Supporting Digital Skills at Home: For All Ages

By theorkneynews on April 27, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

For Home Schoolers

As part of its Skills for Tomorrow programme, BT has teamed up with Computing at School (CAS), to launch dozens of activities, designed to support parents with their children’s digital skills at home.

To support parents with teaching Computing, we have worked with teachers from across our community to bring together guidance, useful links and resources for all key stages. We’ll continue to develop these materials and appreciate any feedback you have for improvements or things you found helpful. CAS

The series of activities is based on the Barefoot Computing programme, a programme funded and managed by BT in partnership with CAS, to help primary school teachers deliver free, curriculum-aligned lessons in fun and relatable ways. CAS are part of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT.

So far, more than 8,800 primary school teachers in Scotland have already accessed Barefoot, across more than 1,600 Scottish primaries. However, with most children now having to be schooled at home, the scheme has been swiftly adapted to provide new lessons, activities and games.

Content has been developed to be easy for parents to use, with no prior subject knowledge required. Many of the activities can also be done offline without the need for a computer – ideal for managing screen time and digital wellbeing.

A recent BT study revealed that millions of parents across the UK can only spend up to two hours a day teaching their children during lockdown. Just 24% of parents say they feel comfortable teaching IT and computer science, with nearly all (92%) saying they’re uncomfortable with key topics such as coding. It’s likely that many parents will shy away from computing in favour of more familiar subjects.

The new Barefoot content includes dozens of varied activities and games to support parents and carers by inspiring children to think, learn and thrive in a digital world. From making pizza with an algorithm ‘recipe’, to using the power of abstraction to save a struggling zoo, parents and carers will find tailored educational activities to keep young minds busy and curious for hours and hours:

Learning Together Activities – Downloads that parents and kids can do together based on our expert Barefoot Computing resources for teachers
Mini Missions – Thirty quick, fun and easy ideas to introduce children to key computing concepts at home
Interactive Learning Games – Imaginative online games that help children explore computing concepts independently
Weekly ‘Computing at Home’ YouTube Live classes by schoolteacher and Barefoot Ambassador Dr Jon Chippindall
Computational Thinking quick guide for parents, with a simple introduction to key skills taught through the national curriculum

For All Ages

Skills for Tomorrow is a major new programme designed to empower 10 million people by giving them the skills they need to flourish for the digital future. Everyone is included, everyone is welcome, and no one is left behind – from school children to the older generation; from young adults looking for employment, to SMEs looking for growth.

BT continues to collaborate with leading digital skills organisations, such as CAS, to collate the best courses and information, in one easy to navigate place.