Ofsted 3 year survey on ICT

Ofsted surveyed the teaching of  ICT in UK schools over the three years of 2008-2011.


Headlines:

Primary schools were better than secondary schools. teachers struggled when the demands of the subject became difficult.

"Few ... schools assessed systematically the impact of ICT on pupils’ achievements although many headteachers were convinced that their investment in ICT was making a key contribution to improving outcomes."

Nearly half of secondaries failed to deliver the full ICT core to all students at KS4.




Ofsted recommend that:

• The DfE reviews equivalences in performance measures for schools between vocational coursework-assessed qualifications and more traditional GCSEs and GCEs. 
• All schools should: 
• Improve AfL in ICT
• Ensure the ICT entitlement is delivered
• Make ICT teaching engaging and relevant
• Provide CPD to improve teachers' confidence and expertise and enable them to teach ICT effectively
• Make e-safety a priority
• Secondary schools in particular should:
• Provide a range of KS4 ICT courses mapped to pupils' needs
• Encourage girls to study ICT at KS4
• Ensure ICT across the curriculum

Good practice seen included:

"Pupils used data-loggers in science to record changes in the weather. They then produced their own weather forecasts, including recordings of broadcasts, and created maps which depicted weather conditions and reports for cities across the UK."

"Year 6 pupils were using spreadsheets to test hypotheses and compare test results of differences in temperature and light around the school."

"In one school, the opportunity to contribute online book reviews to a site provided by a commercial book supplier was encouraging reluctant readers."

What made ICT teaching outstanding in Primaries:

• Well-judged pace "sustained throughout the lesson"; good pupil engagement; brisk transitions
• Teachers with excellent subject knowledge
• Consistent attention to pupils’ understanding; use of key words
• Thorough and detailed   planning, "with particular attention to meeting the different requirements of individual pupils"; "learning activities were expertly differentiated"
• A good variety of activities and a range of equipment and resources available 
• Clear and explicit learning objectives negotiated with pupils
• Safe working  with all resources
• Excellent use of IWBs
• Opportunities "to experience ‘real world’ ICT use outside school"
• Pupils encouraged to be independent
• "Questions were used skilfully to challenge and extend learning" and " to deepen understanding, rather than just to check knowledge"
• "Formative assessment, through a variety of means, was an integral part of each lesson and [well-structured] self- and peer-assessment were actively promoted"; " feedback, frequent marking and praise linked into planning the next lesson"; pupils "were clear about their own current level and what they needed to do to improve"
• Explicit links with other subjects especially literacy and numeracy.