HC Deb 13 May 2002 vol 385 cc490-1W
Chris Grayling

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the recent Ofsted report on ICT in schools. [54890]

Mr. Timms

We welcome the report, it shows that National Grid for Learning (NGfL) and New Opportunities Fund (NOF) initiatives along with sustained standards fund spending is making a real impact on both standards of teaching and the willingness of teachers to embrace ICT. We particularly welcome the report's confirmation that Government funding of ICT resources through the NGfL continues to make an important contribution to the development of the ICT curriculum and the use of new technologies in schools, and the recognition that this is beginning to impact on teaching and learning.

The report acknowledges that the existence of the NOF programme has raised the profile of ICT training in many schools and it has helped teachers to improve their ICT skills significantly. However, we recognise that the report also raises concerns that this has not had as widespread an effect on classroom practice as intended, or as might reasonably be expected at this stage of the programme. We will be working with NOF and the Teacher Training Agency to ensure that the concerns are addressed and that we establish the most effective support for teachers who are crucial to the successful implementation of the overall programme. We also note, however, that the report recognises the excellent take up of this training and we look forward to increased evidence of impact as more schools complete their training.

The report highlights personal access as one of the strongest influences toward successful training and classroom usage. We have provided over 50,000 teachers with PCs through various Government initiatives over the past few years, of which around 32,000 have been supplied via the Computers for Teachers Scheme. The current £100 million Laptops for Teachers scheme will supply a further 100,000 teachers with computers from September 2002. Our Curriculum Online project will enable online access to digital learning materials that are easily accessible to teachers and which they can use to support the teaching across the curriculum.