Information for Parents
The New Opportunities Fund (NOF) was created by the National Lottery Act 1998. They are responsible for distributing National Lottery grants, throughout the UK, for health, education and environment initiatives. NOF will be working with national, regional and local partners from the public, private and voluntary sectors to fund initiatives, fairly and efficiently. In spring 1999 the New Opportunities Fund began to distribute £230 million to support training in the effective use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in classrooms and school libraries.The initiative has been carefully designed to ensure that it will help in raising standards of pupils' achievement. It will do this by bringing teachers will low ICT skills and practice to the same standard as the current minority of teachers who are using ICT well. The training will focus on the knowledge, understanding and skills teachers need to enable them to make decisions about the effective use of ICT in the classroom. Key features for training in ICT have been identified to help teachers and school librarians to achieve the expected outcomes of this scheme:
- A focus on the knowledge, understanding and skills that teachers need to enable them to make decisions about the effective use of ICT in the classroom.
- Integration of training in IT skills with training in the use of ICT in their subject.
- Most training to be provided through school-based learning involving the use of ICT in the classroom.
- A close link to the development of the National Grid for Learning, and to the National Literacy and National Numeracy Strategies.
- At the end of their training, all teachers will be helped to develop an action plan for their future development in the use of ICT.
Each school will be allocated an entitlement to purchase training for their teachers and school librarians. NOF will be using LEAs in England to distribute these entitlements to schools. Each school can choose which of the approved training providers they use from the approved list of providers issued by NOF.
The TTA (Teacher Training Agency) have set down a number of ICT (Information and Communications Technology) skills for use in the use in the classroom that all teachers are expected to attain and integrate to classroom practice over the next three years. Through NOF's lottery money the government is making funding available to schools to train their teachers. This is a government scheme which links tightly to other schemes like the National Grid for Learning.
The basic competency required is the learn when to use ICT in classroom teaching so that it improves the classroom experience and increases levels in pupil achievement.
