Those who listened to the Budget speech in November may have noticed a remarkable passage about new funding for Computer Science education in schools.
Here are the details: "The Budget will ensure that every secondary school has a fully qualified computer science GCSE teacher, by committing £84 million to upskill 8,000 computer science teachers by the end of this Parliament. The government will also work with industry to set up a new National Centre for Computing to produce training material and support schools.”
This is a large sum of money, and promises a transformation of computing education in schools across the nation. It follows considerable lobbying and work by a number of organisations. The Royal Society, through a panel chaired by Steve Furber, issued a report in Manchester several weeks ago recommending a major upgrading of CS in schools. (Royal Society Report) BCS and Computing At School (CAS), especially CAS Regional Centres, such as our UoM team here, have been active not only in supporting schools across the region, but also in lobbying government and, through our activities, showing how real change can happen in schools. This has led to this important, and very welcome, intervention by the government.
Watch this space for further information as this becomes available.
As you can se from this newsletter we have lots of plans for the rest of this academic year.
Dr David Rydeheard from The University of Manchester says
"Plans for the future of your Regional Computing Centre are undecided at the moment. However, we will continue full support for this academic year, and we expect to be able to offer expanded opportunities for schools, and support for teachers, in the future."
So please get involved with everything the CRC is offering and get in touch if we can support you in any way.
CAS North West (Manchester) are offering CPD covering one of the units in the first instance.
'Laying Firm Foundations' will be delivered over 3 sessions on 17th January, 8th February and 22nd March. All sessions are 14:15 - 17:00
To access more information and to book please click here.
CAS Manchester would like to invite you to bring groups of pupils into The University of Manchester Kilburn Building to take part in a couple of workshops and have a tour of the university.
To book click on the relevant event (PLEASE NOTE - Only book if you can attend!)
Teachers are invited to bring unto 10 pupils to these events.
All these events are FREE however any schools who fail to attend without giving notice will be subject to a fee. Schools are asked to bring their own lunch and refreshments.
Workshops are still to be finalised however it is envisioned that pupils will have an introductory talk, take part in two workshops during the day and have a tour of some key areas of the university.
Calling all teachers of computing: An opportunity to hear about latest developments in computing from world experts.
The HiPEAC Conference covers advances in many areas of computing and is held in Manchester early next year (January 22-24) in the Central Convention Centre (formerly the GMex Centre).
School teachers are invited to take part free of charge, either to attend the keynote talks or specific activities for school teachers during the conference.
You can read further information on our site and details of the conference can be found here https://www.hipeac.net/2018/manchester. To register, use the registration form on the conference website, marking yourselves as teachers for free entry.
A digital skills, innovation and careers event for educators
Friday 16th February 2018
Digital Futures are delighted to announce that as part of annual Digital Skills Festival in February 2018, Manchester Digital will be hosting ‘Digital Futures: Computing, Curriculum and Careers’.
This half-day event sponsored by Manchester Digital, Auto Trader and Manchester City Council. The event is for secondary and further education leaders, computer science teachers and careers advisors. Its aim is to inform, inspire and create new and engaging approaches to the computing curriculum and promoting digital careers and pathways.
There will be high profile business and industry speakers as well as interactive digital innovation, ed tech and careers workshops with useful and practical take-away resources to use in the classroom and for lesson planning.
Details of workshops to be announced.
Thanks to our sponsors this event is free to attend for all secondary schools and colleges in Greater Manchester. However, booking is required, and places are limited.
British Science Week
Each year the University runs a number of events to celebrate British Science Week. Activities take place across the University, including our four-day Science Extravaganza, where we welcome over 1,000 learners on to campus to learn about research taking place here.
Other Resources
Barefoot - Resources aligned to the curricular for all UK nations. This includes FREE high-quality lesson plans and local CPD Workshops, all designed to help teachers gain confidence in bringing computer science to life in the classroom. Registration required. ThinkUKnow - CEOPs website full of lesson plans, resources and advice for pupils and parents. Including the latest advice and guidance regarding Live Streaming. Turing Lab - FREE teaching resources and learning platform - registration required
As always we would love to hear from you! What support and events would you like? Please get in contact and we can help - and if we can't we will know someone who can!
Keep checking the regional website for updates, especially the Upcoming Events section on the right hand side - alternatively click here to see all upcoming events.
Regional Website : CAS North West Manchester
