Over the last four years, several major national initiatives have been launched, designed to change and improve the way that Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is used in our schools. This report is concerned with one of these initiatives, the New Opportunities Fund (NOF) ICT training for teachers and school librarians. In 1998, the Government announced that, as part of a wider UK initiative, it was allocating 23m from the National Lottery Fund to provide training for teachers and school librarians in Scotland in the use of ICT over the period until 2003.
HMIE has been responsible for the quality assurance of the training provision in Scotland through a programme of evaluation activities. A significant outcome of the first year of evaluations was the establishment of a national understanding about the principles, aims and management of the training among both providers and users. During the last year, the evaluations focused more clearly on the quality of the learning experience, the impact on professional practice and the management of the initiative.
Providers have responded to the evaluation work and follow-up activities in a rigorous and systematic way and have made notable improvements to their training programmes. There is clear evidence of the training having a positive effect in a number of schools. However, the quality of implementation of the training programme and its subsequent impact vary considerably across the country. There remain issues to be resolved in terms of the management of the initiative at provider, education authority and school levels, if the programme is to achieve its overall aims within the allotted timescale.
It is important that the programme has the greatest possible impact on practice in our schools. The main purpose of this report is therefore to support the remaining stages of the initiative by clearly identifying and promoting best practice in the implementation and management of the training, at the levels of provider, education authority, school and participant.
Douglas Osler
HM Senior Chief Inspector