Starting primary computing: reflections from a former teacher
I still remember my first autumn term as a new teacher. Between learning pupils' names, sourcing equipment and resources, ensuring children know classroom routines, and keeping on top of the marking, every day felt busy, but also exciting.
Alongside all of this comes the challenge of teaching a wide range of subjects. Most primary teachers spend much of their careers teaching content that wasn't part of their own academic background. Computing is no exception. While many new teachers may be confident users of technology, teaching computing can feel unfamiliar, particularly when you're also navigating the many other demands of your first term.
In a single week, you could be explaining Roman history, teaching fractions, leading an investigation on friction and demonstrating how to make an animation. The breadth of knowledge and skills is certainly wide, to say the least. Though we are asked to teach many subjects in the primary classroom, the role isn't about being a subject expert in everything. It's about understanding how children learn and helping them develop knowledge, skills and confidence across a wide range of subjects.
When you're new to teaching, you may feel that you need to have all the answers. You really don’t, but it’s important that you know where to go to help you find them.
Start by looking at your school's computing curriculum and medium-term plans. Find out what children have already learned and what they'll be learning next. That context will often give you far more confidence than trying to learn everything at once. The NCCE offers wealth of advice, teaching resources, and courses all linked to the computing curriculum. A good place to start is our ECT page.
My advice would be to focus on building confidence a bit at a time. Before teaching a new topic, spend a little time exploring the activities yourself. Think about what the children might find challenging and what success will look like by the end of the lesson. If you're teaching a lesson involving unfamiliar software, try the activity yourself beforehand. Even ten minutes of exploration can help you anticipate questions and spot any technical issues before the lesson begins. There is often guidance in resources, such as The Teach Computing Curriculum, which help with this.
It's also worth remembering that primary computing is about far more than programming with Scratch. Whether pupils are creating digital artwork, collecting data, making presentations, designing animations or learning how to stay safe online, they're developing important skills that they will use throughout their lives.
Finally, remember that no teacher needs to do it alone. There are ideas, lesson inspiration and guidance out there, so you don’t have to build everything from the ground up. Ask your colleagues and the computing leader in your school. Yes, they might be busy, but most teachers are happy to support new colleagues and share their expertise. Consider having a look through the posts on the primary computing group on the STEM Community or ask a question on there yourself.
Remember that computing schemes of work, such as Teach Computing and Oak are there to help. You may need to adapt them to the needs of your class, but they mean you can focus on teaching and learning rather than spending hours reinventing resources.
Most importantly, be kind to yourself. Your first computing lesson doesn't need to be perfect, and neither does your second. What matters is that you're willing to keep learning, just as you ask your pupils to do every day.
Build your confidence in teaching primary computing
If you'd like a bit of extra support as you start your teaching career, there are plenty of resources and professional development opportunities available to help you build your confidence.
The National Centre for Computing Education offers courses for new primary teachers. Here are a few hand-picked recommendations for anyone starting out with primary computing this autumn:
Our live remote courses are designed to help trainees and teachers develop their understanding of primary computing and gain practical ideas for the classroom:
Get started with year-group-specific support
Looking for practical guidance linked to the year group you teach? Explore our range of Getting Started courses, designed to help teachers build confidence and deliver engaging computing lessons throughout primary school.
Rachel Jackson, Primary Computing & Digital Lead, National Centre for Computing Education