Discovery Espresso review by Emma Wilson

Date: 26.04.2022

Review subject: Computing

Phase: Primary

Reviewer: Emma Wilson, Deputy head

Urban LA maintained school 415 pupils in Bedford
Ofsted rating: Good
FSM: 11.3%

Review rating:

Average rating across all Discovery Espresso reviews: 3.6/5

It is a good quality resource. Setting up for users can be overly complicated and would benefit from being simplified

How well does it match the curriculum?

Well: It covers the curriculum as well as we expected

We use it primarily for coding. The content is intuitive, engaging and covers this part of the curriculum well

How well does it support your school’s inclusion/diversity/equal opportunities policy?

Reasonably: There is some representation of minorities and no real stereotyping

How well does it support differentiation for the full range of the classes you use it with?

Well: A large majority of resources are suitably differentiated for pupils

Most content is accessible to all children and some has special features such as reading the text

How well does it engage and motivate pupils?

Brilliantly: Pupils love using and are excited when they know they are going to do so

It is intuitive and appealing

How well does it support planning?

Well: It’s fairly self-contained and can be used with minimal preparation

The coding units just need the teacher to understand what's required

How well does it support home use / independent learning?

Reasonably: It could be used at home or independently, but pupils would need some extra support or resources - but we don't really promote home use currently

How would you rate it for value for money compared to similar resources?

Well: It’s worth the money and effort to introduce – more so than many similar resources I’ve seen

However, more free or cheap resources are becoming available so it will need to remain competitive.

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