| 13.01.12 |
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ICT curriculum. As I prepare to attend the BETT show this weekend (annual trade fair for education and technology at The first was our Year 9 options evening, and the second was the Education Secretary, Mr Gove’s speech at the BETT show on Wednesday morning.
The press release of the speech to the media was interpreted as Mr Gove lambasting the “dull and boring” ICT curriculum, and a rallying call for programming to be taught in schools to prepare the next generation of software developers and App writers. It is fair to say that there are elements of the ICT curriculum that can be frustrating for pupils, which does have an emphasis on use of Office software and applications. In addition there is a frustrating amount of hoop-jumping to gain the qualifications, due to the steps required by a candidate to demonstrate that they have not cheated.
At the College we have had numerous discussions about the ICT curriculum over time, and the introduction of coding, but also remember that we do not need a nation of programmers, and it is a very specific skill. The timing of Mr Gove’s announcement is seen as unfortunate by many, as it comes midway through a review of the national curriculum, and therefore seems to be jumping the gun. The speech itself appears to have been slightly more moderate than perhaps was portrayed by the press, but the timing was perhaps less than helpful.
As independent schools, whilst offering the exam subjects, and therefore following the syllabuses of those, we do give opportunities beyond the national curriculum, a freedom that has been extended to other types of state schools in the future.
For my own part I can see a future where computers become so easy to use, we spend no more time teaching children how to use them than we spend teaching them how to use a pen or pencil, and we will look to encourage those children with an interest in programming and coding to explore that further. |
