INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN SCHOOLS

HL Deb 25 January 1988 vol 492 cc487-8WA

Earl Alexander of Tunis

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What progress they are making in implementing their policy of encouraging the teaching of information technology in schools.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Education and Science (Baroness Hooper)

The Government have set up a major programme—supporting expenditure of some £30 million in the next financial year—to ensure that children benefit from the use of IT right across the curriculum. The programme includes grants to LEAs for the purchase of equipment, the appointment of advisory teachers and the training of staff, and requires LEAs to produce plans for the use of IT in schools. This they are now doing. We are therefore at the beginning of a major new advance in this field.