Primary school children in the UK will be given compulsory lessons in computer coding and foreign languages under a new national curriculum.
Children aged just five to seven will be required to create and debug simple computer programs in the first two years of school, as part of lessons designed to stop English pupils falling behind their peers in other countries.
As pupils start the new academic year this week, it was disclosed that primary schools will also teach about storage and retrieval of data such as photos and audio files, the use of internet search engines including Google and Yahoo! and keeping children safe online.
The new computing syllabus is seen as one of the most ambitious changes to the national curriculum, which will be followed by more than 5 million pupils aged five to 14 in English state schools. Other major reforms include the introduction of a compulsory foreign language for all pupils from the age of seven, as opposed to 11 at the moment.
The curriculum is seen as a key legacy of Michael Gove’s reform programme before his removal as education secretary in this summer’s Cabinet reshuffle.
Source: The Daily Telegraph
Read the full article at: www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/11069152/Five-year-olds-to-be-taught-computer-programming-and-foreign-languages.html
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