FAQ & Support

You should use the registration page. Schools/academies in England can register automatically by using their DfE number or postcode. If the school/academy is already registered the tool will tell you that this is the case. If you do not know who the Administrator is, or if the person is no longer at the school/academy you can ask for a new person to be made Administrator in their place. You should request this from the enquiries tab in the tool or by email to cqf@teachcomputing.org

If you do not have a DfE number, if the tool cannot find your school/academy, or you are a school in Northern Ireland or an international school you can register manually. The registration will need approval and this can take up to 5 days.

You should email cqf@teachcomputing.org and explain why the account is required.

The Computing Quality Framework (CQF) allows schools/academies to review their Computing provision across various criteria, benchmark it against good practice and other schools/academies, produce action plans, and access good practice resources.

No, the tool is provided free of charge by the National Centre for Computing Education, delivered by STEM Learning and supported by South West Grid for Learning.

Further information can be found under ‘Overview’, including a guide to the Framework criteria / measurables, a ‘how to’, and information on various features and benefits.

The pdf version of the framework contains the level statements for each dimension in the Computing Quality Framework. It does not include the improvement actions, nor the links to resources. It is therefore suggested that schools should not use it as the sole method for their review. Schools should use the online tool with its additional functionality and interactive nature.

The tool works on the basis of one account for each school/academy, but the school/academy can have as many users as it wishes. When the school is registered initially the first user will be given Administrator rights. The Administrator can add other users to the tool and will be able to see details of who is registered to use the tool under “my account” (from your name on the top right of the home page).

An account should be registered to a shared or department-based email address only, not an individual member of staff.

It is important that if the Administrator leaves the school/academy or changes, that the school/academy informs us by emailing cqf@teachcomputing.org of the change so we can allocate Administrator rights to the new relevant staff member, or any other user that the school wishes to have administration rights.

There is no limit to the number of people who can access the tool, in fact we encourage a team approach to using the tool and reviewing each aspect. The Administrator can add users under "my account".

These are areas of work whereby schools can review and document their existing computing provision against seven dimensions/topics; these are:

• Leadership and Vision
• Curriculum and Qualifications
• Teaching, Learning and Assessment
• Staff Development
• Diversity, Inclusion and SEND
• Careers Education

• Impact on Outcomes

The dimensions are scored from a level of 1-5 (level 5 is the highest). If a school can demonstrate their computing provision is at level 4 they can apply for the Computing Quality Mark (CQM) for their schools' computing provision (the CQM award is valid for three years).

Clicking on the ‘Dashboard’ tab will enable users to view a summary of their school or academy’s current positioning across each of the seven assessment criteria. Users may then click on the ‘Review’ section on the left-hand tab, and begin the self-assessment process. Working through the aspects one by one, users may select the Level their school or academy has reached according to each dimension’s criteria. Completing this review will create an aggregated score for the whole school / academy’s Computing provision as it stands. A re-review can be carried out at any time by the chosen Administrator.

Each aspect has five level statements (1 to 5). You should choose the statement which is closest to that which best describes your current school/academy’s provision for that aspect. Click on your chosen level and then click save. The tool will provide an improvement action, which is different for each level. You can also access resources for assistance and improvement purposes.

The progress metric at the top of each page and on the dashboard tracks your progress within the tool. You can increase your progress by selecting dimension levels and entering commentary.The progress only refers to extent to which the tool has been completed and not the level you have achieved.

Anything considered relevant to a school’s current computing provision may be included. Written ‘evidence’ might include a summary of current measures, an excerpt from a school’s prospectus, or a quote from SLT. There is no need to upload or provide supplementary documents, though linking to external resources / shared file information is acceptable, provided our assessors can gain access. An example of an external resource or shared file can come in the form of a Google Drive or SharePoint link provided the link is accessible to the assessors.

A detailed example below:  

Curriculum & Qualifications

'Our computing curriculum is foward-thinking and futureproofed, developed with the intention of delivering universal digital skills education, alongside a more developed computer science curriculum as an elective. Computing at [school] is delivered in-line with the National Curriculum requirement for digital literacy and skill; our curriculum intent document demonstrates the support of students' core progression, with assessment points scheduled throughout the year for all Key Stages. This is clearly demonstrated through [our] feedback policy, and staff scrutiny of submitted work and assessment. Staff utilise QWF assessments across all year groups, the feedback and data from which is used to develop the future computing curriculum.

Featuring a recent installation of a 125-machine computer suite, our computing department is equipped to industry standard acros hardware and software. Students have the opportunity to engage in practical work with reliable support, as well as partake in extracurricular computing activities: after-school games club, ethical hacking/digital security, and introductory coding, to name a few.'

Please do not submit sensitive or protected category information to the CQF - for example, students' names.
 

The Computing Quality Framework is available for use by primary and secondary schools across England. Evidence submitted by schools as part of an application for the Computing Quality Mark will be assessed on a case-by-case basis; we would, therefore, accept an explanation that a certain assessment dimension does not apply, and consider accordingly. 

There are a number of different reports available to schools/academies under the Dashboard / Review/Reporting tab. These provide various levels of detail about your review, progress and progress history in the review and allows you to select the date for which you wish the review to be printed.

When you call up a report, you will have the option of printing it or downloading it to your device. The tool does not save copies of reports, but you can print a report of the content entered into the tool by the school/academy by the current or a previous date.

To access your certificates, go to the review page and click on the certificates link. You can then download certificates as they become available. A copy of the Computing Quality Mark Certificate will be emailed to you once upon receipt of Mark status.

The Computing Quality Mark is awarded to schools and academies to acknowledge and celebrate the quality of the institution’s Computing provision. Further information is available under the Accreditation tab, and via our Computing Quality Mark information document.

To apply, the school or academy will need to reach the benchmark level for every aspect. The required benchmark level is Level 4 across all seven aspects.

Once a school or academy has reached the required benchmark, they may apply for the Mark, which will then be assessed by a CQM assessor.

Apply for the CQM

If the FAQs do not provide the answer you require you can email cqf@teachcomputing.org or reach out to your local Computing Hub.

Always remember to save the evidence you submit onto the CQF platfform before you move to the next evidence box.

NOTE: It is useful to first type your evidence into a word document and then copy and paste into the platform