digital skills in other areas of the curriculum. For example, using the skills that they had developed in our video production unit to make other videos in literacy and history.
How has the certificate improved your students’ love for computing?
The Teach primary certificate has allowed me to reflect on my own practice, and really develop the Teach Computing Curriculum to meet the needs of our pupils. Being able to download the resources and adapt and develop them to meet the needs of our pupils has been invaluable. I can tailor the resources to meet the needs of our pupils, whether it be from a language, accessibility, or inclusion perspective allowing all pupils to access the curriculum, regardless of their starting point. Because of this, our pupils are invested in computer science, they have a desire to learn, and a drive to develop their digital skills.
Would you recommend the certificate to others?
I would absolutely recommend the certificates to others, and not just to the Computing Leads. Often, when we look at subject specific CPD, it’s the curriculum leaders of that subject that attend courses specific to their subject area. The Teach primary certificate has value for all teachers, not only the ones leading the subject.
Further, as I mentioned previously, a lot of the tasks needed to complete the certificate are what our teachers are regularly doing in their classrooms, week in and week out. CPD can often feel an ‘additional extra’ to what teachers must do, where with the primary certificate, it is a celebration of what CPD has already been achieved.
What would you tell someone considering enrolling or completing the certificate?
Don’t think that it is an additional extra and something that will take too much time.
You’ll be surprised at how much of it you have already completed already. Take the time to look at the primary certificate and identify some courses or tasks that you need to complete. You’ll very quickly see how easy it is to achieve, and you’ll also benefit from some extremely high quality CPD opportunities along the way.