Press Release

Ed Balls backs Diploma in IT

30th October 2007

On Monday 29 October, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Ed Balls visited Tower Hamlets College in London – one of the first colleges in the country to offer the Diploma in IT from September 2008. The Secretary of State met potential students and their teachers as well as representatives from companies that have been actively involved in the development of the Diploma, including Vodafone, Cisco and LogicaCMG.

Ed Balls thanked the employers for their contribution and support saying: "I'm delighted to see so many organisations working together to make the Diploma a reality in this area. With this support, I believe that Diplomas could emerge as the jewel of our education system.

"Information Technology is one of our economy's key growth areas and it's vital that our education system gives young people the right skills for UK companies to compete globally."

The new Diploma in IT will transform the way 14 to 19 year olds learn about technology. Through an exciting blend of general education and applied learning, the Diploma will prepare young people for university and work, whatever their ability or career aspirations.

e-skills UK has worked in partnership with employers, education and awarding bodies to develop the Diploma in IT. Employers will also be closely involved with the delivery of the Diploma, providing students with opportunities for work-related learning and work experience.
 
Also present at the Tower Hamlets event were representatives from BT, EDS, Lehman Brothers, Microsoft, University College London and the BMAF Higher Education Academy.

There will be seventeen Diplomas introduced by 2013; fourteen of these relating to broad economic sectors. To find out more about the Diploma in IT, please visit www.e-skills.com/diploma

Woodhill Primary School, Scotland, is awarded first prize in the 'Made IT Happen' challenge (15th October 2007)
Woodhill Primary School in Bishopbriggs, Scotland, was awarded joint first prize with Thomas' Battersea School, London, in the Made IT Happen competition. The winners were announced by the Speaker of the House of Commons at a special awards ceremony with MPs in Westminster on Monday 15th October.

Made IT Happen is aimed at primary school pupils aged nine to eleven years who are using technology to help their school or local community.  Students at Woodhill Primary School in Scotland used technology to develop podcasts and blogs for use as creative learning materials.  The new materials were then shared with partner schools in Scotland, England, France, Trinidad, Tobago and China.

Susan Buchanan, Principal Teacher, Woodhill Primary School said: 

"The aim of using blogs and podcasts was to motivate the students and get their work out of the school context and into the wider world.  It is amazing how motivated and engaged the students are about using these technologies, and the wide range of skills they develop in addition to technical skills."

The runner-up was St Nicholas CE Primary School in Crosby, North West England. The three overall winners were chosen from twelve winners representing Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and each of the nine English regions.  

The judging panel included Lord Toby Harris of Haringey as Chair, Stephen Darvill, Government Relations Director, LogicaCMG, Steve Head, Education Consultant, M.G.L, Andrea Kalavsky, Systems Magician, Innocent Drinks, Liwei Lee, Software Engineer, Google, Karen Price OBE, CEO, e-skills UK and Emily Taylor, Director of Legal and Policy, Nominet.

Made IT Happen is organised by the Parliamentary Information Technology Committee, PITCOM, and e-skills UK, the Sector Skills Council for IT and Telecoms.

For further information visit the Made IT Happen website at www.e-skills.com/madeithappen