Michael Gove, the Education Secretary announced on 11th January 2012 that the current ICT school curriculum would be scrapped in the summer and new, computer science qualifications would be introduced for the academic year 2012/13.
The content will not be developed by the Department for Education; instead individual schools will be able to set their own programme of study and have the freedom to choose the topics to teach.
Gove made this announcement at the BETT for educational conference and made reference to the wealth of support that his proposals have had from industry leaders.
‘As the chairman of Google, Eric Schmidt, recently lamented, we in England have allowed our education system to ignore our great heritage and we are paying the price for it.
Our school system has not prepared children for this new world. Millions have left school over the past decade without even the basics they need for a decent job. And the current curriculum cannot prepare British students to work at the very forefront of technological change.’
Gove hopes that the relaxing of the national curriculum in ICT will allow schools to be more innovative and enable schools to teach children the skills needed by industry. The standard Microsoft office packages will no longer form the basis of teaching. Emphasis will be put on subjects such as computer coding and programming, a much needed skill should children be able to take advantage of the increase in areas such as web design jobs. The use of social media shall also be encouraged to further engage children.
Ian Livingstone, the co- founder of the Games Workshop is in firm support of Gove’s proposals, as he believes that these changes will equip pupils with the skills that employers want:
“Imagine the dramatic change which could be possible in just a few years, once we remove the roadblock of the existing ICT curriculum. Instead of children bored out of their minds being taught how to use Word and Excel by bored teachers, we could have 11-year-olds able to write simple 2D computer animations using an MIT tool called Scratch. By 16, they could have an understanding of formal logic previously covered only in University courses and be writing their own Apps for smartphones.”
The Department for Education is inviting organisations such as Google, Microsoft, IBM and the University of Cambridge to be involved in the new qualifications, by helping to provide free training and skills resources.
A report by the BBC, a day after the announcement found that teachers are receptive to the changes to the curriculum. They found that both primary and secondary school teachers are enthusiastic about the changes.
Sue Le Bas, from Boxgrove Primary in London, said: "I think this would be exciting for primary pupils but I would need a crash course to be able to do it. I think we could develop the skills. We need to prepare our children for the future and the current curriculum is not doing that. It's 15 years old."
Anthony Latham, from Heronsgate Primary, also in London, said, "Anything which makes learning more accessible is a positive thing. I am not always Gove's biggest fan but I agree with this. Too many ICT lessons are dull."
The ICT sector remains buoyant, despite the economic downturn. IT jobs in the UK have been further boosted by large-scale projects such as the Olympics. Yet employers struggle to find suitable candidates with the relevant skills and knowledge to fill these vacancies.
