Ben Cohen is throwing support behind O2’s Guru Bytes, which helps parents understand the technology that their children deal with on a daily basis.
We caught up with the ex-rugby player to chat about why he got involved, the importance of technology in education, and his anti-bullying foundation.
- Hi Ben! From this week, the new computer curriculum is changing. You’ve teamed up with O2 to help parents understand a bit more about it. Can you tell us a little more about this?
From this week, the national computer curriculum has changed drastically, with children as young as five being taught about algorithms and computer programmes - things that I certainly had never even heard of when I was at school!
While it’s great that kids will be learning such important digital skills, I must admit that it’s slightly scary for me as a parent - and it seems that I’m not the only one.
New research by O2 has shown that many other parents had absolutely no idea the curriculum was changing, but that like me, they’re keen to learn more.
That’s why O2 has launched this free new initiative, Guru Bytes, to help parents and young people up and down to get their heads around digital - whether that’s the new curriculum, career choices or staying safe online.
- Being a father of two - is this one of the reasons why you wanted to be involved in the project?
Not being able to support your child with their learning is a worrying thing for a parent. No one wants to feel helpless when their kids come home from school and get stuck with their homework.
Our children are growing up in a fast-paced digital world and need an entirely new set of skills that we, their parents, never learnt at school.
Like many parents, I probably don’t have enough digital knowledge to support my children with the new computing curriculum.
That’s why I’m really proud to be involved in O2’s new programme to equip parents with the digital skills they need to support their children. After all, I would expect to help my daughters when they bring home their maths and English homework, so why should computing be any different?
- Do you think it is important to teach coding as part of the school curriculum?
I think it is, yes. Technology is now a part of our everyday lives, influencing everything from shopping to sport to films.
Our kids have grown up in this digital world and as such, have both the aptitude and potential to make the most of it. However, that alone isn’t enough; they need to have the support at school and at home to make the most of it.
- Many parents are anxious about helping their children with coding as it’s something many aren’t familiar with- is this something that you’re worried about?
To be honest I’m anxious about the whole curriculum - not just computing! Thankfully, it’s been easy to help my kids with their schoolwork so far but I’m aware that the day will come when this isn’t the case.
My advice is to not be afraid and give everything a go. And, if you need a bit of help don’t forget, there are plenty of organisations like O2 out there to help you.
- You set up The Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation, which raises awareness of the long-term effects of bullying- What advice/help does it offer for people who are bullied?
I set up the Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation after losing my dad to violence when he stood up for an employee being attacked.
Tackling bullying, and raising awareness of its long-term effects is an incredibly important issue and one that I feel passionately about.
As an organisation, we work hard to raise awareness of the impact of bullying in the long term and to support the organisations that are working tirelessly to tackle it.
It’s about empowering people to create long-lasting change, by bringing similar organisations together.
- What advice do you give to your daughters about bullying?
My daughters are still a bit young to talk to them in detail about bullying but it’s never too young to learn right from wrong.
It’s really important that children learn what behaviour is acceptable and where to go should they need support.
- Strictly Come Dancing is ready to return to our screens. Do you wish you were taking part again this year?
While I do miss it, I also think those poor people! They don’t know what they’ve got in store. Strictly Come Dancing is amazing but it’s one hell of a journey. There’s no other way that you can say it.
As an ex-rugby player, I’d never danced before I went on the show. I learnt a whole load of things that I could never have imagined and went through more or less every emotion possible.
While I wouldn’t change it for the world, I’m secretly glad to be watching this year’s Strictly from the comfort of my sofa!
- Do you still dance in your spare time?
I think it’s fair to say that I’ve retired!
- Who will you be rooting for to win the show?
To be honest I don’t have one particular person that I’m rooting for. It’s like when I watch rugby, I want to see a good game.
With Strictly you have to look at the fact that there are so many different levels, it’s not a level playing field. So you have to take that into account when you watch it.
I’ll also be interested to see who gets paired with Kristina. She had such a torrid time with me that she deserves someone good this year!
- Do you have other projects in the pipeline for this year?
This year I’ve been doing a great deal of work with the Foundation, fundraising and awarding grants to different charities.
I’ve also got a new TV travel show coming up which will take me around the world and a film in the pipeline. I can’t tell you too much about it but watch this space!
Ben Cohen is supporting O2’s Guru Bytes workshops, designed to help parents and young people get the most from digital technology.
With new research showing that a quarter of parents would fail tasks now expected of five year olds under the new computing curriculum, O2 is launching the free sessions in stores across the UK to teach parents the basics.
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