8 July 2026
It’s a fair question, so we’d like to explain exactly what we mean.
First and foremost, we do not have any insider information about the forthcoming curriculum. We have not received confidential information from the Department for Education, Computing at School (CAS), or anyone involved in drafting the new curriculum and programme of study. Everything we have used is either based on our professional experience or information already available in the public domain.
For many years teachers have asked us to create Key Stage 3 resources. While developing Smart Revise and supporting KS4 and KS5 delivery, we simply didn’t have the capacity to do so. However, with a new national curriculum on the horizon and first teaching expected in September 2028, we felt the time was right to begin developing a KS3 offer.
Rather than wait for the final curriculum to be published, we wanted to start building resources now so that schools would have time to review, trial and influence them before the new curriculum arrives. Our aim has been simple: to create the highest-quality resources we have ever produced, drawing on everything we have learned from supporting teachers over the last decade.
From the outset, we wanted the scheme to be flexible, engaging and relevant. We placed careers at the centre of the curriculum, built in opportunities for practical and creative work, and designed lessons that develop both knowledge and skills. We also wanted enough breadth in the scheme that it could adapt to changes when the final programme of study is published.
To achieve this, we started with the current National Curriculum and then explored a much wider range of computing applications and contexts than could fit into a KS3 programme. This resulted in 35 potential units, from which a smaller core curriculum could eventually be selected. Our thinking was straightforward: if the future curriculum moves in a particular direction, we would already have much of the content prepared and could refine rather than start from scratch.
Alongside this work, we conducted extensive research into publicly available information relating to the Curriculum and Assessment Review, consultation responses, government publications and commentary from organisations involved in computing education. We examined the themes that appeared consistently and considered how they might influence the future direction of the subject.
Based on that analysis, several trends appeared likely. Programming would remain important. Digital literacy and responsible technology use seemed to be significant. Data literacy and artificial intelligence appeared certain. There also seemed to be growing recognition that creative and applied uses of technology have an important place within computing education.
We have also seen questions about why our planning appears to assume that any future GCSE reforms would be introduced for first teaching in 2029 rather than 2030. The simple answer is that we do not know. No official announcement has been made and we have no information beyond what is publicly available. However, when developing a long-term KS3 curriculum, it is sensible to work towards the earliest plausible implementation date rather than the latest. If significant changes are made to the KS4 qualification, it would be reasonable to expect the KS3 curriculum to provide a foundation for those changes.
Given the widely acknowledged need to modernise computing education, we felt it was prudent to plan on the basis that reform could arrive as early as 2029. If the timetable proves to be later, our resources will still be suitable; if it proves to be earlier, schools will be glad they prepared. This is simply a planning assumption, not evidence of any advance knowledge.
Of course, these are our interpretations, not facts. The final curriculum may look different. However, after analysing the available evidence and drawing on more than 30 years of classroom experience, we felt confident enough to build a draft curriculum framework around these themes.
As part of this process, we proposed three curriculum strands: Computer Science Fundamentals, Digital Literacy and Responsible Technology Use, and Data and AI Awareness. These are our own working titles and should not be interpreted as official curriculum terminology.
We also wanted to ensure that the resources reflected effective classroom practice. For that reason, we sought feedback from a range of educational and industry professionals on our proposed approach to teaching and learning. This included classroom teachers, a representative from another resource provider, a professional working in the data industry, and a senior figure within CAS.
It is important to be clear about what this collaboration involved. The discussions focused on pedagogy and classroom delivery. They did not involve access to confidential curriculum information, nor were they based on knowledge of any future programme of study.
Some of those individuals also helped develop prototype units from content that we had already identified and planned. For example, one prototype unit was based around computer specifications — a topic already present within existing computing qualifications and selected because it aligns with our aim of developing practical, real-world computing knowledge.
So when we describe our resources as “Curriculum 2028 Ready”, what do we mean?
We do not mean that the units have been written against a curriculum that has not yet been published.
We mean that they have been designed with sufficient breadth, flexibility and forward-looking content to be adapted efficiently once the final curriculum is known. It is a commitment that we will align our resources to the 2028 curriculum, not a claim that we already know precisely what that curriculum contains.
When the final programme of study is published, we fully expect to review our plans, refine content, decide which units form the core offer and make any necessary changes to ensure full alignment.
In short, Craig’n’Dave’s KS3 resources have been developed using publicly available information, professional expertise and extensive consultation about effective teaching and learning. We have no access to information that is not already in the public domain. Our goal is simply to help schools prepare for the future by developing resources that are flexible enough to evolve alongside the new curriculum when it arrives.
