Northern Ireland Assembly
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Education Committee Backs Digital Action Plan in Schools
The Northern Ireland Assembly Committee for Education yesterday called for primary and post-primary pupils to be given better access to the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) parts of the curriculum, particularly with respect to learning computer coding. Their call came as the Committee continued its review of STEM subjects in schools.
The Committee visited W5 where Members heard evidence from Momentum NI on their Digital Strategy Action Plan. Members also visited Currie Primary School in North Belfast, where they met pupils and teachers and had an opportunity to see STEM in action in the classroom.
Committee for Education Chairperson Michelle McIlveen MLA said: “The Committee was fascinated to hear yesterday about progress in other countries in providing computer coding experience for children as young as 8 years old. We were also delighted to visit Currie Primary School, where we had the opportunity to see some very enthusiastic pupils enjoying a well organised STEM-based curriculum.
“STEM is crucial to our economic development and if we are serious about promoting these important subjects we need to ensure that our primary pupils are given every opportunity to get involved in STEM based learning including computer coding at an early age. We believe that this will lead to pupils from a range of backgrounds learning the skills necessary to create and develop what some people call science capital and support the growing employment needs of the digital economy in Northern Ireland.’’
