Becta’s achievements 1998-2011

Becta was the Government's lead agency for ICT (information and communications technology) in
education, across the United Kingdom. It was established in 1998 through the reconstitution of the
National Council for Educational Technology (NCET) and abolished following the general election of
May 2010. Becta finally ceases to exist in March 2011. These are Becta’s major achievements over
the period.

National Grid for Learning 1998-2006

The National Grid for Learning (NGfL) portal was launched in November 1998. It had a linked budget
of earmarked funds to be spent on schools internet connections and ICT. The portal was managed by
Becta. As part of a rationalisation of Becta’s services, the portal was closed in 2006, and its services
were integrated into Becta’s overall web presence. The NGfL encouraged collaboration between the
Regional Broadband Consortia that has continued since that time. The RBCs have since joined with
equivalent organisations from the devolved administrations to form the National Education
Network, a secure network available to UK schools.

National Learning Network 1999-2004

The National Learning Network (NLN) aimed to encourage the uptake of Information Learning
Technology (ILT) in further education colleges in England. It provided network infrastructure,
comprehensive support, training and a range of e-learning materials. Total investment in the NLN
was £156 million over five years. Since the end of the programme, the NLN Materials have been
updated and continue to be available free to colleges, schools and adult learning providers. ILT
Champions trained as part of the programme have become a self-sustaining community of practice
and continue to be active advocates of ILT within the learning and skills sector.

ICT Test Beds Project 2002-2006

The £34m ICT Test Bed Project involved 23 primary schools, five secondaries and three further
education colleges. These were in Barking and Dagenham, Sandwell and Durham - all areas of
relative disadvantage. The results showed that the investment in technology led to rapid
improvements in skills in using technology in learning and teaching, and improved management of
workload. At the start of the project in 2002, the schools were performing below the national
average in key stage assessments. The national test results of the schools in Test Bed local
authorities improved between 2002 and 2006 at a faster rate than in equivalent comparator schools
in core subjects at Key Stage 2. Average points scores for Test bed schools moved them from
underperforming at 26.2, to slightly better than the national average at 27.6.

Procurement Frameworks 2002-2010

Becta facilitated the procurement of ICT equipment for schools using various framework
agreements. Educational institutions in the UK can purchase a wide range of ICT goods and services
relating to ICT by procuring from a company on an approved list. These frameworks saved the
education system £260m between 2002 and 2010. Also schools that participated in collaborative
arrangements could yield savings of between 20 per cent and 35 per cent. However, as schools and
Local Authorities are not obliged to purchase from the listed suppliers, only about 50 per cent of
primary schools and 33 per cent of secondary schools work through these collaborative agreements
with their LAs.
Curriculum Online 2002-2008
Becta managed the Curriculum Online website, aimed at giving teachers access to digital learning
resources using eLearning Credits (ELCs). The project was closed down in the autumn of 2008, when
the ring-fenced ELC funding ceased. Curriculum Online encouraged teachers to use ICT resources
more frequently in lessons, particularly in primary schools. Between 2002 and 2005 subject-specific
software nearly doubled in use in primary schools. (20% of subject leaders used this in at least half of
lessons in 2002, increasing to 38% in 2005.)

Communication Aids Project 2003-2006

The communication aids project (CAP) received £21m in Government funding and helped to provide
specialist technology to over 4,000 children who had communication difficulties. The project
operated through six specialist CAP centres. It was always intended to be a time-limited project
designed to supplement, not replace, provision which should be made locally by local authorities,
schools and health authorities.

Self-Review Framework 2005-2011

The Self-review framework is a free, online tool that schools in the United Kingdom can use to assess
to benchmark their use of ICT across all their activities. It was developed from an earlier Becta matrix
tool. It enables schools to identify where they are and shows the practical steps they can take to gain
even greater benefit from their use of ICT. The self-review framework has eight elements that cover
the development of ICT across the whole school. Schools that have completed the self-review
framework can go on to achieve the ICT Mark. This is a nationally-recognised award that recognises
good practice in all areas of ICT use across the school curriculum and management. By the end of
2010 some 1,170 schools had gained the ICT Mark, and a further 4,186 schools had progressed
within the framework.

Harnessing Technology Strategy 2007-2010

Becta was given the role of updating the Government’s Harnessing Technology strategy that had
been published in 2005 and set out a system-wide strategy for technology in education and
skills. As the situation had changed in the education and skills system over that time, Becta took
on the task to revise the strategy for the following six years. Becta consulted widely on the
strategy and gained buy-in from all its key partner organisations for its implementation.

Home Access Programme 2008-2010

Becta managed the Home Access programme which sought to ensure that more children have
access to technology at home to support learning. The programme aimed to benefit 270,000
households that lacked access. The programme met these targets before the March 2011 deadline
and closed early. The programme was extended to include Assistive Technology to help over 12,000
learners with severe disabilities or Special Educational Needs.

Generator 2009-2011
Becta was instrumental in developing the Generator self-review tool for further education.
Generator offers providers the opportunity to identify where they can make improvements in their
use of technology - it will help them to maximise their investment in technology for the benefit of
learners. Generator was launched in March 2009 and 89 per cent of colleges had registered and
used Generator to complete organisational reviews of their use of technology by the end of 2010.