Science Minister reiterates DfE's commitment to EdTech

Science Minister Chris Skidmore spoke at the BETT Show, reiterating the government's commitment to education technology and working with industry to create solutions that address some of the challenges in education.

Skidmore said: "The vision and indeed the mandate of the EdTech Strategy is as important today as it was a year ago, and our main aims remain the same: to support better use of technology where it helps teachers, school leaders and pupils, and to make sure that technology helps lift the administrative burden on our teachers, vitally not to add to it."

He reiterated the commitment to connect more schools to full-fibre internet connectivity and said they are working with local authorities, trusts and schools to fund the installation of new full-fibre internet connections in approximately 1,700 schools across the UK, hundreds of which are to some of the most difficult to reach, rural parts of the nation.

The government's edtech strategy also wants to build the capability and skills of educators. Skidmore said: "Over the past year, 4,500 education professionals have been able to access free online courses produced by our partner the Chartered College of Teaching.

"We said we’d seek out those schools and colleges that are already excelling in EdTech and help spread their knowledge through a demonstrator network. I’m delighted to announce today that we have now appointed a consortium to lead that network, made up of the London Grid for Learning, the Education Foundation and the Sheffield Institute of Education."

To see the full speech, click here.