Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to answer of 13 December 2017 to Question 117656 on ICT: Education, what the timetable is for the National Centre for Computing Education to be in operation.

The Department expects the first National Centre to be appointed by autumn 2018, with the first training taking place in the 2018-2019 academic year.

In May 2018, the Department released the tender inviting bids for the programme. The closing date for the submission of bids is 15 June 2018. Ensuring that our children have the digital and computing skills needed for the future is a key priority of this Government. The National Centre of Computing Education is part of a new £84 million programme to improve the teaching of computing and to increase participation in computer science. The National Centre will support a national network of computing hubs to raise academic standards by providing comprehensive training and resources to schools.