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All parents to get regular online reports on their children's progress

DEPARTMENT FOR CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES News Release (2008/0006) issued by The Government News Network on 10 January 2008

- £30 million for home ICT for low-income families -

- £600,000 home access pilot launched in 50 schools -

- Further moves to close the 'digital divide' -

All parents will get regular electronic reports on their children's progress in future - going far beyond the traditional annual school report, Schools Minister Jim Knight announced this week.

Opening BETT 2008, the world's largest educational technology trade show, he said all secondary schools will be expected to have 'real-time' reporting systems up and running by 2010 and all primary schools two years later. Many schools already run these systems.

Real-time reporting means parents will be able to access frequently updated information on children's achievement, progress, attendance, behaviour and special needs wherever, whenever they want - using secure, online systems.

Other systems could include text alert systems, school intranet, email or even video-conferencing.

The Government's schools technology agency, Becta, will be guiding schools to adapt their existing technology and advise them how to improve.

Mr Knight said:

"We know from schools around the country that if families are going to be involved in their children's education really effectively, they need a good two way flow of information - a channel which is more efficient and more frequent than a once a year written report, or a letter home when there is a problem or something to celebrate.

"Real time reporting will deepen the school-parent relations and is not a substitute for regular personal contact with teachers. Effective technology systems can actually significantly cut the staff workloads - but it has to be to be manageable for individual schools and meaningful for parents."

Mr Knight also announced a further £30million over the next three years targeted at low-income families to buy computers and connect to broadband internet for school work.

And he launched a £600,000 pilot, run by Becta with key industry players, specifically looking at lowering the cost of devices and connectivity and informing parents about the educational benefits of a home computer.

He also confirmed that the Government's Home Access Taskforce, set up last year and chaired by Mr Knight, will make clear recommendations in April on making universal home access a reality - particularly in disadvantaged areas - and how to provide the technical and maintenance support to back it up.

Mr Knight added:

"We have to find a way to make access universal, or else it's not fair. More than a million children - and their families - have no access to a computer in the home.

"I want a home computer to be as important as having a calculator or pencil case is. It means children will be able to access their school work and resources for their learning - and even download or store homework and get feedback from schools, wherever they want, whenever they want.

"All these plans which depend on technology risk widening the gap between the have and the have nots - unless we can make the technology available to all. The so-called "digital divide" cannot be allowed to reinforce social and academic divisions.

"I see some tough negotiations ahead with some of the big providers. But they have a lot to gain too - potentially it will be millions more customers for them. I don't see why the Government shouldn't be able to get technology at a good price for low income families."

He also underlined that home computer and internet access goes hand in hand with protecting children and young people from inappropriate or potentially harmful material. Last September, the Government asked Dr Tanya Byron to make clear recommendations on this area and she is due to report in March.

The Government has invested £5billion in schools ICT since 1997, with another £837million earmarked over the next three years - leaving it with the highest levels of embedded technology in classrooms in European Union and one computer for every three pupils.

Mr Knight's announcement in full is:

- a 12-week public consultation on the best way to achieve universal home access - focusing on key issues such as who should pay for access and how do to ensure that children use the internet in a safe and purposeful manner.

- a £600,000 Becta pilot scheme to test different ways ensuring all families have access to a computer at home in 50 schools across Birmingham, Worcestershire, Stockton and Brent - working with partners Dell, Intel, RM and PC World to reduce the cost of devices and broadband connection - and stress the educational benefits of home access to parents and teachers. This includes subsidising the cost of acquiring home technology for a whole year group - with direct funding for schools and parental contributions.

- an additional £30million for low income families from the most disadvantaged areas gain access to internet and computer technology at home - funding from within the Department's current budget which is being diverted to this particular programme. The Government has already invested £60million in the two-year Computers for Pupils scheme, which target 1000 schools in England's most deprived areas.

- a high-level study, called Beyond Current Horizons, working with the best thinkers in education and involving a focussed consultation with the industry, parents, learners and the community, to access the long-term social, economic and cultural impact of technology on children's lives, their education and beyond between 2008 and 2025.

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. Home Access Taskforce

Jim Knight announced that he was setting up the Taskforce at BETT in January 2007. Since then the Taskforce has met quarterly. The final meeting will be in April 2008, when the Taskforce will make recommendations about the best way to achieve universal home access.

Becta is investing £600,000 in Proof of Concept activities to test different ways of delivering access. With the support of almost 50 schools across the country Becta are testing two main models. In the first, grants are provided via schools or LAs to incentivise pupils in the poorest families to buy technology. Incentive levels are being varied to determine if there is a 'tipping point' at which a public funding contribution will drive high levels of take up. In the other, grants are provided to schools to part-finance devices and connectivity. These grants are supplemented by parental contributions to provide home technology for a whole cohort of pupils.

The Government is targeting £30 million of the Harnessing Technology Grant funding to help low income families from the most disadvantaged areas gain access to technology at home.

The public consultation runs for 12 weeks. The full documents can be accessed at: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/consultations/

2. Real-time reporting

By September 2008 all secondary schools will be expected to provide information to parents covering achievement, progress, attendance, behaviour and special needs, on a timely and frequent basis - this should be at least once per term.

By September 2010 all secondary schools will need to offer parents real-time access to this information (including the opportunity for secure online access) wherever they are and whenever they want.

Primary schools must also meet the basic requirement by September 2010 and the real time requirement by 2012.

Becta, is leading on bringing that practice together and are developing a range of support to help spread this excellent practice, including:

the latest and most influential research papers and education reports on the subject to support your thinking and discussion in school;

a growing and categorised resource showing the experiences of a wide range of schools;

online, real time experiences of others through blogs written by teachers in the process of implementing real time reporting in their schools;

and access to tips, ideas and resources to help schools including video resources and information packs.

3. Futures programm

The Beyond Current Horizons programme is tasked with building a challenging and long-term vision for education in the context of social and technological change.

To achieve this aim, the programme will:

rigorously review evidence from science and social science in the UK and internationally to identify and analyse the emerging trends in society, technology and education that will act as the most significant drivers of change in education from 2020 onwards;

identify the future ethical challenges and needs for education that will be presented by these emerging trends;

develop long-term visions for the potential purpose, nature and organisation of education in 2025 through the use of creative and collaborative tools to enable consultation around emerging trends and challenges with diverse education stakeholders - including industry, media, parents, students, teachers, education leaders, governors
build on the evidence and consultation to identify and analyse key interventions for meeting the challenges and exploiting the opportunities identified.

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