§ Mr. Nigel JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what funding is provided for in-post IT training and updating for education professionals in(a) primary schools, (b) secondary schools and (c) further and higher education; and if he will make a statement. [52102]
§ Ms Estelle MorrisIT training in primary and secondary schools
Content of in-service training for education professionals in primary and secondary schools is for schools and LEAs to decide. Separate figures are not available on amounts spent on IT training.
Funding for specific initiatives to ensure that all teachers are confident and competent in ICT use is as follows:
- £230 million to be available through National Lottery funding in the period up to 2002, to train 450,000 teachers in the effective use of ICT;
- £100m Standards Fund available 1998–99 to support the establishment of the National Grid for Learning (to cover networking; Internet connection; hard-and software, basic training not covered by the lottery initiative);
- £23 million this financial year for the Multimedia Laptop Portables Scheme, to enable teachers to gain hands-on experience of computers.
IT training in further and higher education
The Further Education Funding Council is promoting a new staff development initiative, the Quality in Information and Learning Technology (QUILT) programme, with an injection of £1.9m over a five-year period from 1997.
Colleges themselves invest considerable funds in developing their staff, but figures are not held for the amounts spent on IT training.
Higher education institutions are autonomous bodies responsible for the management of their own academic and financial affairs. They train their staff through internal development programmes. Figures are not held centrally for amounts spent on IT training.
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