Computing At School

West Midlands

Welcome to CAS Regional Centre West Midlands

Birmingham City University (BCU) has fully backed the CAS initiative to promote and support the teaching of Computer Science (CS) in Schools over a number of years. As a Department of Computer Science we recognise the need for these skills, not only in our future undergraduates, but across all disciplines and at all levels. Today’s children will be working in a world of technology that will be invented by tomorrow's Computer Science graduates.

Within our school we have a team, who for over 15 years have been running an education and support service for other schools, colleges and universities across several programs. This experience has given us a great deal of insight and knowledge in how to provide education, support teachers and promote academic programs. It is this same team that has led the way with the CAS initiative, migrating to the broader curricula at a different level and delivering to a wider range of teachers. However, the same basic principles apply. Teachers need sound subject knowledge, good practical skills in delivering and managing hands on activities, a set of resources that they can pick up and use, and last but certainly not least, a support network they can rely on to offer help and advice as needed.

To this end we; have trained Master Teachers (MT), run a CAS hub, won a DfE funded project to develop and deliver CS resources, deliver CPD sessions, run school enrichment activities and host STEM / CS events at the University.

Our links with our School of Education also ensure our activities impact on the trainee teachers coming through as well as raise awareness of careers in education for our CS Graduates. The broader links are also working to help school children become aware of the wider role of computing in the workplace and society as well as routes through FE and HE to rewarding careers.

Regional Centre Info

Upcoming Events

Week of September 25

Wednesday

Sep 27 from 4:15PM to 5:15PM

CAS Stratford Hub Meeting (Secondary focus on NEA)

Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 6HB
A meeting to discuss GCSE NEA for OCR. A representative from OCR will be present to discuss the changes involved and to answer queries about the NEA process. Please book tickets or drop us an email so we can order enough refreshments! The event will adher

Thursday

Sep 28 from 4:30PM to 6:00PM

CAS Coventry Primary Hub Meeting

Coventry, CV6 6JN
Local Hub meeting

Sep 28 from 4:30PM to 6:30PM

CAS Dudley Hub Meeting

Dudley, DY6 7AD
Autumn Term Meeting (with Duncan Maidens)

Saturday

Sep 30 9:00AM until Oct 1 5:00PM

Preparing to teach Advanced Level Computer Science (Two-day theory course)

Birmingham, B42 2SY
Darren Travi (CAS Master Teacher) and Ilia Avroutine have developed this course for teachers who are currently offering or considering A-Level Computer Science. With movement towards linear A Levels introduced last year, our training will provide informat

Week of October 2

Tuesday

Oct 3 from 1:00PM to 3:30PM

CAS Walsall Hub Meeting

Walsall, WS1 3BD
Introduction to Apple Swift Code and Sphero SPRK+, Lego Mindstorms and Drone Workshops

Oct 3 from 4:00PM to 6:00PM

CAS Walsall Hub Meeting

Walsall, WS1 3BD
Come along to share ideas with colleagues over a cup of tea and get some training, teaching ideas and resources - All free!

Saturday

Oct 7 from 9:00AM to 5:00PM

Preparing to Teach GCSE Computing 9 – 1

Birmingham, B42 2SY
With the change in the assessment for GCSE Computing, our training will bring the skills and confidence needed to teach the new specifications in a fun and engaging way. This course is ideally suited for teachers who have been teaching GCSE Computing as w

Week of October 16

Thursday

Oct 19 from 4:45PM to 6:15PM

CAS Worcester Primary Hub Meeting

Worcester, WR3 7RR
'Teach Meet style' Bring and Share ideas in Primary Computer Science

All Events

Region

CAS Regional Centre West Midlands covers Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Herefordshire, Sandwell, Shropshire, Solihull, Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, Telford and Wrekin, Walsall, Warwickshire, Wolverhampton, Worcestershire

Contact

CAS West Midlands (Birmingham City University)
Millennium Point, Curzon Street, Birmingham, B4 7XG

Phone: 0121 3004013 or 0121 3317546
Email: caswestmidlands@computingatschool.org.uk

Coordinators

Keith Buncle

Email: keith.buncle@bcu.ac.uk

Duncan Maidens

Email: duncan.maidens@bcu.ac.uk

Regional Centre News