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Computing teachers’ leader to chair National Centre for Computing Education

Computing teachers’ leader to chair National Centre for Computing Education

Microsoft researcher who heads Computing at School will be first chair of new £84m body

18th March 2019, 1:51pm

Simon Peyton Jones Will Be The First Chair Of The National Centre For Computing Education.

A professor who chairs an organisation of more than 30,000 computing teachers and academics will lead the new National Centre for Computing Education.

Simon Peyton Jones currently heads Computing at School, which was at the centre of the 2014 reform of the computing curriculum.

The new centre, announced in the 2017 Budget, will work with schools across England to improve the teaching of computing and to drive up participation in computer science at GCSE and A level.

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It has £84 million of government funding and is being delivered by a consortium made up of STEM Learning, British Computer Society (BCS) and the Raspberry Pi Foundation.

Professor Peyton Jones is a fellow of the Royal Society, and a principal researcher at Microsoft Research.

He said: “The National Centre offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to firmly establish computer science as a foundational subject discipline that will enable all our young people to be active participants in the complex digital world that surrounds them.

“I am delighted to have a role in translating the big vision of the new computing curriculum into a vibrant reality in every classroom in the country.”

The centre will operate virtually through a national network of up to 40 school-led computing hubs to provide training and resources to primary and secondary schools, and an intensive training programme for secondary teachers without a post-A-level qualification in computer science.

It will also develop an A-level programme to better prepare A-level students for further study and employment in digital roles.

Schools minister Nick Gibb said: “This appointment reflects the government’s determination to make sure pupils are computer literate and versed in the fundamentals of computer science and computer programming.

“Professor Peyton Jones brings a wealth of experience and expertise to this role. This will be vital in making sure the centre, which is backed by a consortium made up of some of the country’s most accomplished tech organisations, is able to train teachers in the latest digital skills.”