§ Mr. David TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what proportion of state schools he estimates are connected to the National Grid for Learning; and what proportion of teachers in state schools he estimates are thereby able to use their own e-mail addresses. [81476]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe Department published last year the results of a survey of ICT provision in schools. Subsequent annual surveys will indicate the growth in number of schools with such connections, although the latest estimates of the number of primary, secondary and special schools in England with some form of internet 233W access are also given in the table. The Government are committed to ensuring that all schools are connected to the internet by 2002.
Percentage of schools connected DfEE survey March 1996 DfEE survey March 1998 BECTa estimate February 1999 Primary 5 17 30 Secondary 47 83 90 Special 8 31 45 It is for schools to decide whether they make use of services and systems supporting an individual e-mail address for each teacher in the light of their own needs and development plans. The Department will be collecting and publishing figures relating to teachers' and pupils' personal e-mail addresses in the next "Statistical Bulletin on Information Technology in Schools". We expect to publish this information in November 1999.