This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Computer skills for toddlers
08/10/2003
Pre-school staff are to be given a
helping hand to develop the information and communications
technology skills of younger children
Funding of £3m, announced by Deputy
Education Minister Euan Robson today, will support the
implementation of the Executive's
ICT Strategy for Early Years during its first two
years.
Staff will undergo extensive training
and be offered a range of guidance and support material to
ensure they are well equipped to deliver the framework's
aims.
The strategy recognises that while ICT
(information and communications technology) is well
established in primary and secondary schools, and has been
shown to improve motivation, enthusiasm and subject
knowledge, its use in early years settings is more
limited.
The strategy makes clear the
Executive's aim to support the educational development of
younger children, harness their energy, enthusiasm and
potential in relation to ICT, and give them a strong
foundation to progress these skills when they enter primary
school and in later life.
While ICT is often associated with
computers, the strategy embraces a broad range of other
technologies. For example staff will be encouraged to help
young children engage with digital still and video cameras,
video/DVD equipment, the Internet, telephones and e-mail.
They will also promote interactivity for example through
programmable toys, musical keyboards, activity centres,
interactive television and children's websites.
Mr Robson said:
"ICT has been used in primary and
secondary schools for several years and the benefits for
pupils have been well documented. It helps improve
motivation, enthusiasm and subject knowledge, as well as
directly developing ICT skills which benefit pupils both in
school and out of school.
"In pre-school settings, some ICT
resources have been used, for example video, audio and
computer equipment, but radical improvements are required
to redress the imbalance between nursery and primary
provision, and ensure we harness young children's natural
enthusiasm and curiosity in relation to ICT.
"This new strategy, developed by
Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS), is not designed to
create a generation of hackers. Instead it aims to help
pre-school staff enhance and support the development of
pre-school children through an appropriate range of modern
resources.
"While we may not realise it, children
already interact with ICT on a daily basis, whether helping
their parents use electronic scales, getting their picture
taken or listening to a CD. And they are engaging with ICT
like never before, at an increasingly younger age.
"Incorporating ICT into early years
settings in a constructive, enjoyable way will therefore
make children's learning more meaningful and relevant to
their everyday lives, as well as giving them a secure
foundation upon which they can build at primary school.
"To ensure staff are appropriately
supported in the development and implementation of the
strategy, I am today announcing £3 million in Executive
funding over the next two years. Together with the
extensive training programme being developed by LTS, which
will ensure early years staff receive appropriate ICT
professional development, this will ensure that we harness
the full potential which ICT has to offer our children and
young people, in their early years and later life."
In recognition of the need to develop
young children's ICT skills, the Executive commissioned
Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS) to develop an
ICT Strategy for Early Years which will be
implemented over a three-year period. This is focused
equally on local authority, private and voluntary
pre-school education and been informed by a research study
on the current use of ICT in Scotland's pre-schools, and
consultation with local authorities, early years
organisations and stakeholders.
The existing
Curriculum Framework for Children Three to Five
and the Executive's aims for wider workforce development
have also been taken into account.
The strategy comprises four
components:
Early Learning, Forward Thinking: The Policy
Framework for ICT in Early Years, which sets
the background to the strategy and the aims towards
which the pre-school sector should be working. It
reflects on the relevance of ICT in pre-school
settings and how it can be effectively
deployed.
A programme of training to
be run by LTS. This will allow the entire workforce
to receive ICT related professional development. A
core of staff from each local authority will form a
training and support network for those less well
equipped with the skills to take forward the
strategy's implementation. Funding for training is
being devolved to local authorities so that local
needs can be appropriately met.
A series of support and
guidance materials for early years staff is being
produced by LTS and will include domestic and
international examples of good practice and
detailed case studies. These will be issued early
next year.
A programme of monitoring
and evaluation is an integral part of the strategy
and will be carried out through assessment of
uptake, impact of training, involvement of HMIE and
the Care Commission, and a formal evaluation after
the initial three years.
The development of the
ICT Strategy for Early Years and its initial
implementation is part of a three-year programme being
funded through the National Grid for Learning (NGfL). The
Executive has initially allocated £3m for 2003-04 and
2004-05 towards the strategy's implementation and
development. As part of this, local authorities will
receive funding to take forward, with the help of Childcare
Partnerships, training in their area.
Their breakdown of funding for each
local authority for 2003-04 and 2004-05 is listed below
(allocations are based on pupil population and rurality as
used by the Executive's Education Department for pre-school
grant distribution). The year two figures are minimum,
provisional allocations, with the final amount for year two
being determined once LTS has finalised its plans with each
local authority.
LOCAL AUTHORITY
YEAR 1 (£)
YEAR 2 (£)
Aberdeen
48,754
28,438
Aberdeenshire
78,541
45,756
Angus
34,428
20,110
Argyll & Bute
30,883
18,049
Clackmannanshire
17,623
10,339
Dumfries & Galloway
48,332
28,193
Dundee City
37,303
21,781
East Ayrshire
35,183
20,548
East Dunbartonshire
32,695
19,102
East Lothian
28,899
16,895
East Renfrewshire
29,260
17,104
City of Edinburgh
97,660
56,872
Eilean Siar
13,787
8,109
Falkirk
40,889
23,866
Fife
91,427
53,248
Glasgow City
139,254
81,055
Highland
68,729
40,052
Inverclyde
25,469
14,901
Midlothian
26,515
15,509
Moray
30,248
17,679
North Ayrshire
39,218
22,894
North Lanarkshire
87,728
51,097
Orkney Islands
11,674
6,880
Perth & Kinross
42,101
24,570
Renfrewshire
47,295
27,590
Scottish Borders
35,650
20,820
Shetland Islands
13,653
8,031
South Ayrshire
30,523
17,839
South Lanarkshire
80,235
46,741
Stirling
28,381
16,594
West Dunbartonshire
28,385
16,596
West Lothian
49,277
28,742
Total
1,450,000
846,000