nof– ict training for teachers
By Dave Bridges
New Opportunities Fund
The National Lottery has provided the
nation with what could be described as an interactive tax-paying opportunity,
persuading the population to part company with their cash in exchange for a twice-weekly
frisson of excitement as their chosen numbers invariably fail to emerge in the
right combination. One of the main beneficiaries of this windfall
has been the teaching profession, whose members now have an entitlement to ICT
Training to the tune of about £450 per head. Just in case this is yet to
get underway in your school, or has completely passed you by, let me describe
what this is all about. ICT training
The
scheme is based on the, probably true, scenario that pupils have much higher ICT
levels of ability than many of the teaching profession are capable of identifying
because of their own lack of expertise. Hence, those who have not recently been
NQTs, who have, allegedly, already achieved the expected outcomes of ICT competence,
now have the opportunity to take part in the NOF National Training Programme which
is designed to identify their individual, subject-based ICT Training needs and
supply appropriate personalised training through accredited training providers.
The funding for each school is channelled through the LEA
and is based on each school's staffing numbers when the scheme was announced two
years ago. (Can anyone spot the first flaw in this process)? The cash must be
spent by 2003 or else it is lost. I haven't met anyone who
has begun this process yet, even though it is a year old, and I am told that no
school in my own LEA has got very far along the road. As ICT Co-ordinator I have
been secretly hoping to learn from the mistakes of others but I have had to put
on a brave face and forge ahead on my own. For better or worse I have taken the
following steps and jumped through the following hoops. Step
one …
I provided, as requested, the LEA with our school's
ICT development plan and demonstrated to them that we had sufficient hardware
and software to take on the Training Programme. I notified
the Learning School's Programme (LSP) that they had been chosen to be our Training
Provider. LSP is the progeny of RM plc and the Open University. Their programme
appeared to be comprehensive and was promoted by our LEA. My own experience of
the OU has been a positive one. My experience of RM plc is mixed! I
informed the LEA that LSP were to be our Training Provider so the cash could be
downloaded t our school. We now have a staff of about 35. The so-called entitlement
cash covers 25 staff and a librarian, our numbers two years ago. Remember that
flaw I hinted at! LSP almost immediately sent us a bill for
one third of the total cost.
I circulated a pro-forma to all staff encouraging
them to commit to the programme and seeking their views on when they would like
to receive this training. This they did enthusiastically when they realised that
such a commitment was essential if they were to benefit from the Government's
scheme to provide teachers with half-price computers. Unfortunately only a few
were able to take advantage of the scheme before the Government realised how popular
it was and closed it! I believe there are plans to re-open this programme in the
New Year. The materials to support the programme, including
a Management Folder for the School Organiser and an example of an Individual Training
folder, arrived. One glance told me they were likely to be impenetrable and less
than useful. I was right. They have since been slimmed down and re-written. We
tested out the TTA(Teacher Training Agency) Needs Identification CD which was
interesting but not universally well received by colleagues. What
the LEA ICT adviser told me …
At the start of this
term I still had a blurred view of what was required of the School Organiser so
I arranged several meetings with the LEA ICT adviser who told me to ignore most
of things I had already been told. As a result of these meetings I have now: 1.
set up a Training Schedule for the next 3 years which is department-based so as
to encourage teamwork and harmonise with our School Improvement Plan. This also
dovetails with LEA support sessions and begins in January 2001.
2. set up
a Launch session for a Staff meeting in November. This will
introduce the
staff to the programme and allow them to identify their own needs.
3. ordered
the necessary Training Materials from LSP. These take about 28 days to arrive
however and may not be here in time for the launch. Just in
case some small amounts of cynicism have appeared to leak from these lines, be
under no illusion. I am keen for this scheme to get off to a good start in spite
of the attendant bureaucracy and under-funding and I feel it is unlikely that
teachers will gain nothing useful from this programme, once we learn how to implement
it and the Training Providers learn how to support us. ICT is the new literacy
and teachers have to grasp any opportunity to enhance their skills if they are
to do justice to their students. As one who is charged with delivering this project
in my school I am genuinely positive about it and will be monitoring the progress
made over the next few months. As ever, the proof of the pudding will be in the
eating and I will be keen to hear from participating staff over the next few months. I
look forward to hearing from anyone, through the auspices of editor@justforteachers.co.uk
who has advice to give on this issue. Useful websites
http://www.learningschools.net
http://www.ngfl.gov.uk/ngfl
http://www.dfee.gov.uk
http://www.becta.org.uk
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