Half of teachers do not have sufficient training to protect pupils from online radicalisation and exploitation at school, according to new research.
A survey of more than 1,300 ICT lead teachers in schools shows that on average they think that 51 per cent of teachers in their primary schools, and 49 per cent in secondaries, “need training in e-safety issues”.
Patrick Hayes, director of Besa (British Educational Suppliers’ Association), which commissioned the research, said that pupils were engaging with ICT about half of the time in UK classrooms, so e-safety concerns “permeate the entire school”.
“It ranges from making sure data about minors is not available online,” he said, “but of course it fits entirely with the government’s Prevent strategy, which is to ensure that through accessing the internet, children do not come up against unsavoury individuals.”
Mr Hayes said there was no “silver bullet” to solve the problem, but e-safety should be a part of every teacher’s CPD so they can keep up with an area that changes rapidly. “There’s a wide range of jargon and terminology that a pupil may be using, both in reference to drugs and radicalisation, that teachers really struggle to keep on top of,” he told TES.
The research was carried out by the National Education Research Panel (Nerp) ahead of next week’s Bett conference, the annual ed-tech extravaganza in London, which is set to attract thousands of teachers, school leaders and technologists, as well as government ministers and celebrity speakers. The survey also suggests that more than half of primaries do not have adequate broadband. Only 44 per cent of primary ICT leaders said their schools were “currently well resourced” with broadband, compared with 97 per cent in secondaries.
Gaps in broadband
Mr Hayes described the implications as “huge”, adding: “The fact that 56 per cent of primary schools aren’t well resourced is something that should concern us all.
“Without the necessary ICT infrastructure, pupils and teachers alike may fail to have access to the great promise of the digital classroom, and could end up being disconnected from the vast benefits it has to offer.”
According to the survey, 62 per cent of primaries expected to be well resourced for broadband next year. It also shows that school ICT budgets have fallen by an average of 5.6 per cent this academic year, while that for computers was down 15.6 per cent.
Meanwhile, Bett organisers have highlighted virtual reality and artificial intelligence as two themes to emerge at this year’s show.
Mark Chambers, chief executive of education technology association Naace, said virtual reality was “adding a new dimension to learning”. One of the original pushes for ed tech in the classroom was based on its ability to allow teachers and students to have experiences of the real world that were otherwise unavailable, he added. “Now we are entering a period where the power of computer modelling has reached a point where the description of a virtual reality can open our eyes to new possibilities and new learning,” Mr Chambers said.
‘There’s a wide range of jargon a pupil may use in reference to drugs and radicalisation’
He cited Alexander Armstrong’s BBC One series Italy’s Invisible Cities as an example of “powerful learning not possible without the application of the technology”.
Mr Chambers said 3D printing was another trend which could help to avoid the risk of the computing curriculum becoming “as boring and mundane” as the ICT it replaced.
He also said that ed tech, far from being an expense too far at a time of financial pressure, could enable schools to make savings.
“Firstly, it is possible to demonstrate that applying ed tech can help a school to do things more efficiently and offer the opportunity to save money,” Mr Chambers said.
“Secondly, in some circumstances, ed tech offers the opportunity to do things better with a more effective transfer of knowledge or the development of thinking.”
Bett again has high-profile speakers, including education secretary Justine Greening and international trade secretary Liam Fox. Other highlights include a question-and-answer session with celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal; and Anthony Salcito, vice-president of worldwide education at Microsoft, offering “a passionate, open, knowledgeable and playful look at how together we can create a better future through education”.
