English schools are among the best equipped in the world when it comes to IT, it has been suggested.
Schools in England are probably the finest on the planet - or certainly among the best - when it comes to IT, it has been suggested.
According to Martin Johnson, deputy general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), the country's education professionals are among the most IT-ready in the world.
He made his comments following the publication of Sir Jim Rose's Independent Review of the Primary Curriculum, which was made available earlier this year and said ICT is not yet providing value for money in a number of educational establishments.
Mr Johnson said Sir Jim was comparing primary schools in England with their secondary counterparts when he said they were running slightly behind.
He added ICT resources such as the interactive whiteboard are now commonplace in English classrooms across the country, stating while he would not suggest that all primary teachers are using them on a regular basis, many do.
This is in comparison to secondary seats of learning, where all - or nearly all - teachers use interactive whiteboards all the time, he adds.
"It's just a standard tool of their trade now...things haven't quite got that far in primary schools, not least because primary schools haven't normally got the resources to equip every classroom with one," Mr Johnson continues.
According to a Becta report, which was published in November, the average level of e-enablement in both secondary and primary schools in the UK remained around the same.
It also suggested that the majority of teachers are both confident and enthusiastic about making use of IT in the classroom.
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