Computer Science teachers need brilliant, ready-made, flexible resources to enrich their teaching and inspire young people to become the coders, computer scientists and software engineers of the future.
It's a tall order but, in a very welcome initiative, 600 non-selective state schools have recently received LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Prime expansion sets. These are designed to improve young people's coding and robotic skills.
It is part of the offer from The Coding Success programme, fully funded by BAE Systems, the Royal Navy and the RAF and developed in partnership with educational charity The Smallpeice Trust and Raising Robots, an authorised LEGO® Education partner. The initiative provides free teacher training sessions, LEGO®Education SPIKE™Prime kits and curriculum-mapped lesson plans to help teachers make the most of the resources.
Richard Hamer, Education and Skills Director at BAE Systems, says: 'As the requirement for digital skills grows, coding is an increasingly important part of the curriculum. Working with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force to support the Coding Success programme, we’re aiming to give student and teachers the practical hands-on experience they need and inspire the next generation of scientists, technologists and engineers.'
Digital Learning magazine talked to Owen Cooper at Ormiston Venture Academy in Great Yarmouth, part of The Ormiston Academies Trust, to find out what difference this project could make.
Getting girls into coding