New NCCE report shows impact of work to support thousands of teachers
25 November 2020
Thousands of teachers have been supported by the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE) to improve their skills to teach computer science since its launch two years ago.
The NCCE’s Impact Report published today shows that, despite the pressures of coronavirus, teachers have continued to engage with its training to enable them to teach computing more effectively.
The report looks at the NCCE’s achievements since its launch in November 2018.
It shows that the NCCE has engaged with 29,500 teachers representing 8,500 primary schools and 3,000 secondaries. More than 1,300 teachers have been trained to teach GCSE Computer Science and it has delivered a comprehensive Teach Computing Curriculum with over 500 hours of lessons.
The Impact Report details how its Computer Science Accelerator (CSA) programme, which trains teachers to deliver computer science GCSE, and its other courses, are having a real classroom impact.
Three quarters of secondary teachers said that the NCCE’s professional development (CPD) courses have had a significant impact on their students, and 82% of CSA graduates said their colleagues had also benefited from their knowledge.
Almost half of teachers (50% of secondary and 47% of primary), said that their NCCE CPD had helped to raise the profile or priority of computing in their school.
The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the importance of computing skills for young people and the wider economy, according to the Chair of the NCCE, Professor Simon Peyton Jones.
Prof Peyton Jones said:
“The NCCE is playing an important part in re-imagining computing as a foundational school subject like maths and natural science, which all children should learn to equip them for life and work.
“Computer science is now an explicit part of the curriculum, alongside digital skills and competence. These changes represent a huge opportunity for our young people and our economy, and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic has shown these are needed more than ever.
“I am hugely grateful to the teachers, school leaders and our partners who have supported our ambition.”
Max Ruddock is an English Teacher who attended the NCCE’s Summer School for early career computer science teachers, after being invited to coordinate computer science at his school.
He said:
“I cannot recommend it highly enough. The course provides all participants with the skills, knowledge and pedagogical applications for delivering a world-class computing education. The facilitators themselves are all experts within their field and I welcomed the opportunity to discuss current educational research and pedagogy with other participants.”
The NCCE’s Impact Report details its achievements since its launch in November 2018:
- 29,500 teachers engaged representing 8,500 primary schools and 3,000 secondary schools.
- 7,600 teachers have accessed NCCE continuing professional development (CPD) courses.
- 2,000 teachers and 18,000 students using Isaac Computer Science to support A level Computer Science with over one million questions answered
- Over 1,300 teachers trained to teach Computer Science GCSE.
- 34 Computing Hubs established in schools across England to act as local champions for Computer Science and delivering face-to-face, in-school and remote support.
- 275 Computing at School (CAS) Communities of Practice providing peer support and networking.
- Teach Computing Curriculum launched, with 500 hours of learning materials for key stage 1 to 4 and 125,000 units of work downloaded.
- Supporting computing education with funding from partners including, Arm, BT, Google, IBM, Microsoft, Nationwide and Rolls-Royce.
Read the full report here.
ENDS
For more information contact Victoria Temple, press and community engagement officer for the NCCE, victoria.temple@bcs.uk 07708 424385