Don’t Call It ICT!

Why school leaders need to understand the computing curriculum

Alan Harrison

You probably studied ICT when you went to school: information and communications technology was made compulsory in 1988. But, ICT is dead. In fact, it’s been dead since 2014, replaced on the National Curriculum by “Computing”.

Importantly, ICT didn’t evolve into computing; the replacement subject is vastly different to ICT. In a nutshell, the new subject teaches how computers work, not how to work with computers. Programming, not spreadsheets. Ethical implications, not everyday applications.

This difference has sweeping implications, not just for teachers of Computing, but also for school leaders, for teachers across the curriculum, and most importantly, for pupils. Yet many schools still call the subject “ICT”, and some have changed little on their timetables, despite this momentous change to the mandated content.

What was ICT?

ICT taught pupils to use tools to automate working practices: editing photos, creating newsletters, building websites. Pupils might have learned how to format a CV, create a budget or send a professional email. But they didn’t design solutions, create applications, build, connect and program the devices themselves.

In a sense, ICT was to Computing like Woodwork was to Design & Technology. Traditional woodwork and metalwork classes taught practical skills in working resistant materials but little about design principles and iterative problem-solving. The modern subject of D&T asks pupils to research, prototype, evaluate and refine a product, often working to a brief with real-world constraints. It’s not just about making; it’s about thinking like a designer.

Similarly, while a typical ICT lesson involved spreadsheet formulas, editing photos or sending emails, its replacement subject of computing has moved far beyond tool use to explore how computer systems are built, how programs make them function, and how digital solutions are both shaped by and influence society. While ICT largely focused on practical skills, the new subject is an academic discipline with close ties to engineering, maths and science.

What is Computing?

Computing teaches the principles of information and computation, how digital systems work, and how to put this knowledge to use through programming. It’s creative, expressive and academically challenging. The aims of the subject are as follows:

The national curriculum for computing aims to ensure that all pupils:

• can understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation
• can analyse problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems
• can evaluate and apply information technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies, analytically to solve problems
• are responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology

The above summary is vastly different from the aims of the old ICT curriculum, quoted here for comparison:

Information and communication technology (ICT) prepares pupils to participate in a rapidly changing world in which work and other activities are increasingly transformed by access to varied and developing technology.

Pupils use ICT tools to find, explore, analyse, exchange and present information responsibly, creatively and with discrimination. They learn how to employ ICT to enable rapid access to ideas and experiences from a wide range of people, communities and cultures.

The contrast is stark between those two curriculum aims. While the words “use”, “employ” and “access” feature frequently in the ICT curriculum, Computing’s aims include the words “analyse”, “apply”, “evaluate”, and “solve”. While ICT is about manipulating information using tools created by others, computing is concerned with the academic discipline of computer science – like all sciences, this is concerned with putting new knowledge into the world – and practical experience of writing programs to solve problems; learning how to create the tools that others use. These are clearly two different subjects.

Computing deep dive

The Computing curriculum is built around three strands:

• Computer Science (CS) – the foundations of computing
• Information Technology (IT) – the applications
• Digital Literacy (DL) – the implications

These are integrated throughout the curriculum. A small “rump” of the old ICT syllabus lives on, mostly in the strands IT and DL – which is why calling computing “ICT” is misleading. It erases the rigorous Computer Science content and undermines the subject’s academic weight.

Why does this matter?

In 2014 the DfE made computing a statutory subject and retired ICT. This isn’t just a department name change issue. It’s about curriculum entitlement, subject credibility, and equitable access to future-facing skills. Misunderstanding Computing hurts learners and holds schools back.

Calling the subject ICT not only misrepresents the curriculum but it also risks underselling the intellectual rigour, creative potential and societal relevance of what pupils are learning. Worse still: if your curriculum has only incrementally changed since the ICT days, you are probably not teaching the mandatory, fascinating and life-changing content of Computing at all, holding your pupils back and limiting their potential, not to mention their GCSE and A-level grades.

How did we get here?

The “big bang” approach taken in 2014 – deleting the old subject and inserting a whole new one – wasn’t always the plan. Two Royal Society reports – Shut Down or Restart (Furber, 2012) and After the Reboot (Tait, 2017) – chart the shift from ICT to Computing. Furber was scathing about ICT delivery, describing it as “highly unsatisfactory” and lacking academic rigour. He called for a new curriculum built on CS, IT, and DL – but warned against rushing it, citing a lack of specialist teachers.

That warning was ignored. Industry pressure led to a more CS-heavy curriculum, made statutory from 2014. The follow-up report found Computing education “patchy and fragile,” with 44% of secondary teachers only confident teaching the early stages. Meanwhile, the ICT GCSE was phased out in 2017, leaving only the rigorous Computer Science GCSE – despite concerns about a drop in uptake.

The KS4 qualification quirk

The subject of computing includes the discipline of Computer Science, but the two domains are not the same. Thus, the GCSE qualification, being titled “Computer Science”, differs in scope from the National Curriculum subject of Computing. This diagram shows the scope of the Computer Science GCSE, overlaid onto the National Curriculum subject strands of CS, DL and IT.

As you can see the examined content is largely drawn from the CS strand, but includes pieces of IT such as networking, file types and compression, as well as some DL content such as online safety, cybersecurity and legal and ethical issues.

This quirk – the misalignment between the GCSE and the National Curriculum – is not helping school leaders understand the subject, and to be honest some Computing teachers are not exactly clear on the situation either! Amending or replacing the GCSE is being discussed, but any change is years away. For this reason, schools should be familiar with the current position.

Key stage 4 entitlement

Computing (not Computer Science) is a foundation subject in all key stages from KS1 to KS4, meaning it is compulsory from Year 1 right through to Year 11, just like PE and Citizenship. Although Computing is mandatory at KS4, most schools offer GCSE Computer Science only as an option, and GCSE-takers specialise early in Computer Science, effectively dropping IT and DL and those pupils who do not choose this option miss out on their KS4 Computing entitlement altogether. Ofsted’s 2022 Research Review noted:

“Pupils in KS4 who are not studying a computing qualification receive little timetabled computing education.” – Ofsted, 2022

The KS4 Programme of Study is clear:

“All pupils must have the opportunity to study aspects of information technology and computer science at sufficient depth to allow them to progress to higher levels of study or to a professional career.”

“All pupils should be taught to develop their capability, creativity and knowledge in computer science, digital media and information technology.”
– DfE, 2013

To deliver the National Curriculum entitlement to KS4 you should,

• offer the option of GCSE Computer Science to all pupils
• cover the basics of Computing with all pupils including those who choose the GCSE option and those who do not.

This second bullet is ideally delivered with timetabled lessons (as most schools do with core PE and citizenship), however most schools struggle to fit “core computing” lessons into a tight timetable. Alternatively, many schools run drop-down days or teach Computing across the curriculum. You might employ a mix of these approaches – running a regular “Digital Day” or “STEM Day”, infusing maths and science with Computing activities, and including digital literacy content in Citizenship lessons and assemblies – to deliver the KS4 Computing entitlement. Meanwhile, you should ensure your KS3 Computing offer is up to date and covers the three strands of computing – Computer Science, Information Technology and Digital Literacy – effectively and equitably.

What school leaders can do

The obvious first step is to retire the label “ICT”!

Restore subject credibility
Calling computing “ICT” perpetuates the myth that it’s a soft subject, somehow “easier” or suitable for lower prior-attainers (it is not). This affects recruitment, resourcing, respect and results.

Support computing departments
Computing teachers are expected to deliver complex academic content with minimal CPD, staffing, or curriculum time. The myth of “it’s just ICT, anyone who is good with computers can deliver it” is false and harmful.

Increase pupil and teacher engagement
When a school still uses a ten-year-obsolete name for a subject, it sends a message that they don’t care enough about it to teach it well. This discourages pupils and harms GCSE enrolment, not to mention Computing teacher recruitment: computing experts are less likely to apply for “Teacher of ICT” positions.

What all teachers can do

You don’t need to be a Computer Science specialist to support Computing in your school. Here’s how every teacher can help:

Upskill
Build your confidence with digital tools – not just for admin, but for pedagogy. Whether it’s using spreadsheets in geography, simulations in science, or creative coding in art; digital fluency empowers both you and your learners. And yes, familiarise yourself with generative AI, it’s not going away!

Embrace technology
Saying “I’m rubbish with technology” might feel harmless, but it reinforces tech anxiety or “technophobia” and sends a message that computing is intimidating and not for everyone. You wouldn’t undermine Maths teachers by admitting to be “rubbish at Maths,” so be positive about Computing too.

Take ownership
If you use digital resources in your subject, know how to help learners sign in, navigate the website or app, reset passwords and report problems. Don’t hand this off to the Computing teacher: digital literacy is everyone’s responsibility!

Respect the discipline

Computing is a statutory, foundational, academic discipline. It deserves the same respect as English, Maths, and Science – not just in policy, but in practice. This affects all teachers. You wouldn’t talk about Woodwork, why talk about ICT? Let’s respect the discipline and ensure every pupil gets the Computing education they deserve.