ComputerXplorers Middlesex Offers Free Programming Workshops to Primary Schools
Local schools and children get a head start on the new Computing Curriculum - as Educational Specialist Offers Free Programming Workshops
From September, primary schools throughout the country will have to teach brand new computing classes with the emphasis on how to code and programme following Education Secretary Michael Gove’s latest sweeping curriculum changes.
As part of its commitment to help with the introduction of this new computing curriculum, local technology education specialist ComputerXplorers is offering free programming workshops to primary schools in the area during the national Programming for Primaries Awareness Week which runs from 24 – 30 March.
Explained Deven Ratneshwar: “It may be a challenge for non specialist teachers in the Primary sector to deliver the new curriculum for computing and know where to go to find resources.
“We know how hard it is for teachers to find time away from school so we are offering to bring these sessions into local schools.
“Our free programming workshop for children will have them designing and programming their own video game while our free Introduction to Programming session for Primary School teaching staff will help teachers demystify the new computing curriculum and give them hands on programming experience.”
ComputerXplorers has worked with many schools in the area to help children grasp key computing skills from an early age.
The Government’s revised national computing curriculum for 2014 puts significant emphasis on teaching children how to write code. Pupils aged five to seven will be expected to "understand what algorithms are" and to "create and debug simple programs". By the age of 11, pupils will have to "design, use and evaluate computational abstractions that model the state and behaviour of real-world problems and physical systems".
Developing the computing skills required by the workforce of the future is behind this latest change and acquiring those skills needs to start at the earliest age.
ComputerXplorers is the driving force behind the first ever Programming for Primaries Week. The aim of the week is to provide a platform for like minded organisations to communicate the benefits of programming for younger children and shine the spotlight on programming and coding support and resources that are available to children and teachers in primary schools.
Schools interested in signing up for a free workshop for teaching staff or children should contact Deven Ratneshwar on deven@middlesex.computerxplorers.co.uk as soon as possible as resources are limited or visit the website for more information www.middlesex.computerxplorers.co.uk
About ComputerXplorers
ComputerXplorers is the leading provider of quality technology education for children from the ages of 3 to 13. The clubs and classes are engaging, educational and fun, and are run in a variety of settings, such as after school clubs, pre-school and nurseries, summer camps and in-curriculum time classes. For pre-school children ComputerXplorers covers everything from podcasting, digital photography programming and robotics to digital microscopes and an introduction to the internet. Primary school children learn programming, digital storytelling, animation, web design, coding, forensic science, video game design and music technology. Classes are linked to the new national curriculum in England, the Curriculum for Excellence, the national curriculum for Wales and the NCCA curriculum in Ireland.
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