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ITEM LC6(a)

LEARNING & CULTURE SCRUTINY COMMITTEE – 10 SEPTEMBER 2002

THE SUBJECT OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY IN OXFORDSHIRE SCHOOLS

Report by Chief Education Officer

1. This report has been written using evidence collected from school visits, consultations, annual conferences, analysing Ofsted school inspection reports, INSET courses and network meetings.
2. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has seen considerable developments over the past ten years. The numbers and quality of ICT equipment in schools has improved dramatically through LEA funding, schools’ own investment and through various government initiatives. The skill level of teachers and students has also improved dramatically and teachers and children have access to increasingly powerful applications.

Primary Phase

3. The quality of ICT provision in the primary phase has improved considerably over the past three years. This is largely due to the investment in equipment and network infrastructure as well as the considerable investment in basic skills training for teachers undertaken as part of the NGfL (National Grid for Learning) initiative in Oxfordshire. As primary schools approach the government targets for computer: pupil ratio (8:1 by August, 2004) many more schools will be able to deploy their ICT equipment in this fashion which promotes the effective cross-curricular use of ICT. In addition, the provision of wireless technology and portable laptop computers will enable schools to be even more creative and imaginative in their use of ICT across the campus providing flexibility which is sometimes hindered by static connections.
4. In most cases, pupils’ progress in ICT is good in the primary phase. Children find ICT highly motivating and engaging and, as increasingly powerful software becomes easier to use, pupils are able to use ICT for investigations, decision-making and problem solving without being hindered by the complexity of the software.
5. Where progress in ICT Capability is less sound this is often seen in conjunction with other issues, most importantly the quality of school leadership. The importance of senior management involvement in and commitment to ICT has been highlighted by research conducted by OfSTED and the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (BECTa). To raise the awareness of senior management in schools, the Adviser runs in-service training sessions each term for headteachers using materials developed by BECTa.
6. ICT Capability consists of a number of strands or aspects and it is important to have an understanding of the ways in which pupils make progress in different strands across the primary phase. The current Adviser and Advisory Team have recently undertaken a large consultation exercise with all primary schools to gain evidence of pupils’ achievement in all strands of ICT Capability at the end of Year 2, Year 4 and Year 6. This has been followed with another consultation intending to identify trends and progress in ICT Capability.
7. As one might expect, pupils a have wide experiences in those aspects of ICT with which teachers are confident and comfortable and fewer opportunities in those aspects which might be considered more challenging or those in which additional equipment is required. For example, two-thirds of year six pupils from last year’s sample could design and produce a desktop published document and nearly 60% could produce and modify a desktop published document for a particular purpose and audience, a characteristic of level 4 in the national curriculum for ICT.
8. In contrast, certain areas of the ICT curriculum are underdeveloped in schools. For example, less than 20% of year 6 pupils were able to write a computer procedure to control an external device. This aspect of the ICT curriculum – Control Technology – is one which OfSTED have identified as being weak nationally. Historically, there have been issues of cost which have prevented teachers from developing this aspect of the curriculum. This has been rectified to a certain extent with the development of software which enables pupils to develop these essential skills without the need for external hardware. At the recent Primary Conference the ICT Advisory Team organised a demonstration by a group of pupils from an Oxfordshire primary school who were able to demonstrate and explain their capability in this aspect of ICT with confidence.
9. Taking ICT as a whole, teacher assessments for this year indicate that nearly 74% of girls and just over 75% of boys achieve level 4 or better while 8.3% of girls and 13% of boys have been judged to have achieved level 5. While these figures are good and compare favourably with the national average, it is important to stress that these are unmoderated teacher assessments encompassing the whole of ICT capability. It is doubtful that this percentage of pupils is at this level in all aspects of the ICT curriculum.

Secondary Phase

10. Progress in secondary schools has been less marked and more variable than in primary schools. Some schools are very well equipped with a number of network computer suites and computers located in various other areas in the school. Other schools, for a variety of reasons, have not invested in such equipment and infrastructure and their provision remains poor. In the last year, however, NGfL funding has focussed on the secondary phase and this, as well as the current round of Standards Funding for schools, should enable all secondary schools to improve their infrastructure and equipment appreciably.
11. Standards of achievement at key stages three and four are roughly in line with national standards although achievement in ICT remains poorer than virtually every other subject
12. Secondary schools spend a variable amount of time on ICT at key stage three. Some schools teach discrete ICT lessons while others develop ICT Capability through the application of ICT across a range of curriculum contexts. Where ICT is taught as a discrete subject the time allocated to it varies from as little as 25 minutes per week to a maximum of 80 minutes per week.
13. At key stage four there is, again, considerable variation in the amount of time devoted to ICT and the manner in which it is delivered. A minority of schools continue to teach an element of discrete ICT to all students while the majority of schools offer ICT as a GCSE subject within the options scheme.
14. Achievement in ICT Capability at key stage three is comparable to national averages. There has been a steady improvement in the percentage of pupils achieving level 5 or above over the past three years as well as the percentage achieving level 6 or above. In 1999 55.2% of Oxfordshire pupils reached at least level 5; in 2001 the figure was 64.5%. In 1999 16.9% of pupils achieved level 6 or better and in 2001 the figures was 24.3%. It is anticipated that the introduction of the Key Stage Three strategy will accelerate this improvement.
15. There has been a similar improvement in achievement at key stage four over the past three years although the improvement has not been quite so marked. In 1999 47.4% of those entered achieved grades A* to C in their GCSE ICT examination. This compares with the national average of 47.5% for the same year. In 2001 the figures were 51.9% A* to C locally and 50.4% nationally. Similarly, in 1999 92.9% of those entered achieved grades A* to G compared with 94.2% nationally. In 2001 the figures were 93.7% locally and 93.9% nationally.

Post 16

16. With the introduction of AS levels at Post 16 there has been a considerable increase in the number of students studying ICT. In 2001/2 there are approximately 450 students studying an ICT course. Of these 260 were studying at AS level and 190 at AVCE. This is comparable with the numbers studying, for example, Geography and more than those doing French. 40% of those studying at AS level continue with the subject into year 13 at A2 level. This is a lower continuation rate than for subjects such as Geography, Sciences, Mathematics.
17. In addition, all students in post 16 education receive key skills teaching of which ICT forms a major part.

NGfL

18. The NGfL has been of enormous importance in Oxfordshire schools particularly in providing the funding necessary to dramatically improve the quantity and quality of ICT equipment in schools. In addition, all Oxfordshire schools now have at least ISDN access to the Internet, in most cases across the school site.
19. The improved equipment base has had a positive impact on standards in the primary phase. Basic skills training in a variety of applications has been provided as part of the initiative. More than 13,000 teacher sessions were held over the three years and the approval rating never fell below 97%.

New Opportunities Funding (NOF) for ICT

20. For the past three years, Oxfordshire schools have been involved with the New Opportunities Funding (NOF) for ICT training. The ICT Advisory Team has supported schools the vast majority of whom have opted to undertake their training with the Open University/Research Machines Learning Schools Programme.
21. The success of the NOF training has been variable. The programme was designed to be self-motivating and self-supporting. Teachers were expected to complete the programme in their own time and although there has been adviser and teacher support as well as support sessions held locally and centrally, many teachers found the additional workload to be excessive.
22. In those schools where senior management has been supportive and has made time available for colleagues to work through the programme together, it has been generally successful. In those schools where senior management have not been so supportive, the success (or otherwise) of the programme has depended on the individual commitment of teachers themselves. The programme has been very much more successful in the primary phase.

Staffing

23. Many schools have problems of recruitment and retention of suitably qualified teachers of ICT. There is at present only one Newly Qualified Teacher of ICT in secondary schools and several schools have been unable to appoint to vacancies due to lack of applications for ICT teaching and co-ordinating posts, especially in the secondary phase. In the primary phase the role of ICT co-ordinator, crucial in ensuring the delivery of ICT Capability and in the development of the use of ICT across the curriculum, is often filled as a last resort amongst existing staff or given to a Newly Qualified Teacher as the one member of staff likely to have the most recent experience of ICT. There seems little doubt that the lack of suitably qualified and trained ICT teachers is having an impact on pupil achievement, especially at Key Stages three and four.

Accommodation and Resources

24. There have been significant and substantial improvements in the accommodation for the delivery of ICT in the past three years. Most primary schools have a network suite of computers where whole class teaching can take place. Many secondary schools now have two, three or even more computer suites for the delivery of ICT. In addition, the city reorganisation has enabled many schools to create a computer suite as part of the building works taking place.
25. As schools approach the DfES targets for pupils: computers, they are able to provide additional ICT resources. The schemes operated by the supermarkets has enabled many to acquire scanners and digital cameras and schools are now considering the purchase of interactive whiteboards for whole class teaching. Oxfordshire has been invited to participate in a whiteboard pilot scheme concentrating on the impact of ICT in the delivery of literacy and numeracy. This invitation has been extended to only five other LEAs and is partly due to the success Oxfordshire has experienced in implementing the literacy and numeracy strategies. Participation in this pilot will mean a considerable sum for the purchase of interactive whiteboards for schools, concentrating on years 5 and 6.
26. In spite of these developments, however, ICT equipment becomes outdated in a very short period of time. While schools may well wish to plan for a three or five-year replacement cycle, without continued funding streams of the type and size schools have recently enjoyed from central and local government, many headteachers are concerned about maintaining their systems at an appropriate level.
27. In addition, there are additional costs in maintaining an effective ICT infrastructure in schools. Due to the increased reliance on the Internet and, in the months to come, the Oxfordshire Community Network, schools face cabling and networking infrastructure costs alongside the cost of purchasing new computers. There are also subscription costs, extended warranty and support contracts, technical support and an increasing range of peripherals to purchase and maintain.
28. Schools are also concerned about the level of technical support and maintenance available to them. There are instances where the technology proves unreliable. While schools have phone and on-line support for their systems, this can be time-consuming and is particularly acute in the primary phase where budgets are insufficient to fund a full or even part-time technician. This generally results in the ICT co-ordinator also having to act as a technician in whatever spare time he/she has available.
29. To address this issue of technical support, a small number of schools have purchased a managed service from an ICT provider. However, this is really only a viable option for larger schools as the cost of such a service is considerable. Some partnerships are beginning to address the issue of technical support by joining together to fund a partnership ICT technician. The ICT Advisory Team is supporting those partnerships who have opted for this provision by helping to develop job descriptions, being involved in the interview and selection process and by providing technical support in-service training opportunities for new technicians.

Laptops for Teachers

30. Members will be aware of the current government initiative of Laptops for Teachers. There is a growing body of evidence that access to ICT equipment for teachers can make a significant difference to the quality of teaching and to pupil achievement. In addition, ICT can help to ease teacher’s workload by providing assistance with administration and lesson preparation. Internet access with the increasing number of sites containing resources, schemes of work and lesson plans is also of great assistance to teachers.
31. Oxfordshire receives 1.12% of the total national funding under this initiative with £674,446 this year and a further £449,630 next year bringing the total to £1,124,076. Welcome as this initiative is, this funding is insufficient to have a significant impact on the numbers of teachers who still do not have access to ICT equipment in their homes. Only 703 teachers will be able to benefit in this financial year and less than half that number next year.

Key Stage 3 Strategy

32. The ICT strand of the Key Stage 3 Strategy commences in the autumn term, 2002. Oxfordshire has received funding to employ three Key Stage three ICT consultants and appointments have been made.
33. Standards at the end of Key Stage 3 are broadly in line with national standards in the majority of schools with the exception of the City schools where they are at present well below national averages. However, standards in ICT at the end of Key Stage 3 are poorer than in any other subject both nationally and locally. Standards of work at the end of Key Stage 3 are sometimes little better than those achieved at the end of Key Stage 2. The Key Stage 3 strategy will lever standards higher by providing exemplar lesson plans, modelled lessons and support from the Key Stage 3 ICT consultants to those delivering ICT in schools.

Broadband and the OCN

34. Members will be aware of the work currently taking place in building and implementing the Oxfordshire Community Network. The first phase of this exciting project is well underway and all secondary schools and a number of primary schools will be connected to this Broadband network by September 2002. This will enable whole classes of students, teachers and others to access the learning resources on the internet in an efficient manner, eliminating the "bottleneck" schools currently experience with ISDN connections.
35. The OCN will also host a range of worthwhile educational content. Amongst that already available to schools is the information and support resources currently provided by the ICT Advisory Team. OfSTED have commented favourably on the ICT Team web site as a very useful resource for schools and BECTa provide a number of links from their site to documents developed by the ICT Advisory Team. In June, the ICT Advisory Team web site was granted NGfL-badged status from the government. Over the past few years the team has provided documentation on school self-evaluation, exemplar ICT development plans, schemes of work and policies, health and safety advice and technical support documents. The site also hosts an increasing number of best practice examples, moderated and levelled work for teachers to compare with their own as well as internet safety policies. The ICT Advisory Team web site can be found at http://www.ict.oxon-lea.gov.uk/

RECOMMENDATIONS

36. The Scrutiny Committee is RECOMMENDED to receive the report.

ROY SMITH
Acting Chief Education Officer

Background Papers: Nil

Contact Officers:

Richard Howard, Principal Adviser for Schools. Tel: 01865 428084
Julie Leigh, Schools Adviser, ICT Specialist Tel: 01865 428034

August 2002

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