Nesta, in partnership with Tata group and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), are calling on both students and teachers to transform the way they think about Maths. Inspired by The Crystal Maze and growth of ‘escape rooms’, the the innovation foundation have launched the Cracking the Code challenge for 11 to 14 year olds across the country to create their own escape room.

As I write this, making my way back from this year’s Bett Show, my train journey is the perfect time to take stock, relax, and think about all of the things I’ve seen this weekend.

Here at The Kindergarten Starters in Dubai, we recently ran a collaborative venture with Laurus International School of Science in Tokyo, leading to a change in the way our students learn. Over a period of one month, both schools created storyboards. We used the Lego story starters and Scratch Junior to help construct these stories they told. The written outcomes were quite alike, but the engagement of four and five year olds as they learned to code made us adopt an exciting new approach: to begin coding in kindergarten.

Coding has been around for a while now, yet how far have we really come in terms of teaching and learning? There still appears to be a certain nervousness among teachers when incorporating it into lessons, perhaps stemming from a lack of knowledge, skills or resources. Despite this, with a little time and practise, coding can be quite an easy task to weave into classroom activities. So let’s explore how teachers can get to grips with coding in the classroom, regardless of experience or the subjects that are taught.

In a bid to get Primary pupils more immersed in coding, multi-award-winning edutainers Busy Things have unleashed Busy Code. This new suite of resources brings teacher confidence and pupil engagement by introducing a funky, bearded man into the classroom. This captivating character can be programmed to dance, collect stars and lots more. What’s more, Innovate My School readers have exclusive free access until 9th February!

Government agency Innovate UK shines their ‘Game Changer’ spotlight on Bethany Koby, co-founder and CEO of Technology Will Save Us:

Coding now accounts for half of all Primary Computing, but delivering it can be daunting, even for the most tech-savvy teachers. Discovery Education Coding is a complete resource, helping teachers to meet every aspect of this challenging curriculum area. Over 2.5 million apps have been coded by pupils using the service. Let’s see how teachers use it to make an impact right across the curriculum.

Computing has received somewhat of a mixed reaction from schools – after all, just the word “code” exudes a sense of mystery. There’s a reason why detectives will use the term “cracking the code” to describe a puzzle that needs solving, or obstacles that need to be overcome.

Founded to help Inspire, Support and Promote the teaching of Computing across the UK a little over a year ago, exa.foundation has helped hundreds of teachers and thousands of students develop their interest in Computing, running a wide variety of events aimed at school teachers, students and Computing hobby clubs. In this piece, we’re taking a look at some of the events we’ve run recently - and what’s coming up next!

Tired of delivering traditional STEM activities or finding it difficult to inspire your class in Design & Technology or Computing? Then VEX Robotics is the answer! Providing an exciting, affordable and scalable solution, VEX Robotics is the leading platform for educational robotics around the world. Offering platforms catering to Key Stage 2, 3, 4 and beyond, VEX IQ and VEX EDR are perfectly placed to allow students to grow and develop in an open-ended, problem solving and engaging way.