It is important to recognise that much of the new secondary curriculum for ICT will be familiar, although there are some significant changes to both structure and content. The ICT programmes of study should be viewed in the context of the wider aims of the new secondary curriculum.
The structure of the ICT programmes of study has changed in line with the programmes of study for all other National Curriculum subjects. Each programme of study starts with the importance statement for ICT, which describes the nature of the subject and why it is relevant to pupils' lives. The programmes of study include a section on the key concepts that underpin the study of ICT and a section on the key processes, which outlines the essential skills and processes that pupils need to learn to make progress in the subject. The range and content section outlines the breadth of the subject; teachers should draw on this when planning ICT schemes of work. Finally, the curriculum opportunities section identifies the opportunities that are integral to learning and enhance pupils' engagement with the subject.
The new curriculum has been updated to reflect new technologies and developments in ICT, including, for example, specific reference to:
In addition, there are some specific changes to content, for example:
There is an emphasis on some aspects which will have an impact on planning across all areas, for example:
The attainment target level descriptions have some minor amendments that reflect the changes to the programmes of study but, importantly, the standards have not changed. The key characteristics, previously published as non-statutory guidance, are now embedded in the level descriptions.
