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Ray Barker, director of BESA, investigates why educational resource prices are rising, and how schools have been investing their ICT budget
 Earlier this year in Education Business, I shared some recent BESA research with readers about school procurement practices and the increasing shift to e-procurement within the sector. In the lead up to BETT, now is the perfect time to start looking at how schools expect to invest in ICT over the coming year and to take a look at why some resources are becoming more expensive for schools.
The impact of the world
It seems that every second headline in the media focuses on the constant increase in costs. As oil costs have continued to shoot sky high, transportation – whether that is the delivery of bricks to build your school, or pens and pencils for your classroom – will naturally become more expensive. Unfortunately, this upward spiral of increased prices is not expected to improve over time.
As schools manage the majority of their own procurement decisions, they are not exempt from the impact of this general increase in costs of goods and services. Many schools have begun to notice that essential school equipment, such as furniture, learning resources, and IT hardware and software has recently undergone price reviews and increases as a result of the rise in gas, electricity and oil prices. An already over-stretched school budget does not bode well under mounting costs.
The increasing price
The price of many educational resources has increased over the last 12 months, which has certainly been influenced by the increase of manufacturing and transportation costs. Also, another factor that many are not aware of is the recent boom in plastics manufacturing prices. Many plastic products, such as computer keyboards, are made using petrol-based materials. As a result of the hike in petrol prices, the costs involved in product manufacture have seen significant increases.
Now, many manufacturers are looking at alternative products to avoid using plastic. For example, in supermarkets, biodegradable polymer materials are now used instead of plastic wrap and trays for wrapping meat, vegetables and other fresh produce. We can anticipate that educational suppliers will also begin considering alternatives to help reduce costs.
As the trade association that represents educational suppliers in the UK, BESA understands the challenges schools face when sourcing value-for-money educational supplies in an increasingly expensive market. That is why we are committed to working with both schools and suppliers to raise standards in education through the best resources, by ensuring better value-for-money and quality products.
Designed to protect
There are over 300 educational suppliers operating in the UK market that are members of BESA. When trading via a BESA member, you can source equipment in confidence knowing that the product has been screened, safety-tested and that the supplier has adhered to the stringent and regulated BESA Code of Practice.
Prices across the general market might be on the up, however, this does not ensure that the product is of a higher quality, or is even safe – this is where BESA is so significant. So although prices may be going up, schools certainly will not be required to compromise on quality and service. With the global market affecting the price of some educational resources, schools need to be thinking very carefully before procurement decisions, including ICT supplies.
With pricing all over the place and uncertainty in global markets, it has been a very challenging year for school decision makers when it comes to organising budgets and priorities. To shed some light on school trends and priorities, BESA will be releasing new research into ICT in English Schools towards the end of this year, and this will indicate how schools are planning for the future. Here is a short preview of the research findings:
Financing ICT and software: ICT budgets and priorities
The BESA ‘ICT in English Schools 2008’ research found that schools continue to invest heavily in a broad range of ICT products and services. In 2007-08, UK state schools recorded ICT budgets (excluding curriculum software) of £614 million – up by £27 million on 2006-07 levels.
Primary school ICT budgets are estimated to increase by 8.4 per cent in 2008-09, while secondary school budgets indicate growth at 5.1 per cent. These increases exclude spending on eLearning credits (eLCs). This will result in UK-wide budget allocations of £644 million in 2008-09 and an increase of £40 million.
A typical primary school ICT budget is anticipated to be £15,850 in 2009-10, while secondary spend is set to increase to £68,000. This represents an increase of 6.2 per cent and 4.0 per cent, respectively. Spend on ICT from school budgets is estimated to be around £672 million in 2009-10 – excluding curriculum software/eLC spending.
Of the total ICT budget for primary schools in 2008-09, 43 per cent is being allocated to desktop and laptop computers. This is more than the 38 per cent recorded in 2006-07. For 2008-09, this equates to an estimated budgeted spend of £151 million. For secondary schools, spend in 2008-09 is similar, at £147 million but represents nearly 51 per cent of budgets – up from 44 per cent in 2006-07.
Primary schools plan to spend £70 million on peripheral and networking equipment in 2008-09 compared to £64 million in 2007-08. Secondary schools recorded budgeted spend equating to £51 million on peripherals and networking.
Financing ICT and software: curriculum software and content purchasing
Five per cent of primary schools are anticipating spending 25 per cent more on curriculum software in 2008-09 compared to 11 per cent in 2006-07. A further 21 per cent are expecting to reduce spending by a similar percentage. Across secondary schools, ten per cent are expecting to spend 25 per cent or more on curriculum software – compared to 19 per cent spending a similar percentage less on software in 2008-09.
Embedding ICT: teacher ICT use
The BESA ‘ICT in English Schools’ research also explored teacher opinions in regards to how they are embedding ICT within the curriculum. Interestingly, three-quarters of primary teachers are considered to be confident and competent using ICT in the curriculum, which is slightly down from 80 per cent in 2007. The percentage has also deteriorated in secondary schools with 61 per cent in 2008 being confident and competent using ICT – compared to 68 per cent in 2007.
56 per cent of ICT managers consider the majority of primary teachers to be very confident in word-processing tasks. This compares to 44 per cent in secondary schools. On the other hand, a fifth of primary and 14 per cent of secondary school ICT managers consider that the majority of teachers are very confident in using presentation tools.
67 per cent of primary teachers will receive ICT training in 2008, compared to 68 per cent who expected training in 2007. 59 per cent of secondary teachers will receive training, as opposed to 72 per cent in 2007. For those teachers receiving ICT training, around 62 per cent of primary and 65 per cent secondary school teachers found it very useful, with all but seven per cent of primary and 14 per cent of secondary school teachers finding it of some use.
80 per cent of primary and 90 per cent of secondary school teachers suggest that limited access to ICT is affecting their use of ICT in the classroom. 17 per cent of primary and 27 per cent of secondary schools indicate limited access to interactive whiteboards. This compares to fewer than three per cent indicating limited access to computers for lesson preparation.
A fifth of primary and a quarter of secondary schools identify class control issues as one of the pitfalls of using ICT in the classroom. A greater percentage has concerns about the effect of ICT on the reduction of available teaching time.
Embedding ICT: pupil ICT use
Not forgetting the use of ICT by pupils, in 2007 around 80 per cent of schools indicated using ICT in literacy classes more than ten per cent of the time – this has increased to 90 per cent of primary schools in 2008. This compares to 66 per cent of secondary schools using ICT in English classes in 2008 – up from 57 per cent in 2005.
To ensure that you are able to source the most suitable ICT resources for your school needs, within your budget, visit the BESA website (www.besa.org.uk) to access a range of educational suppliers. Also, education exhibitions such as the Education Show and BETT, the world’s largest technology in education show, provide visitors with a great way to meet with suppliers, and look at the latest developments in the sector.
About BESA
BESA, the British Educational Suppliers Association, is the trade association representing over 300 educational suppliers in the UK, including manufacturers and distributors of equipment, materials, books, consumables, furniture, technology, ICT hardware and digital-content related services to the education market.
With 75 years of experience, BESA offers unparalleled support, research, events and advice on both UK and International markets, and the future of the education supplies industry. BESA is focused on promoting and providing support and advice to their members, the industry and to schools. BESA has a Code of Practice to which all members must adhere, along with a stringent membership process, both of which assure buyers of a high standard of quality in both product and customer service.
Celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2008, BESA is at the forefront of discussion on the changing face of education, and will be celebrating this milestone by leading the way on solutions and ideas to overcome challenges in the future of education in the UK.
At BETT 2009, BESA is again running the Information Point for visitors in the heart of the grand hall. BESA staff will be on hand to help you to plan your BETT visit, or learn more about BESA members.
For more information
Web: www.besa.org.uk |
