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Tech in schools: You've never had it so good
That's what the government reckons... Pass the quill, say teachers...

By Jo Best

Published: Friday 14 May 2004

The government is patting itself on the back today, saying that IT in UK schools is better and more plentiful than it ever has been, according to a report issued this morning.

Ofsted, the Office for Standards in Education, has published a report comparing the IT situation in British classrooms today and five years ago and has found there's been an improvement.

Not only is there more technology at kids' disposal, say Ofsted, but teachers are doing a better job using it. According to Ofsted's figures, 90 per cent of teachers are now rated "competent" users of IT and 59 per cent of IT lessons were found to be satisfactory or good, with both figures being touted as improvements on previous years.

Although kids might be enjoying a boom in tech availability and competence, it seems Sir can't claim the same.

The report, ICT in schools: The impact of government initiatives five years on, finds that the government's aim to make IT an everyday part of every subject has hit a stumbling block; children's experiences of tech are now "sporadic and teacher-dependent and in many schools opportunities to exploit the technology across all subjects are lost on a daily basis," said Ofsted.

The report has also come up with a series of recommendations on what the government could do to fix the problems:

• Whitehall should keep setting aside cash specifically for IT equipment, the standards body recommends, and dish out the readies to give teachers laptops.
• Broadband focus also needs a makeover with a switch from schools just looking at getting the infrastructure and more seeing what more education can get out of its fat pipes.
• On a more individual basis, pupils can look forward to an electronic portfolio of their work to help parents and pedagogues alike easier access to kids' work.