The government is offering tech firms a share of funding worth £500,000 to help get teachers up to speed on coding.
The idea is to prepare teachers for curriculum changes in September, which will see students as young as five being taught programming skills.
The investment will be divided between universities and IT businesses who are willing to match the funding out of their own pockets. Details on how to apply for the grants will revealed this month.
I want IT firms, university computing departments and software developers to use this fund to share their knowledge with the next generation
Education secretary Michael Gove explained: “I want IT firms, university computing departments and software developers to use this fund to share their knowledge with the next generation.”
Alongside the new funding, the government is promoting the “Year of Code” project, which kicks off today. The initiative urges people to start learning to code this year, promising that “it’s easier than you think”.
As part of that programme, there will be a week-long coding event in March to encourage teachers to give students at least one hour of basic programming lessons during that week.
“This year, by introducing coding into the curriculum, we are also making sure Britain is the place to learn to code,” chancellor George Osborne said ahead of the formal announcement, according to the Financial Times. “In the 21st century, the ability to code and program a computer is no longer a nice-to-have, it’s an essential.”
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