Schools in Scotland outperform those across England, Wales and Northern Ireland for availability and application of technology, a study by Lenovo has found.

The Chinese tech firm commissioned a report from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), titled ‘Technology in UK Schools’, which surveyed 2,000 teachers and offers insights into the use of technology in UK schools in 2020. The study examined the types of technology that have been adopted, how this has been applied, and the ways in which this has shaped the learning environment.

The study found that almost one in ten (8%) schools fall into the inadequate category on the Digital Proficiency Scale developed within this report. One in five (20%) are in the excellent category. One in five (18%) of all private schools fall into the highest scoring group, compared to just 5% of the state schools in the survey.

Breaking down the results by region shows that Scotland emerges as the part of the UK with the highest level of digital proficiency in schools. While most of the regions across the UK have an average Digital Proficiency Score between 46 and 48, schools in Scotland have an average score of 50.

Examining the digital proficiency at different stages of the educational system reveals that secondary schools and sixth form colleges score slightly higher than primary schools. Smaller schools have, on average, a slightly lower overall score whereas bigger schools have a higher degree of technological proficiency.

The survey also revealed that the number one priority for teachers is to increase the number of computers available to students in school, followed by more provision of training for teachers on the use of technology.

Nearly half of students access school computers at least four times a week, but it is very uncommon for schools to provide laptops or tablets that students can take home. Only 3% of the teachers work at schools where all students are equipped with laptops or tablets that they can bring home.

Microsoft Word and coding are the most common digital skills on the school curriculum, according to the Lenovo study, and teachers are using technology to digitise their administrative work. 79% of all teachers surveyed said that they are performing some or all their administrative tasks digitally.

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CEBR has developed recommendations based on the survey results, but also informed by one-to-one expert interviews and a review of existing literature.

A spokesperson for the firm said: “There is a need to expand the provision of training to teachers, in order to maximise the effectiveness of new technologies. There is also a need to continue to re-orient the curriculum towards developing digital skills for the future such as coding, web-design and technologies of the future.

“Encourage information sharing among teachers to improve and inspire usage of new technology and digital skills in classrooms, and expand funding opportunities for investment in new technologies to address the shortfall identified by teachers and unlock the gains associated with higher workforce productivity in the longer term.”

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