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Important update from TheSchoolRun

For the past 13 years, TheSchoolRun has been run by a small team of mums working from home, dedicated to providing quality educational resources to primary school parents. Unfortunately, rising supplier costs and falling revenue have made it impossible for us to continue operating, and we’ve had to make the difficult decision to close. The good news: We’ve arranged for another educational provider to take over many of our resources. These will be hosted on a new portal, where the content will be updated and expanded to support your child’s learning.

What this means for subscribers:

  • Your subscription is still active, and for now, you can keep using the website as normal — just log in with your usual details to access all our articles and resources*.
  • In a few months, all resources will move to the new portal. You’ll continue to have access there until your subscription ends. We’ll send you full details nearer the time.
  • As a thank you for your support, we’ll also be sending you 16 primary school eBooks (worth £108.84) to download and keep.

A few changes to be aware of:

  • The Learning Journey weekly email has ended, but your child’s plan will still be updated on your dashboard each Monday. Just log in to see the recommended worksheets.
  • The 11+ weekly emails have now ended. We sent you all the remaining emails in the series at the end of March — please check your inbox (and spam folder) if you haven’t seen them. You can also follow the full programme here: 11+ Learning Journey.

If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected]. Thank you for being part of our journey it’s been a privilege to support your family’s learning.

*If you need to reset your password, it will still work as usual. Please check your spam folder if the reset email doesn’t appear in your inbox.

The importance of ICT

Little girls at computer
Information and communication technology (ICT) is such an integral part of our lives that it is embedded right across the curriculum. Crispin Andrews looks at its importance.

What is ICT?

Growing up in an ICT-rich environment means that children need to have opportunities to experience and develop skills in its use that will help them make the most of adult life. Contrary to what we often think, ICT isn't simply about computers but includes anything that requires the input of instructions to produce specific outcomes. That's your answering machine, mobile phone, DVD player, washing machine, traffic lights and even speed cameras.

ICT in schools

Computing capability is an essential skill for life and enables learners to participate more readily in a rapidly changing world. Using the internet and email, for example, gives them rapid access to ideas and experiences from a wide range of people, communities and cultures.

Learning about control systems and robots increases children's awareness of many of the operating systems we use to manage our everyday lives. You could say that it develops essential life skills they will need in adult life, such as operating a washing machine and other devices.

ICT is incorporated into practically every lesson your child participates in at school, with the exception of physical education. In secondary school, children will typically have ICT classes that are lessons in their own right.

Using software at home

Since ICT can be so beneficial children ideally need access to high quality technology when they want it, not just for a few hours a week in the classroom. If possible, using software at home is ideal and can help parents become more aware of and involved in what their children are learning at school.

  • Speak to your child's school in order to find out how the software can support and extend their learning. Certain aspects may be more useful than others at particular times and teachers will be able to give you an accurate indication of what your child's learning needs are and also what aspects of the curriculum are being studied when in school.
     
  • Find out what your child hopes to achieve through using ICT. You don't want to control what they are doing and exploring its potential is always useful. But for them to benefit fully it is important to maintain a specific learning focus.
     
  • Use common sense to gauge what your child is enjoying and finding beneficial. Help them decide what is good for them and to work out when they need to move on to something different.

Whatever stage of learning your child is at, ICT can help motivate stimulate or if necessary, re-engage them. Challenging tasks become more manageable and mundane activities more accessible. Some schools also find that children reach higher levels when technology is made a part of lessons.