Written question WQ92743

Digital Competence is one of three mandatory cross-curricular skills in the curriculum. Under Curriculum for Wales, it is the responsibility of all practitioners, across all curriculum areas, to develop and ensure progression in digital skills, ensuring our young people become confident and conscientious digital citizens. This can be realised through the citizenship, interacting and collaborating, producing and the data and computation thinking areas of the DCF framework.

Gaining an understanding of computational processes is a key area of the statements of what matters for the Science and Technology Area of Learning and Experience. Through this area learners will gain an understanding of digital technologies, their uses and their limitations.

For the 2024/25 financial year, we have committed over £1.6m to support the delivery of STEM initiatives in both primary and secondary schools. This includes Technocamps’ Coding Workshops, which provide learners across Wales with opportunities to develop their computational thinking and coding skills in a practical setting. Last financial year over 34,000 learners across primary and secondary schools participated in these workshops. Technocamps also provide professional learning for practitioners to enhance digital literacy and support the delivery of the Digital Competence Framework, with over 1000 practitioners attending sessions and events last financial year.

We worked collaboratively with the BBC and Micro: bit Educational Foundation to provide learners in Wales with the opportunity to explore coding through the micro: bit in their classroom. 94% of eligible schools in Wales signed up to receive a class set of free micro: bit devices, the highest rate in the UK. We are now supporting schools and their learners to participate in the micro: bit playground survey, which sees learners survey their playgrounds while developing their understanding of key computer science concepts such as machine learning.