Adam Afriyie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support the use of digital technology for improving attainment across the curriculum.

Nick Gibb

The Government’s approach is not to be interested in technology for its own sake, but rather how it can help teachers work more effectively and children to achieve. The Department has an enabling role so schools can take advantage of the opportunities, but not promoting particular approaches.

We are focused on three areas:

• Unlocking innovation in the ed-tech industry by moving to a common set of standards for data within schools and government.

• Building the evidence base of what works so schools can make informed decisions.

• Helping teachers and school leaders to build their knowledge and understanding of technology so that they are able confidently to make best use of it.

Technology presents a number of opportunities to improve outcomes for children. Used well, technology can be a huge aid to schools, but the international evidence shows that caution is needed to ensure technology is used to best effect.