A digitally skilled workforce is an essential component of a successful economy. Though all four UK nations have either established or are in the process of establishing computing school curricula, the Royal Society’s 2017 report After the reboot: computing education in UK schools found computing provision to be ‘patchy and fragile’, highlighting concerns around poor teacher recruitment, a shrinking workforce and teachers’ readiness to implement new curricula.
This policy briefing updates aspects of the 2017 report to gain a better understanding of what has changed since then, and to note any significant developments in computing education. It provides an overview of current computing provision in schools, focusing on computing teacher workforce supply and development, the uptake of computing in schools and areas for action.