Hands on Support — Q&A
Will there be funding for Hands on Support for 2006-2007?
Yes, funding is available for Hands on Support (HoS), from the Schools Development Grant. From 2006-2007 a new school funding process has been introduced. Whilst HoS funding is not ring-fenced, schools and LAs are encouraged to continue their funding commitments in order to fully realise their investment in ICT.
How does funding for Hands on Support work?
Funding for Hands on Support comes out of the Schools
Development Grant, which also covers infrastructure including
Laptops for Teachers and
interactive whiteboards. It is up to individual schools, and their LAs, to
decide how best to spend the funding, based on their needs and
priorities. Schools and LAs are also encouraged to work together to get
the most out of their spending, such as pooling resources or taking advantage
of LA purchasing powers.
LAs must release at least 97.5% of the Schools Development Grant funding to
schools, unless schools have agreed with their LA that they may retain more
than this. The minimum balance of 2.5% is to cover LA administrative
costs.
Why is Hands on Support in the classroom so important?
We have made a significant investment in ICT in Schools over the past six years. 99% of schools are connected to the internet and over 84% have a high speed broadband connection; more than 125,000 teachers have access to a laptop through the Laptops for Teachers scheme; Curriculum Online and e-Learning Credits provide innovative and professional digital resources and interactive whiteboards engage and motivate learners and enhance whole class teaching.
It's now time to release the value from that investment, by developing teachers' confidence and ICT capabilities and so firmly embedding ICT in teaching and learning right across the curriculum. Schools and LAs who invest in ICT but do not similarly invest in a concurrent programme of professional development (such as HoS) are likely to find that they get a poor return on their investment.
What is HoS aiming to achieve?
The HoS programme is aiming to achieve improvements in three areas:
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An increase in the effective use of ICT across the curriculum
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An increase in teachers' confidence in using ICT within the curriculum
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An increase in the extent of use of ICT across areas of the curriculum
What about the workforce agreement? Isn't this going to take teachers out
of the classroom?
LAs and schools designing a local Hands on Support programme that might involve taking teachers away from the classroom should consider alternatives to supply or cover teachers. Information on the workforce issues to consider where supply or cover teachers are used can be accessed at the National Remodelling Team website.
What help is provided to deliver Hands on Support?
HoS Guidance for Providers has been developed in partnership with the National Strategies and offers advice and guidance to individual HoS Providers on how to deliver local Hands on Support.
Copies of the booklets are available from PROLOG publications. Order them online or ring 0845 602 2260, quoting the relevant reference number(s) below:
The Hands on Support Matrix has been developed to help schools think about how to make best use of the resources available to them. It helps:
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Identify staff who may benefit from HoS
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Identify staff who may become HoS providers
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Identify staff who may benefit from basic ICT skills training
through:
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Helping teachers evaluate their approach to ICT within teaching and learning
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Providing teachers with an individual action plan for future development
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Providing the HoS manager with a report on all staff willing to share their results, to help them make decisions about maximising the value they get from the HoS programme
The ICT Register can also help schools identify other schools in their area who could provide the necessary expertise and support.
The National Online Network for HoS has been developed by Becta to support the sharing of experience and good practice. It provides online discussion facilities for all those involved in the HoS programme including teachers, school leaders, LAs and representatives from national agencies and the Department.
Who should be a Hands on Support provider?
Hands on Support providers vary according to the needs of local programmes. In some cases they are classroom teachers, ASTs, classroom assistants, LA support staff, CLCs, commercial suppliers and other external organisations — e.g. subject associations and the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust.
See the HoS Provider Guidance (above) for more details on who can be a Hands on Support provider.
Some LAs are already offering effective support for teachers in using ICT in
subject teaching. Do they have to start a separate Hands on Support programme
as well?
Hands on Support is additional to the level of service already provided by LAs. Some LAs might already be offering a service to support teachers' use of ICT in subject teaching and the enhancement of these services should fit with the principles of Hands on Support.
What role could commercial suppliers play in Hands on Support?
LAs and schools can spend Hands on Support funding on the services of commercial suppliers where they feel it best meets local needs.
How can schools assess teachers' needs for Hands on Support?
Schools can use the Hands on Support Matrix to build up a clear picture of where their teachers' needs lie.
Why should schools release their best teachers from the classroom to help other schools? What's in it for them?
The focus of the Hands on Support project is to spread good practice in the use of ICT in teaching and learning. This means in teachers' own schools as well as in other local schools.
Those teachers who are already using ICT effectively in the classroom will have the opportunity to coach and mentor other teachers and improve their own skills both in ICT and subject teaching.
What are LAs and schools supposed to do if they cannot find, or release, the
expertise?
Operational guidance sets out examples of how Hands on Support can operate in different LAs with different characteristics. This guidance includes suggestions about cross-LA working and how to make best use of the resources that already exist in LAs. The ICT Register can help schools locate expertise available in other schools.
What about ASTs?
ASTs with the appropriate skills are ideally placed to become HoS providers. They have clearly defined non-contact time which could be used to provide HoS. The key point is the need for ASTs to have the appropriate skills in using ICT in subject teaching. In some cases it might be helpful for ASTs to provide pedagogical support to HoS providers when designing local HoS programmes.
With regard to the funding of AST posts, schools using their own resources to create an AST post may use HoS funding towards some or all of the costs involved. ASTs funded in this way would use their outreach time to carry out the HoS Provider role, depending on the extent to which the HoS funding meets the additional costs of an AST post.
