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What it says about ICT...
1.4. Despite these advances, high levels of literacy and numeracy will continue to be fundamental to full participation in learning and life, as will the ability to communicate effectively in spoken English and other languages. It will also be increasingly important that children have the ICT skills which will enable them to apply the technology of the future and meet the challenges of an uncertain world, with confi dence and fl exibility. A sound grasp of ICT is fundamental to engagement in society, and the foundations for this engagement must be laid in primary schools.
Along with literacy and numeracy, the use of technology to develop skills for learning and life should be at the core of the primary curriculum.
1.54. .... One highly promising route to meeting the demand for in-depth teaching and learning is undoubtedly emerging through ICT.
2.26. ICT and personal development are also of crucial importance in the primary years. Along with literacy and numeracy they are the ‘skills for learning and life’ which should be developed across the curriculum.
7. The Review’s remit insists that literacy, numeracy and ICT must be prioritised. Primary schools must make sure that the best professional practice is brought to bear on teaching these essential skills directly, with ample opportunities for children to use and apply them across the curriculum...
2.48. Because ICT has the unique capacity and potential for developing and enlivening all domains of learning, including literacy and numeracy, it should also be taught both discretely to capture its essential knowledge and skills, and through its applications across the whole curriculum to deepen understanding. The Review has conducted a small scale survey the indications from which are that ICT is not yet providing value for money in many schools. As one teacher said, “ICT is not working hard enough to support learning or to help us manage the curriculum”. It may be, too, that aspects of the ICT curriculum for Key Stage 3 are well within the capabilities of primary children, such that, by the time they reach Key Stage 3 children should not only be capable of demonstrating the skills of ICT, they should also demonstrate that they can confidently apply those skills to advancing their learning across the curriculum.
2.49. This suggests that the primary and secondary programmes of study for ICT should be scrutinised in order to provide a better fit with children’s developing abilities. The Review is working with BECTA to assemble a chapter on ICT for the final report.
Recommendation 8: The QCA working with BECTA should:
(i) Review whether aspects of the Key Stage 3 curriculum for ICT would be more appropriately taught in Key Stage 2.
(ii) Make sure that by the end of Key Stage 2, children are able to select and apply ICT to advance their learning across the curriculum.
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