The BCS Director of Education Julia Adamson has welcomed the announcement by the Education Secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, that all schools in England will have high-speed internet by 2025. Mr Zahawi has set out plans for every school in England to access "lightning-fast gigabit broadband".
Julia said: "Tech enables efficiencies, fosters inclusion, drives improvements & empowers school communities, it has to be a core business for schools.
"Our schools are our best shot at closing the digital divide, and getting the internet infrastructure to learn the digital skills is key to this. Tech needs to be supported by skills to maximise the value of this investment.
Staff training
"All staff supporting school use of IT should get the training and professional accreditation they need. Supporting tech workers in schools is critical to ensure the technology runs smoothly, the learning happens, and the skills develop.
"We work closely with our partners at the National Centre for Computing Education, Computing at School and Barefoot Computing, and we're ready to work with the government to maximise the benefits of this investment."
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Funding
Speaking at the Bett global education show in London, Mr Zahawi said: "Upgrading schools to high-speed broadband, setting out clear standards so that schools know what technology they should have in place, as well as providing funding to support them in achieving this, is the latest way we are levelling up education across the country."
Improvements in school internet connections will also be funded by £150 million going towards schools in the 55 "education cold spots" identified by the Levelling Up White Paper.
The Department for Education is also publishing technology standards for the first time, aiming to support schools and colleges to understand the technologies they should have in place to support teaching.
