I feel I must redress the balance (“National Strategies won’t be missed”, Letters, July 3).

Having been in charge of an ICT department for 15 years, I know that the meetings and materials have done nothing but good in improving the profile of ICT as well as providing teachers with much-needed guidance.

The swiftness with which ICT became part of the mainstream meant that many schools struggled to make sense of the national curriculum. The ICT framework, created by the National Strategies, gave clear guidance as to how to interpret government instructions.

Yes, the strategy has a finite life and maybe we are at that milestone where teachers can now take up the reins and develop the ideas, but without that catalyst at the beginning some schools and departments would still be struggling to make sense of the Government’s intentions.

Alan Plumpton, Ex ICT co-ordinator.