£20,000 for Computer Science graduates to teach in schools

Graduates with good degrees in Computer Science are being offered a cash incentive of £20,000 to teach a new curriculum of computing to children.

It has been said that major changes to ICT (Information and Communication Technology) qualifications are already being discussed.

Education ministers have asked companies such as Microsoft, Facebook and IBM to help create and develop the new training for teachers.

The Department of Education wants university graduates with at least a 2:1 degree to enter the scheme, and the candidates must have a good understanding of computer science concepts, including logic, algorithms, data networks and the internet.

Benjamin Hayman, first-year computer scientist at Warwick, strongly believes in teaching young people the underlying theory behind computers. He said: “Applications are being updated far too quickly for them to be taught as part of a qualification.

“Teaching coding and programming would be more relevant and future-proof for today’s society.”
Education Secretary Michael Gove has proposed that computer science be added to the new English Baccalaureate (EBacc) programme. He said: “It is not just a fascinating and intellectually challenging subject. It is also vital to our success in the global race.”

It has been suggested that students learn basic computer coding so they can develop their own smartphone apps, animations and games.

This knowledge will also be useful to core learning, for example, developing skills in maths, logic and problem-solving.

Matthew Leeke, assistant professor at the Department of Computer Science at Warwick, said: “As a department we welcome initiatives to improve the appreciation and teaching of computer science in schools. It is an exciting discipline that, when studied rigorously, can provide fantastic career opportunities.”

The department runs school events and development courses for teachers. It has also recently appointed an Outreach Fellow to discuss computer science with schools, teachers and larger organisations, such as the government.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation is another organisation which supports teaching of coding to young people. The eventual aim of the charity is to give one of its credit card-sized computers to every child as they reach a new school year.

The idea is that children will be able to do their own programming and learn to control computers themselves, rather than be controlled by them.

A recent report by the Royal Society discovered that teaching of computing in UK schools was “highly unsatisfactory”, with only 35 percent of ICT teachers being subject specialists.

Up to 500 existing ICT teachers will be retrained under the £20,000 scheme, and around 50 additional scholarships will be given to graduates in the first year.

Matthew Dao, Warwick computer science undergraduate and blogger, commented: “This scheme is definitely something worth considering. In my opinion, a large benefit would be networking and keeping in contact with important companies.”