Alistair Lowe, Computer Science teacher at King Edward VII School, reflects on his mentoring of Megan Walker, the Computing Lead at Oughtibridge Primary School
My name is Alistair Lowe, and I’m a Computer Science teacher at King Edward VII School in Sheffield. As part of the Wipro Mentoring Programme, I’ve had the privilege of mentoring Megan Walker, the Computing Lead at Oughtibridge Primary School.
From the outset, Megan showed a strong commitment to developing computing provision across her school. Our mentoring partnership focused on deepening curriculum understanding, aligning with national standards, and enhancing subject leadership. Together, we identified two key areas for development: the need to embed national standards into teaching practice, and how to translate theoretical approaches into practical, meaningful learning in the classroom.
Our first meeting was a face-to-face visit to Oughtibridge, where we carried out lesson observations, held informal discussions with KS1 and KS2 students, and spoke to teachers about their experiences delivering the computing curriculum. These conversations uncovered important insights—such as some pupils perceiving computing as simply “using the computer suite”—and raised key questions like, “What is the purpose of this lesson, and why now?”
This evidence formed the basis of our collaborative action plan. We agreed on the need to improve the clarity of curriculum intent, strengthen lesson rationale, and incorporate real-life problems to make learning more meaningful. Megan and I continued our work over Zoom, focusing on creating a progression grid to justify the sequence and purpose of each computing unit. Megan led the creation of this resource, and we each contributed to it with the aim of further evaluating it in a follow-up meeting.
One of the most rewarding outcomes of our mentoring partnership was the impact it had on the school’s wider development. In January 2025, an academy-led inspection was carried out as part of a computing review at Oughtibridge. This formal visit by senior leaders and trust representatives used a deep dive approach—observing lessons, interviewing staff and students, and reviewing curriculum intent and delivery.
The feedback from this review was overwhelmingly positive. Inspectors praised Megan’s subject leadership, highlighting her clear vision, effective planning, and the cultural shift she had achieved within the school. The report recognised how well the NCCE Teach Computing scheme had been implemented, noted high pupil engagement, and commended the thoughtful sequencing, modelling, and vocabulary use observed in lessons.
This successful inspection validated the work we’d done together. It was a tangible demonstration of the progress made—not just in planning and delivery, but in building confidence, capacity, and leadership. For me, this mentoring journey has been deeply rewarding and a clear example of how collaboration and reflective practice can drive real improvement in computing education.
Alistair (Mentor) and Megan (Teacher Fellow) discuss their work together in this recording: