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"Remember, remember the Fifth of November, gunpowder, treason and plot..." Bonfire Night is celebrated on the 5th of November and marks the anniversary of the discovery of a plot organised by Catholic conspirators to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London in 1605. Find out more in this blog and explore the resources on Purple Mash about this important day in history.

The Purple Mash Computing Scheme gives primary schools everything they need to confidently teach Computing from EYFS to Year 6. Fully aligned to the UK National Curriculum, it covers Computer Science, Information Technology and Digital Literacy, with ready-to-use lesson plans, teaching resources, assessment tools and a clear progression of skills and knowledge.

That's why the Computing Scheme is September's Mash of the Month!

Remembrance Day or Armistice Day is held on the 11th of November and marks the day that World War I ended at 11am on the 11th day, of the 11th month in 1918. In this blog, we look at a range of resources from The Royal British Legion and Purple Mash that you can use in class to learn about this moving day.

We get asked all the time if schools still need to collect evidence of children’s learning. Our view has always been a resounding “Yes, absolutely!”. There is no doubt the introduction of new frameworks and methodologies created a narrative that collecting evidence was no longer needed. This message was received with open arms from early years practitioners who were fed up with the amount of time they were spending collecting evidence and assessment data. As a result many schools simply stopped collecting evidence because they believed that was the message coming from the experts. However, we have spoken to several schools that gave up collecting evidence and are now regretting the fact that they no longer have a collection of the exceptional practice and learners' magical moments; those experiences are lost forever.

School budgets are tight, so it’s understandable that many schools turn to free computing resources and schemes. But when you look beyond the upfront cost, what else are you getting – or missing out on?

From teacher workload and curriculum progression to support, security and digital tools, here’s why investing in a computing scheme could offer greater value in the long run.