ICT Matters September 12

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THE LATEST UPDATES AND DEVELOPMENTS IN SCHOOL TECHNOLOGY

TALKING SHOP

A back-to-basics guide to ICT procurement

UPDATE 52 ›› ICT NEWS The latest updates and developments in school technology

IN PRACTICE 56 ›› LEADERSHIP BY EXAMPLE Clevedon School talks about its Digital Leaders programme 58 ›› INTERVIEW Director of ICT at Northfield School, Chris Wallace

FOCUS ON 60 ›› TECHNOLOGY WITH A DIFFERENCE Using ICT to boost attainment 63 ›› TALKING SHOP A back-to-basics guide to ICT procurement

HELP DESK 66 ›› TECHNO GEEK A run-down of ICT grants available to schools

SHAR WITH E ME IT M YOUR ANAG ER

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NEWS & ANALYSIS TEACHERS WANT ICT BUT SCHOOLS AREN’T BUYING IT Teachers want more classroom computers, including laptops, desktops and tablets, but schools are not investing.

In a poll of 100 UK secondary school teachers by Epson, the top five products in their technology wish list were: computers, laptops and tablets (70%); interactive whiteboards (50%); interactive projectors (34%); classroom/ school management software (30%) and digital teaching content (29%).

While the research indicates that teachers favour interactive technology that can help students engage with the lesson content, the ICT investment decisions of many schools aren’t supporting this.

Over the past 12 months, only five per cent of schools surveyed had invested in interactive projectors, 10% had bought computers, and 17% had purchased interactive whiteboards. The survey indicates that the next 12 months won’t deliver the investment teachers are looking for either.

Although 35% of ICT buyers were looking to invest in interactive projectors, none questioned were planning on buying computers or interactive whiteboards.

They said...

Claims by the media and researchers that cyberbullying has increased dramatically and is now the big school bullying problem are largely exaggerated. There is very little scientific support to show that cyberbullying has increased over the past five to six years, and this form of bullying is actually a less frequent phenomenon Psychologist Dan Olweus of the University of Bergen, Norway presenting his research findings at the American Psychological Association’s 120th Annual Convention

STATS

1.8m However, the survey also highlights the financial pressures schools are under.

Fifty per cent of teachers surveyed agreed that their school needs to undergo a significant ICT refresh in order to enhance the learning experience for their pupils. However, the average ICT budget for secondary schools in 2011 was £20,500, the result of cuts of 2.7% across the board in 2011. Despite this, 64% of ICT buyers in schools expect their budgets to increase during 2012.

“ICT has moved on so quickly over the past decade that it can be difficult for schools to keep up,” said Sarah Moore, history teacher, Cheam High School.

“Rather than being a luxury, interactive ICT equipment is now a vital tool for improving engagement between teachers and pupils. Although those buying ICT for schools are working with limited budgets, they recognise the difference that the right technology can make to pupils.”

Graeme Davidson, category manager at Epson, added: “One of the most revealing things about our research is the disparity between the technology that teachers want to see in the classroom and the investment priorities of those responsible for buying ICT. It’s no surprise that teachers want to use technology that allows pupils to be much more involved in the lesson. Rather than static images and books, computers and interactive projectors allow education to come to life and dramatically improve the learning experience.”

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THE AMOUNT IN FINES FOR DATA LEAKS ISSUED BY THE INFORMATION COMMISSIONERS OFFICE THIS LAST YEAR

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TEN PER CENT OF YOUNG PEOPLE DON’T USE THE INTERNET

Ten per cent of young people between the ages of 17 and 23 rarely use the internet, if at all, according to a new report by the Nominet Trust. The study also revealed that some surveyed were embarrassed to admit that they didn’t understand how to use the internet properly, even to friends, and some were unable to use email.

The research ‘On the periphery? Understanding low and discontinued Internet use amongst young people in Britain’, conducted by the Oxford Internet Institute at Oxford University, reveals that those young people who rarely use the internet lack the skills, motivation or simply don’t have access to the internet to use it.

Annika Small, director of Nominet Trust, said: “The report shows that the widely-held assumption that all young people are digitally literate and able to navigate the internet meaningfully is inaccurate. This is something we urgently need to address if we are to support young people to cope with – and contribute to – a complex, global and digital society.

The study also highlighted that it is often those young people with low literacy levels who don’t use the internet, either because of lack of skills or lack of access.

To this, Small added: “we need to ensure that all young people can be confident users of the internet and have access to it and the support needed to develop the skills to be able to use the internet successfully.”

The research suggests that young people without basic educational skills find they are unable to complete internet searches successfully, usually because of low literacy levels. The cost and a lack of access to the internet also play a huge part.

Most of the young people identified as discontinued internet users were currently unemployed and a number of them had not finished secondary education.

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TEACHERS NEED HELP WITH SOCIAL NETWORKING With 14 teachers suspended as a result of their social media activity and 18 more placed on probation; it’s more important than ever for schools to provide up-to-date guidelines for staff, advises iTeachingResources.com.

The website – which is part of the PDC Education network – has welcomed the NUT’s recent statement notifying schools of the need to implement social media policies ahead of the new term.

Rebecca Jordan, founder of iTeachingResources, says every school needs to make it clear to teachers what they should and should not do in the virtual space: “Social media is changing almost daily, which makes it very difficult for schools to effectively police the use of sites like Twitter and Facebook by teaching staff. However, the number of teachers facing disciplinary action because of inappropriate behaviour online really highlights the need to have a single and detailed policy document in place to govern social media usage and provide a clear distinction between public and private use.”

ITeachingResources has developed a social media policy in conjunction with internet and teaching experts, which it claims will help schools manage this increasingly important task.

Written by teacher Tom Tolkien, a senior manager with experience of whole school assessment, internet and e-safety and initiative and policy development, the code is designed to respond to new trends and sites organically, providing an up-to-date framework that can be applied school-wide. It includes practical applications and clear distinctions between acceptable conduct online at both personal and professional levels. Key aims, inclusions and objectives include: • Guidelines to ensure staff social media participation does not bring the school or teacher into disrepute • Safeguards to ensure the school is not exposed to legal liability • Safer internet practices • To minimise risks associated with the personal use of social media by professionals • To reflect the school’s expected standard of behaviour and code of conduct.

It also includes step-by-step guides to changing privacy settings on existing social media profiles, benchmarks for determining whether or not posts, images, comments or videos are appropriate and useful advice on how to deal with friend requests and interaction by students and parents.

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Trading places At Clevedon School in Somerset the students teach the teachers by way of a Digital Leaders programme, which aims to acknowledge the resource young people can be when it comes to technology training. Julia Dennison speaks to Mark Anderson, head of ICT, to find out how it all started

SCHOOL: Clevedon School LOCATION: North Somerset TYPE: Mixed 11-18 secondary school PUPILS: 1,200

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t’s an familiar feeling – you go to teach a class full of teenagers about a certain software and you realise not only do they already know how to use it, but they could code it, upload it to the App Store and sell their own version before you can say ‘settle down, class’. As the digital generation grows up, the line between student and teacher is blurring and it’s up to schools to decide whether to fight it or embrace it.

Clevedon School in North Somerset decided to embrace it – in a big way. Director of digital learning Mark Anderson realised some of his pupils knew a lot more about technology than some

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grants to take part, so weren’t bothering to apply.

Anderson launched the Digital Leaders programme at Clevedon last year and it was immediately popular, with dozens of kids from all age groups applying for 20 Digital Leader posts.

As part of the programme, pupils audit teachers and fellow pupils to identify gaps in ICT knowledge. They then create demo videos to help them.

But it’s not just a one-way deal – the Digital Leaders learn too. “It wasn’t just about students showing off their ICT skills, it’s about developing the students,” explains Anderson, “so developing their presentation skills, their communication skills, their ability to work with other people, to do group work and working with people of different ages.”

A year into the programme and Anderson is happy with the results. “It’s been beyond my wildest dreams,” he tells me. “It’s been awesome.” Better still for a busy ICT teacher, he hasn’t had to do much to get it off the ground, as it has been driven by the pupils who maintain a database of who needs training.

Schools reading this may wonder if there was any resistance from teachers. “The staff were actually really, really pleased to have their help,” says Anderson. “With the best will in the world, there are people who want or need more support. These are people who tend to be of an older generation and unfortunately I haven’t got the time to spend two, three, four lunchtimes a week for a few weeks supporting them, but the students do.” For this reason alone, Anderson’s 20 Digital Leaders, who he meets with every Wednesday, have been “a godsend” he couldn’t do without.

Beyond the school walls Clevedon has been able to share its success with schools all over the country by way of a blog (see box out), co-founded by Anderson and primary school teacher Sheli Blackburn, who realised there was a lot to learn between schools, particularly across the primary and secondary divide. The site offers information for schools – much of which is written by students, who have even been known to run the occasional TeachMeet.

To schools interested in a digital leaders programme like the one at Clevedon, Anderson says go for it: “Don’t be scared. You’ll be amazed with what the kids come up with and do.” And anything is possible. His digital leaders trained local primary school pupils to use software programmes, and the younger children then went on to train their teachers. So if you’re ready to embrace a new era of teaching and learning where the teacher does the learning, the future is yours.

JOIN THE NETWORK To join the Digital Leader Network, all you need to do is visit DigitalLeaderNetwork.co.uk and click on the ‘join the network’ tab. From there you need to fill in a Google doc and add yourself to the site’s map to enable linking with other schools.

If you have any questions you can tweet co-founder Sheli Blackburn at twitter.com/SheliBB, find her on Google+ or email sheliblackburn@hotmail.com with “digital leader network” in the subject line. of their teachers and peers and decided to channel it in the shape of a Digital Leaders programme.

GET TWEETING!

Leaders in action

Tweeters take note: Mark Anderson (@ICTEvangelist) is known to host a #UKedchat on Twitter, a weekly hash-tag forum for school leaders to discuss hot topics in the techno-sphere. To participate, search “#ukedchat” on Twitter between 8pm and 9pm on Thursday nights and get involved by tweeting your discussion points followed by the hash-tag ‘#ukedchat’. Directly afterwards, Anderson and Sheli Blackburn host the #DLchat for the Digital Leaders programme specifically.

The idea of a Digital Leaders programme was brought over from America by a man named Kristian Still (KristianStill.co.uk/ wordpress/digital-leaders/). It was then picked up by the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT), which offered grants to schools to participate. But sign-ups dwindled because, according to Anderson, schools realised they didn’t need the

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THE RIGHT

MOVE

Chris Wallace is director of IT at Northfield School and Sports College in Stockton-on-Tees. Carrie Service chats to him about his role in ICT and the challenges he faces as the school moves from two separate sites to one I understand you used to work as an accountant at IBM – has having a head for business and finances helped you manage school budgets?

This has benefited me hugely when managing budgets, but the greatest benefit is analysing and evaluating data. The school I work in has over 1,600 students, so analysing results and targets could be difficult without the skills gained in accountancy. It has helped me to drive up results by spotting areas of weakness.

What inspired you to change your career?

Well basically, accountancy is quite boring!

I was sitting there for nine hours a day and thinking: “This isn’t for me.” I didn’t like sitting around all day, and [teaching] is something I’d always fancied doing. When I left uni I didn’t think I was ready for teaching, but I was ready after working in accountancy.

ICT has now become embedded in pretty much every subject across the curriculum; from a procurement point of view, can this be quite challenging for you?

Yes it is – that’s my major role at the moment – I was only employed by the school in September and I was brought in to mainly do that – to make sure people are using ICT effectively in all areas of the curriculum. In terms of procurement, it hasn’t been easy with the money situation.

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We’re a split-site school [following an assimilation of Billingham Campus school in September 2009] trying to move over to one [site]. We are extending our main building [to do so] and the costs are quite difficult to manage in terms of me getting the money I need to do it. Nowadays everybody seems to be going down the wireless route, but we don’t have a wireless system here yet, so that’s the first thing we’re getting put into the building over the summer.

How are less technically-minded staff coping with the increased use of technology and how have you overcome any problems that arise?

These such staff will only ever see the benefit of ICT if it helps them with the job they do, it is important to present anything with the benefits and how it will improve work load.

I noticed on the website that the school is encouraging the use of electronic communication to reduce the need for sending out hard copies of documents – have you been involved in this initiative at all?

Yes I [helped] drive this initiative. It is important to me that schools do not fall behind any other type of business, whether it is private or public sector. We need to drive forward such initiatives that are in line with other businesses or our students do not leave school with the transferable skills needed to progress.

NUMBER OF PUPILS: Over 1600 NUMBER OF STAFF: around 200 including non-teaching staff.

LOCAL AUTHORITY: Stockton DIRECTOR OF IT: Chris Wallace BEGAN THE ROLE: September 2011

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“The students are the ones using the technology so they need to both enjoy and see the benefits“

As part of this e-communication drive you have implemented a new learning platform. What else were you hoping to get out of this?

Mainly we implemented [it] to help us eliminate the barriers to learning that exist outside of school. Students are at the centre of its design and they enjoy using the resource.

So you asked pupils for their input too?

Yes, I am a big believer that our students should be at the centre of what we want to implement. At the end of the day, the students are the ones using the technology so they need to both enjoy and see the benefits in any technology used.

How will changes in the ICT curriculum this September affect the school and how have you gone about preparing?

We are excited about the changes. The ICT curriculum is stale as it is, and staff don’t enjoy teaching what is included in the national curriculum. We have redesigned all of the ICT KS3 curriculum ready for September and we have enjoyed the freedom to be creative.

Do you have any tips for schools that are hoping to increase their ICT provision but are on a tight budget – you mentioned you are installing wireless?

Well yes, [wireless] is the basis of my vision, anyway, because there a lot of things that the kids can bring in themselves – a lot have iPads and notebooks. Where there are schools struggling for money, that might be a way they can get around it and make the most of the devices out there.

Are you hoping to introduce BYOD? Yes, we’ll be looking into it for mobile technology – not phones, but other technology, yes.

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BRILLIANT: GIVE IT A GO Ensuring you get the most from your school’s ICT is essential. Sally McKeown is co-author of a practical guide to help schools unlock the enormous potential of new technology in order to enhance pupil’s learning, particularly for young people with additional needs. She gives her advice

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ometimes you have to wonder if all the money and now they have pupils who know all about Theseus and spent on ICT in schools has been worth it. Take King Lear, which is pretty unusual for children at KS3. interactive whiteboards. Time and again teachers use them as a sort of upmarket version of show and tell. It should be so much more than a COMICS RAISING STANDARDS presentation tool for front-of-the-class teaching, Two parallel Year 5 classes in Grangehurst School in Coventry but, quite frankly, in many lessons the interactive whiteboard were working on ‘Narrative Unit 2: Traditional Stories, Fables, is just a board.

Myths and Legends’. The classes were of mixed ability but I work with Angie McGlashon, a lecturer, experienced contained a number of children who were underachievers. The trainer and software guru. Between us we have visited teachers identified a group of underachieving children to target hundreds of schools in the course of our work. We were on the and track through the project. The majority of children in this lookout for good examples of teachers and support staff using group were boys. technology for children with special needs, whether they were The unit allowed for lots of cross-curricular ideas involving in a special school, a mainstream classroom with support design and technology, history and science linked around the Robin from a teaching assistant or in a further education college.

Hood theme. At the writing phase children were offered a choice of Together we compiled Brilliant Ideas for Using ICT in the ways to produce their own stories – ‘The Adventures of Robin Inclusive Classroom. The book is full of stories from real Hood’ – and all stories were to be published into a class book. classrooms where teachers are using animation programmes, The use of ICT to produce a comic strip of their stories was multimedia, podcasts, games, blogs and wikis to make highly motivating and the children were immensely proud of their learning fun. You can buy a cheap Karaoke system from Argos. work (see picture). This work also helped them develop a good Why not use it to improve speech and language or as a fun sense of a plot. One teacher reported: “The children loved doing way of progressing children’s reading skills? the comics. The fact that the pictures were of themselves made Using digital video helped young people at Orwell High them even more interested and they were so proud of their work School in Felixstowe to record processes in food technology when they saw them printed. The comics helped children to get when teacher Nick Day was frustrated that pupils could do the familiar with the story they were going to write and to separate practical work but once they had a pen in their hand, they narrative from speech. They were able to think about what was would manage the date and title before inspiration failed. The important to put into the speech bubbles, which then helped same technology worked at Frank Wise School in Banbury to them later in their writing to think out about the dialogue they help focus pupils’ attention. “Using slow motion has been a would use.” great way to draw attention to a key point,” said headteacher We hope these stories will spark an interest in teachers and Sean O’Sullivan. “For example, we might roll a toy car down a support staff and encourage them to make more creative use of slope and then do it again on a rougher surface to show the technology in their day to day work. It would be nice to captivate impact of friction but if a child is looking away the point is more learners with those expensive whiteboards. lost. We can play it back in slow motion so they really focus on what is on screen.”

Sally McKeown, a former teacher and adviser, is an award-winning The Clare School in Norwich caters for 95 children aged three journalist who specialises in articles about special needs to 19 years with physical and sensory needs. One pupil in Year One has Williams syndrome, which causes learning difficulties, developmental delay and impaired language abilities. He is learning to use a touch-screen computer and operate software independently, and takes great pleasure in doing so. Now the school is reaping the benefit and his communication and behaviour are causing less concern.

Some centres are using technology more often associated with the home. Raising fitness levels and reducing obesity is a key objective so why not use dance mats or a Wii? Schools found that daily exercise practice became a whole lot more popular.

One college has texted clues for a treasure hunt to mobile phones while For technology to take off in a another is using SatNav to help young people become more confident school, it needs to be easy to use about finding their way around their and solve a problem local community.

Games are such a key part of pupils’ lives so why not bring them into the classroom? Pupils in Redbridge used Nintendogs as the basis for an entire topic, while Longwill School for Deaf Children in Birmingham used Sony PlayStation Portables (PSPs) to improve language development in British Sign Language (BSL) and English. It also made spelling practice more effective and let children transfer news more easily between home and school.

Readers of Education Executive are eligible for a 20% discount For technology to take off in a school, it needs to be easy off copies of the book Brilliant Ideas for Using ICT in the to use and solve a problem. If reading and writing are barriers Inclusive Classroom. The discount is only valid for purchases for children in your classroom how do you get them to engage of the book made through Routledge.com/education. To obtain with the curriculum? Think digital animations: Newman School the discount, enter promotional code BRILSK12 on check out.

This code is valid until the end of 2012. a Specialist School for Cognition & Learning in Rotherham did

OFFER

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PLAN AND

PROCURE With spending cuts biting and the demand for up-to-date ICT seemingly rising inversely, procurement can seem like a bad dream. George Carey goes back to basics to formulate a plan

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esearch published recently by independent ICT finance provider Syscap revealed that the average annual expenditure by schools on ICT has increased for the first time since the public sector spending cuts. Annual expenditure on ICT among schools in England and Wales increased by five per cent in the last year, while the number of schools spending less than £10 per pupil has fallen by 14%. Despite the modest increase, the overall spend on ICT remains low with one in 10 schools in England and Wales spending less than £10 per pupil per year, while 395 schools failed to invest anything at all during the last year.

So, are schools spending enough and how can they ensure that they’re spending on the right equipment?

The announcement that BECTA was to be disbanded back in May 2010 marked a significant change in the support and advice open to schools for ICT procurement. This was accompanied by the end of the Home Access programme and the Building Schools for the Future programme, along with the end of the requirement for Virtual Learning Environments in schools. However, the growing independence offered by the precipitous rise in academies has ushered in a new generation of savvy business managers who are more comfortable negotiating the lease finance they need to cover assets that will depreciate over the next three years. Budget cuts have added to schools’ problems and are making decisions harder all the time. But armed with a bit of background knowledge

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The payment model you choose can have a huge effect on your procurement experience

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and a clear strategy, procurement can become a much less daunting task.

The first thing that you need to be absolutely clear about is the specification that you’re looking for. If you’re buying new laptops for students, for example, will they be running processor-intensive multimedia software or will they just be used for internet access? How long do you plan to use them – and are requirements likely to change over that time? Don’t necessarily go for the cheapest on the market, but choose something that will take the workload and you won’t need to replace in three years.

Once you have established exactly what it is that you need, it’s time to start doing your research. Find out what technology other schools are using and whether they are happy with it. Some, although still not enough, schools club together to share advice and tips. Although BECTA has gone, you can consult other independent sources of advice, such as NAACE (the ICT association) and the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust.

The payment model that you choose to employ can have a huge effect on your procurement experience and also, what you can afford to get. By renting equipment or adopting cloud computing, schools can leave capital budgets untouched, instead paying a fixed, predictable cost from the operational budget that has the added benefit of reducing carbon footprint. This model is increasingly popular and tends to offer a superior service package with it.

Many people will view buying price as their most important, and sometimes sole deciding factor when making a purchase, but it’s vital to look at the whole picture, which means the total cost of ownership over a product’s lifetime, not just the purchase price. What are the additional costs of warranties, insurance, technical support, maintenance, replacing damaged parts, or lost productivity if the equipment breaks? Many schools, for example, are choosing free, open-source software over expensive licences. This can make sense,

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but it’s important to be aware of hidden support costs and to take into account the investment you’ve already made.

Compatibility with existing equipment should also factor highly in your list of considerations in the procurement process.

When buying PCs for example, you can request a few from a prospective supplier and place them on the school network to ascertain if they will fit in with your existing set-up. Not all networks operate in the same way and it may simply be the case that a particular manufacturer or software doesn’t suit your existing infrastructure.

The service or product provider themselves, rather than purely the product and price that they’re offering can be another key factor in the process. If a company is offering a low purchase price but little or no support once they have taken your money, it could turn out to be an expensive mistake.

It’s inevitable that there will be some teething problems with a new system and if you are wasting valuable time waiting for post-purchase support to reluctantly arrive, the initial price will become a distant memory. With that in mind, it can be a good idea to look at local providers initially, so that in the event of serious problems, you know help isn’t too far away.

There is also a lot to be said for an element of brand loyalty, for purely selfish reasons. If you find yourself bogged down with too many different systems, sorting out problems can become long-winded and the relationships that you can build up with long-term suppliers can speed up the recovery process in the result of an issue. A well-established supplier will also be keen to hold on to your business and could end up offering very preferential rates in order to do so.

With the right planning and thorough vetting of providers, it doesn’t have to be a jungle out there. If you keep to your principles and aren’t seduced by the first low price that comes along, there’s no reason that you can’t make the right decision for your school.

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Finding funding If schools are to get their ICT offering right, correct funding is essential, so what options are there? Techno Geek finds out With schools rightly prioritising children’s ICT skills in an ever-changing technological environment, it can prove tough to keep up. The need to improve ICT equipment is not always matched by a school’s coffers and new and creative methods must be employed to circumnavigate these frustrating obstacles. So what options are open to those institutions looking to stretch their budgets, without risking financial meltdown?

In the past, asking parents to help schools provide the pupils with more resources has been an uncomfortable area for many teachers and governors.

Yet when those resources are allocated to an individual child, and allowed home, then the case for parental financial involvement becomes stronger. The e-Learning Foundation helps schools engage with parents in this way, but on a voluntary basis so that no child is excluded because of their family circumstances. The approach also has the advantages of attracting Gift Aid and grants from the Foundation. This ‘equity model’ is in use with over 500 schools and has allowed schools to stretch limited IT budgets up to six-fold and move from the ICT suite approach to every child having their own device.

Donations from parents vary from £7 to £20 a month depending on the device in use and the period of time the programme runs. Schools are providing laptops, netbooks, hand-held

devices like the iPod touch, smartphones and increasingly the new generation of tablet devices.

Valerie Thompson, chief executive of the e-Learning Foundation, explains: “The new generation of low cost portable devices can be purchased by schools, part funded by parents and used by all children for when and where they want to learn, i.e. at home, in the classroom, in the after school club and at the child-minders’. The huge total cost of providing and maintaining ICT suites, i.e. the total cost of ownership, becomes more and more difficult to financially justify when compared to one-to-one provision of a device that can be utilised all day, every day.”

Another option is leasing, already used by a great number of schools to acquire much needed equipment. This scenario, allows them to benefit from essential equipment via straight forward fixed rental costs; that they may not otherwise have had the capital funding to pay for. Stuart Hughes of Investec Education Leasing, says: “As education budgets continue to shrink, so does a school’s ability to acquire equipment using its capital budget. As a result, leasing has become a valuable solution and provided schools ask the right questions and fully understand the process leasing can assist schools where budgets simply restrict their investment in resources.”