Hackney Council has joined forces with the Hackney Learning Trust and Samsung to help raise awareness of coding in primary schools.
The trio will team up to offer a series of free training sessions which will allow 80 teachers to become experts in the new curriculum.
February has also seen Hackney Council launch a campaign aimed at spreading the word about the importance of coding in the school curriculum using social media.
By using #GetHackneyCoding on twitter, schools, young people, tech professionals and families from across the borough are being encouraged to join the conversation and share their coding experiences, their favourite parts of the new computer curriculum and to get involved with a tech challenge.
The #GetHackneyCoding competition will be open to those in education (aged 5- 18) and family teams (which must be a maximum of five people including one member under the age of 18) who can submit an idea for a new computer game, and will have the chance to make their game come to life on a DIY Gamer from Technology Will Save Us.
The competition will be judged at the end of the month by a panel of tech, gaming and education experts.
Mayor of Hackney Jules Pipe said the competition will provide transferable experiences that young people will be able to use in their future careers:
“The new computer curriculum is helping to teach the next generation the skills needed to help open opportunities for future careers especially those in the tech sector, an industry that is growing exponentially and has a significant base in Hackney, as home to Tech City, the UK’s largest tech cluster.
“Being taught the new curriculum in schools not only helps to forge a future career, but can also help with day-to-day life skills such as problem solving and team work.”
#GetHackneyCoding runs from 2 – 27 February. The competition will close on 23 February.