The “BBC micro:bit — the next gen” campaign will offer a set of 30 BBC micro:bit devices and new online teaching resources to every primary school across the country.

From today, 15 May, all primary school teachers can register on the BBC micro:bit website to receive micro:bit devices and a resource pack for their school between September 2023 and March 2023. Around 700,000 micro:bits are on offer.

The BBC micro:bit is a pocket-sized computer that introduces schoolchildren to how software and hardware work together, providing them with digital creativity and programming skills that can be carried into the future.

This new strategic partnership between the three bodies (the Micro:bit Educational Foundation was launched in 2016 as a micro:bit-focused non-profit, and Nominet is the manager of the .uk domain name) is a response to research suggesting that 65% of primary school children will end up working in jobs that do not exist today.

It builds upon the Micro:bit Educational Foundation’s three-phase national programme and primary pilot project — in collaboration with Nominet — that has focused on understanding the challenges facing UK primary teachers and improving digital skills education in primary classrooms.

Research from the Foundation and Nominet has shown that teachers feel overwhelmingly unprepared and lack confidence when teaching digital skills.

Alongside the delivery of the micro:bits, teachers will be supported with a roll-out of virtual teacher training delivered by the Foundation and training partners from each of the UK’s nations. A suite of cross-curricular resources, including classroom activities to get children interested in coding with their micro:bits, are set to be released in September 2023.

One primary school in Bradford took part in the primary school pilot project last year. Commenting on the pilot, the chief executive of the school’s trust said: “You could hear a pin drop, but then you also got that buzz of excitement as the schoolchildren were using the new technology, and speaking to the teachers, the resources that go alongside are just fantastic!

“The resources online are being used to their fullest, and this removes barriers for staff who might not initially have experience or confidence in teaching digital skills.”

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Helen Foulkes, Head of BBC Education, said the following on the new campaign: “An ability to understand, participate and work in the digital world is vitally important to ensure young people are ready for the future so they can achieve their full potential.

“Yet, whilst education systems try to keep pace with rapid change, there is often insufficient support available to teach these digital skills.

“BBC Education is in a unique position to bring its education and tech partners together to help all primary schoolchildren across the UK to shape their best digital futures, as well as support teachers to implement digital skills into the curriculum. That is what the BBC micro:bit is all about.

“We’re looking forward to seeing the real impact the BBC micro:bit will continue to have on many young people’s futures and witnessing the device being used in all kinds of wonderful new ways amongst the digital makers, inventors and pioneers of tomorrow!”

The BBC’s micro:bit was originally launched in 2014 as part of the BBC’s Make It Digital initiative. It’s estimated that over seven million devices are now in use globally, and that 39 million young people from more than 60 countries have benefited from learning with the micro:bit.