ICT professional development materials for primary schools

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Ofsted’s subject professional development

materials: ICT

A training resource for teachers of information and communication technology in primary schools

2012

Ofsted’s subject professional development materials: ICT (primary schools) October 2012

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This resource has been put together to help teachers in primary schools reflect on the main messages from Ofsted’s ICT report ICT in schools 2008-2011, published in December 2011.

We recommend that subject leaders take the time to look through the resources prior to sharing them with colleagues. Not everything can be covered in one session. We suggest that you focus on the issues which most closely match your own priorities and allocate time accordingly.

At certain points, specific questions are suggested for discussion. They are intended to help you focus on your own practice.

About this resource


http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/ict-schools-2008-11

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This training looks at five of the issues considered in the report:How do you ensure the most effective teaching in ICT?How do you use assessment to improve students’ learning and achievement in ICT?What is an effective ICT curriculum?How effectively do you meet the subject-specific ICT training needs of teachers and teaching assistants in your school?How effective is your work to support the e-safety of pupils and staff?

You can take the issues in any order and spend as long as you like on each one. However, we suggest that at some stage you find time to look at all five.

Overview


What are the characteristics of the most effective teaching in ICT?

Issue 1

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Discussion point: Discuss these lists with your immediate colleagues and with the group.

Activity 1

Write down three ways in which you ensure effective teaching in ICT.

Activity 2

Look at the next slide. It gives a list of many of the characteristics of highly effective teaching. This list was included in the report.

Discussion point: Did you and your colleagues identify all the points given? As a group and/or as individuals, select the top three things you need to concentrate on to improve teaching and to make it even better in your school.


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The characteristics of highly effective teaching in ICT include:

teachers have excellent subject knowledge and teaching assistants are well informed and briefed

planning is thorough and detailed, with particular attention to meeting the different requirements of individual pupils

clear and explicit learning objectives are proposed and discussed with pupils

formative assessment is an integral part of lessons and self- and peer-assessment are actively promoted

questioning is used to deepen understanding, rather than just to check knowledge

key ICT terminology is introduced and reinforced

a range of equipment and resources is available wherever pupils are learning; safe working is emphasised at all times

opportunities are available for pupils to experience ‘real-world’ ICT use outside school

explicit links are made with key learning points in other subjects and particularly in literacy and numeracy.


How well do you use assessment to improve pupils’ learning and achievement in ICT?

Issue 2

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Discussion point: How do you currently assess pupils’ attainment and progress in ICT?

Activity 1

The Government has indicated that the ICT Attainment Targets are disapplied from September 2012.

Activity 2

The use of assessment was judged to be good or outstanding in only 38% of the primary schools visited. Look at the next slide. It gives a list of many of the characteristics of the effective use of assessment to improve pupils’ learning and achievement in ICT. This list was included in the report.Discussion point: Do you agree with characteristics in the list? How can your school use assessment better to improve pupils’ learning and achievement in ICT?


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In schools where the use of assessment was good there was a robust school-wide approach to using assessment as a key tool for improvement. The characteristics of effective use of assessment in ICT include:

thorough, clear and accurate strategies for baseline assessment

pupils being made aware of their current attainment and what they need to do to improve

opportunities for peer- and self-review embedded in lessons

regular standardisation and moderation between teachers and between schools

a progress tracking system accessible to staff and pupils and embracing ICT across all subjects

pupils being given detailed feedback on their work

parents and carers being kept regularly updated on their child’s progress in ICT.

A lack of attention to the assessment of ICT was seen in the majority of the primary schools visited.


What is an effective ICT curriculum?

Issue 3

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The ICT curriculum was judged to be good or outstanding in 51% of the primary schools visited. The characteristics of an effective ICT curriculum include:

a comprehensive approach to curriculum planning, both for ICT in its own right and for ICT across the curriculum

teachers adapting national and local guidance to create their own cross-curricular themes within which the purpose of ICT has been carefully considered

detailed planning resulting in exciting and creative activities tailored to the needs of individual pupils

clear planning for progression within and between year groups

ICT threaded through the whole curriculum; schools using cross-curricular planning grids and maps to embed ICT opportunities in all aspects of curriculum planning

examples of ICT bringing new learning opportunities to other subjects

teachers drawing effectively on external expertise.


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Where the curriculum requires improvement, planning is limited and often does not take into account cross-curricular opportunities.

Weaker schools give too much emphasis to the use of ICT for communication and presentation, and not enough to data logging, data handling, data modelling and control.

Teachers in these schools lack the knowledge to teach these aspects effectively and equipment is often inadequate or outdated.


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Activity 1

The Government has indicated that the ICT Programmes of Study at all key stages are disapplied from September 2012. ICT will continue to be a National Curriculum subject, with new statutory Programmes of Study at all four key stages, from September 2014. Between 2012 and 2014, schools will not be required to change their ICT curriculum, but may do so if they wish. Discussion point: What are the implications of the disapplication of the ICT Programmes of Study in your school? What will change?

Activity 2

Very few examples were seen of primary schools engaging with local IT businesses to bring the subject alive for their students.

Discussion point: Does your school work with local businesses? How could this be organised?


How effectively do you meet the subject-specific ICT training needs of teachers and teaching assistants in your school?

Issue 4

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In the majority of the primary schools visited, regular audits of the training needs of class teachers and teaching assistants in ICT took place. A good range of training and updating opportunities was generally made available to meet the needs identified in these audits, though a small number of schools reported difficulty in sourcing appropriate professional development as a result of reductions in support from the local authority. Staff training arrangements included in-house workshops and drop-in clinics, external opportunities at professional development centres or commercial providers, and online tutorials or training packages.

In some schools, the appointment of newly qualified teachers had brought higher levels of ICT skill into the school, to the wider benefit of staff and students.

Very few examples were seen of any evaluation of the impact of the training on the effectiveness of teaching or on students’ learning. Ofsted’s subject professional development materials: ICT (primary schools) October 2012

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Schools where the leadership team were highly committed to ICT, devised lively and comprehensive professional development programmes for staff.

In these schools, subject leaders for ICT were providing excellent training sessions regularly. Champions were sometimes identified among the staff to help disseminate new developments, and plans were made to cascade the learning from external courses across the school.

Given the continuing pace of innovation and development in ICT in education, it is clear that all schools will need to adopt a systematic planning cycle for the training and updating of ICT and other staff.Discussion point: What is the current or planned

offer for ICT training in your school? What more can you do to improve training for specialists and non-specialists in your school, that is appropriate and cost-effective?


How effective is your work to support the e-safety of pupils and staff?

Issue 5

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E-safety may be described as a school’s ability to protect and educate pupils and staff in their use of technology and to have the appropriate mechanisms to intervene and support any incident where appropriate. The Ofsted report The safe use of new technologies evaluated the extent to which schools teach pupils to adopt safe and responsible practices in using new technologies, assessed training on internet safety for staff and considered schools’ links with families in terms of e-safety.

The breadth of issues classified within e-safety is considerable, but can be categorised into three areas of risk:

content: being exposed to illegal, inappropriate or harmful material

contact: being subjected to harmful online interaction with other users

conduct: personal online behaviour that increases the likelihood of, or causes, harm.


http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/safe-use-of-new-technologies

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Questions

1.How do you ensure that all staff receive appropriate online safety training that is relevant and up to date?

2.What mechanisms does your school have in place to support pupils and staff facing online safety issues?

3.Does your school have e-safety policies and acceptable use policies in place? How do you know that they are clear and understood and respected by all?

4.How does your school educate pupils to build knowledge, skills and capability for online safety? How do you assess the effectiveness of this?Discussion point: Look at the next slide. It gives a list of many of the characteristics of effective e-safety.

What priorities and accompanying actions have you identified to improve e-safety in your school?


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The safe use of new technologies report recommended that schools should:

audit the training needs of all staff and provide training to improve their knowledge of and expertise in the safe and appropriate use of new technologies

work closely with all families to help them ensure that their children use new technologies safely and responsibly both at home and at school

use pupils’ and families’ views more often to develop e-safety strategies

manage the transition from locked down systems to more managed systems to help pupils understand how to manage risk; to provide them with richer learning experiences; and to bridge the gap between systems at school and the more open systems outside school

provide an age-related, comprehensive curriculum for e-safety which enables pupils to become safe and responsible users of new technologies

work with their partners and other providers to ensure that pupils who receive part of their education away from school are e-safe

systematically review and develop their e-safety procedures, including training, to ensure that they have a positive impact on pupils’ knowledge and understanding.Ofsted’s subject professional development materials: ICT (primary schools) October 2012

Summary and conclusion

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Summary task

Discussion point: What three priorities and accompanying actions do you now have for improving ICT in your school as a result of your discussions?

To help you in this, we suggest you look at the specific criteria we use to make judgements during ICT subject inspections. You can find this on the Ofsted website:Generic grade descriptors and supplementary subject-specific guidance for inspectors on making judgements during subject survey visits to schools


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Conclusion

We hope you have found this resource helpful in promoting improvement in achievement in ICT in your school.

Further information and support is available on the Ofsted ICT webpage:

ICT in schools 2008-2011

The safe use of new technologies

Good practice case studies

We welcome comments on this training resource. Please write to [email protected] and ensure that you put ‘ICT Professional Development Materials’ in the subject box of your email.


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ICT professional development materials for primary schools

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