Key Stage 3 computing · Creative and applied IT

KS3 digital design, usability and trust: a guide for parents

A digital artefact is anything a person makes on a computer: a poster, presentation, web page, video, spreadsheet or recording. In Key Stage 3 children learn to create these, and to reuse, revise and repurpose existing ones, for a specific audience. They are expected to think about three things as they work: whether the content can be trusted, whether the design is clear, and whether the audience can actually use it.

Digital artefacts for an audience, explained

The programme of study asks pupils to create, reuse, revise and repurpose digital artefacts for a given audience. Those four verbs matter. Creating is making something new. Reusing is taking part of an existing piece, such as a photo or a section of text, and putting it into a new piece, which raises questions of permission and credit. Revising is improving your own work after feedback. Repurposing is changing a finished piece to suit a different audience or purpose, such as turning a presentation for adults into a short guide for younger pupils.

Everything starts with the audience. Before choosing a font or a colour, pupils are expected to ask who will use the artefact, what they already know, what device they will use and what they need to be able to do. A leaflet for parents and a notice for Year 7 pupils might contain the same facts but should look and sound different. Teachers push pupils to describe the audience in specific terms rather than ‘everyone’.

Design means arranging things so the message is clear. Children learn to use a clear hierarchy, with the most important information largest or first, to keep fonts and colours to a small number, to align things neatly, to leave space around items and to choose images that add meaning rather than decoration. Contrast matters, because pale text on a pale background is hard to read. Usability is about whether the audience can do what they came to do: find the opening time, work out how to move between pages, or read the text on a small screen. The best way to test usability is to watch someone try it, which is why testing with the audience is part of the work.

Trustworthiness is the third strand and has two sides. Pupils need to judge the material they reuse: who made it, when, for what purpose, and whether it can be checked against another reliable source. They also need to make their own work trustworthy, by getting facts right, showing sources, giving credit and using images and music they have permission to use. Many websites state a licence that explains what you may do with their content. Accuracy and honesty matter even for small pieces, because a polished artefact can persuade people whether or not it is right.

This links to the broader aim that pupils become responsible, competent, confident and creative users of technology. Accessibility belongs here too: using enough contrast, readable font sizes, describing images in words for people who cannot see them, and not relying on colour alone to carry meaning. Children who think about these things early are making better work and learning that technology is made for people.

Words your child will hear

Digital artefact: Anything made with a computer, such as a poster, video, web page, spreadsheet or recording.
Audience: The people the artefact is made for. Their age, knowledge and devices shape every choice.
Repurpose: To change existing work so it suits a different audience or purpose.
Usability: How easily the intended audience can do what they want with the artefact.
Accessibility: Designing so that as many people as possible can use the artefact, including people with sight, hearing or reading difficulties.
Contrast: The difference in lightness between text and its background. Higher contrast is easier to read.
Licence: The permission given by an owner that sets out how others may use their work.

What the National Curriculum says

The programme of study for Key Stage 3 says:

Pupils should be taught to create, reuse, revise and repurpose digital artefacts for a given audience, with attention to trustworthiness, design and usability
Aim: pupils are responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology.

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: repurposing a poster for a new audience

A school litter-pick club has a poster for parents with two paragraphs of text and a small photo. Repurpose it as a short announcement for Year 7 pupils, and check it is usable and trustworthy.

Describe the new audience. Year 7 pupils are 11 or 12, will see the announcement on a screen in the corridor for a few seconds and are choosing between lunchtime clubs. They need to know what, when, where and what to bring.
Revise the content for that audience. Cut the paragraphs to four short lines: what (litter pick), when (Thursday lunchtime), where (meet by the main hall), what to bring (nothing, as gloves are provided). Use a friendlier tone and a direct invitation to join.
Improve the design. Make the club name the biggest text, then the day and time, then the rest. Use two fonts at most, dark text on a light background, and a bright photo of pupils at work rather than a small decorative image. Add a short description of the photo for anyone who cannot see it.
Check it can be trusted. Confirm the day, time and meeting place with the teacher who runs the club. Use a photo taken by the club, or one you have permission to use, and credit it. Remove anything you cannot back up, such as a claim about how much litter the club has collected unless you have the count.
Test it. Show it to two Year 7 pupils for five seconds and ask them to say when and where the club meets. If either cannot, change the layout, then record what you changed and why.

A strong repurposed announcement has four short lines in a clear hierarchy, readable contrast, a permitted photo with a description, facts checked with the club’s teacher, and evidence from a short test with the real audience.

Common mistakes and how to help

Believing anything found online is free to copy and use

It is easy to save an image or copy text, and nothing stops you, so it can feel allowed.

What helps: Explain that the copyright in a photo, piece of music or text usually belongs to the person who made it, even when it is easy to download. Look for a licence that says how it can be used, and credit the source. Making your own images avoids the problem.

Thinking more fonts, colours and animations make better design

Pupils discover the effects and want to use them, and busy designs look impressive to the person who made them.

What helps: Remind them that design serves the audience. Limit the work to two fonts and a few colours, and test whether the main message is still the first thing a viewer sees.

Assuming that a polished, professional-looking page must be accurate

Good presentation has long been a sign of care, but it is now easy for anyone to produce.

What helps: Teach them to ask who made it, when, why, and whether another independent source agrees. Apply the same questions to their own work before they present it.

Considering the work finished without testing it on real people

The maker knows exactly what the artefact is meant to say, so it always seems clear to them.

What helps: Ask someone from the audience to try a specific task and watch without helping. What they struggle with is the improvement list.

How to help at home

Name the audience. When your child is making something, ask who will see it, on what device, and for how long. Writing the answer at the top of the page keeps decisions anchored.
Swap the audience. Ask your child to rework a piece of their work, such as a school notice, for a different person, such as a grandparent or a much younger child. Talk about what changed and why.
Run a five-second test. Show a poster or page to someone for five seconds, hide it and ask what they remember. If the key fact is missing, the hierarchy needs work.
Question what you read together. Pick an article or advert and ask who wrote it, when, what they want you to do, and how you could check it. It takes two minutes and builds a habit that lasts.
Check readability. Look at the work from arm’s length or on a small screen. Ask whether the text is big enough, whether the colours have enough contrast, and whether it would work for someone who finds reading hard.