Teachers required to ring the ICT changes

Recently we have seen some tremendous changes to the ICT curriculum, leaving some teachers confused, others excited and many simply in need of support so they can meet the new requirements. One of the biggest changes is the disapplication of the ICT curriculum which came into effect in September and follows an earlier announcement by Michael Gove endorsing the importance of computer science as part of the school curriculum. This was followed by the much respected Royal Society report Shut down or restart; the way forward for Computing in UK schools to which BCS made a substantial contribution. The report echoed Gove’s announcement and identified three strands to ICT education:

Digital Literacy is the ability to access, use, and express oneself using digital technology, including a critical understanding of technology’s impact on the individual and society.

Information Technology covers the use and application of digital systems to develop technological solutions purposefully and creatively.

Computer Science is the subject discipline that explains how computer systems work, how they are designed and programmed, and the fundamental principles of information and computation. 

A new programme of study
In late August 2012 the Department for Education invited BCS and the Royal Academy of Engineering to coordinate the drafting of a new Programme of Study for ICT. In discussion with the DfE, BCS and the Royal Academy of Engineering, it was decided to form a small working party to write a first draft, and publish this in late October, seeking broad comment and feedback. The draft will be revised during November and December in the light of that feedback, which will then be published, along with the Programmes of Study for other subjects, for full public consultation in the Spring of 2013. The working party included several school teachers, together with representation from Naace, CAS, ITTE, Vital, and Next Gen Skills. It met for the first time on 19 September, and completed the draft by 22 October as required by DfE.

We all believe that it’s vital that right from primary school to secondary school, pupils are taught how our digital world works and how to invent new digital worlds for themselves. With the new ICT programme of study we will be looking to follow through on the recommendations of the Royal Society’s Shut down or re-start report to create a balanced curriculum that gives students the opportunities to study digital skills and literacy, information technology and computer science.

Freedom to suit pupils
The draft programme of study will allow schools the freedom to apply it in a way that suits their pupils while ensuring that children have the opportunities to experience real computing, gain the skills they need to operate in today’s digital society, understand the application of IT in the workplace and learn the essentials of computer science. Our aim is to ensure students have an intellectually rigorous, inspiring and excellent computer science education that equips them for progression into further education and a professional career.

To do this, we need teachers who can teach computer science. Our vision is for every secondary school to have outstanding computer science teachers. At the moment there is a real lack of such teachers.

To overcome this, the Department for Education has introduced a new scholarship scheme which BCS will administer on their behalf. The scheme will see around 50 scholarships a year awarded. Each will be worth £20,000 for those engaged in an initial teacher training course with the funding supplied by the Department for Education. We will also broker mentoring and development opportunities for those who take up the scholarship with schools, universities and major employers.

Master teachers
The scheme is intended to be part of a range of activities that nurture future computer science ‘Master Teachers’ who will lead innovation both within their own school and in collaboration with other schools.

Collaboration is one of the key things that we believe will help teachers gain confidence in their teaching of computer science. It is also one of the quickest ways to share best practice, expertise and knowledge. Therefore together with Computing At School, we have also been busy developing a variety of initiatives that aim to connect more teachers and support our belief that computer science should form an important part of a broad and balanced new ICT curriculum. The aim is to build teaching capacity in our schools so that the UK can remain at the forefront of excellence in computer science.

One such initiative is the launch of our Network of Teaching Excellence in Computer Science; a joint initiative with Computing At School. The Network has received a £150,000 grant from the Department for Education in addition to generous support from Microsoft, the Council of Professors and Heads of Computing (CPHC), OCR, AQA and Google. The aim is to co-ordinate and provide training opportunities for existing teachers and trainee teachers.

Overwhelming response
What’s been so encouraging about this initiative is how many people across industry, universities and schools have been keen to volunteer and make this work. We initially set out to find 250 schools that wanted to be involved, and were overwhelmed by the response which has now see 500 schools and 17 universities register their interest. This is very much about a bottom up approach, but at the same time the intention is to make computer science business as usual in as many schools as we can within three years.

Once the Network is live, each school in it will be expected to help other schools to teach computer science on a pro-bono basis. We intend centres of excellence to become part of a national network for establishing best practice and spearheading innovative teaching in computer science, with ongoing support from the Computing at School group, the universities in the Network and BCS. Schools that are members of the network will be offered enhanced CPD for a teacher in their school that provides a comprehensive grounding in foundational computer science, expertise to train other teachers and is supported by universities in the Network.

Regional good practice hubs
Those involved will be part of a regional teaching hub for sharing good practice, offering grassroots, organised CPD and regular contact with university computer science departments to aid and inspire teaching material.

The schools will be expected to teach computer science at Key Stage 3 or 4 as a catalyst for a renewed computing curriculum as recommended by the Royal Society, which is benchmarked against the Computing At School (CAS) curriculum. They will have opportunities for showcasing their teaching practices and experiences at national conferences, through online media and multi-media case studies, as well as through a range of other promotional material, and be proactively consulted for their views and opinions for campaigns related to education policy.

To conclude, it is essential children are taught how to create digital technology and software for themselves, starting at primary school. However, we must not forget children also need to be digitally literate in just the same way that they can read and write. Digital literacy encompasses vital skills that teach children how to be effective users of IT, but those are distinct from the academic subject of computer science that includes learning how computers work and how to create software.

As the Chartered Institute for IT our interest in education is part of our Royal Charter to promote the study and practice of computing, and to advance knowledge and education therein for the benefit of the public. Putting this into practice means that we believe that digital literacy skills, computer science and computational thinking should all be part of every child’s education. School children need to be taught not only how to use technology, but should also be given the opportunity to be the entrepreneurs of the future by having the opportunity to study computer science.

Further information
The CAS curriculum can be downloaded by clicking here
Full details of the criteria including how to register an interest for the scholarships can be found at: 
www.bcs.org/teachingscholarships
www.education.gov.uk/get-into-teaching
www.bcs.org/CSteachingexcellence