Schools' IT budgets to shrink over next two years

School's out: primary school ICT budgets are predicted to decline 2.2 per cent this year

The recession has stymied the education sector's spending power, with primary and secondary school technology budgets projected to shrink over the next two years.

The twelfth annual ICT in State Schools report from the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) finds UK state schools' IT and telecoms budget for the coming year stands at £576.8m. This is little more than three per cent up on the 2006/7 figure.

The situation is set to worsen over the coming 12 months. Primary school budgets are projected to shrink by 2.2 per cent and secondary budgets are set to fall off by one per cent.

Over the course of the 2010/11 year budgets will decline further. An average primary school IT budget is predicted to slip to £13,380, down by 4.4 per cent on its current level. An average secondary school budget will drop 2.7 per cent from its current level to £62,790. Overall, IT and telecoms UK budget allocation is projected to be about £556m in 2010/11, more than £2m less than the 2006/7 figure.

The report quizzed 770 primary and 572 secondary schools across the UK in June. More than half of both consider themselves to be well-equipped with desktop PCs, although only a third feel the same about notebooks.

Pupils at 64 per cent of secondary schools benefit from good internet access, nine per cent less than last year's number. At primary level, just 58 per cent of schools offer children good internet access, down from 73 per in 2006.

Less than a third of primary and under a quarter of secondary schools feel they are well-equipped with online software and content. More than three-quarters of primary schools and 57 per cent of secondary schools are adequately provisioned with interactive whiteboards.

Wireless networking technology is currently owned by 74 per cent of primary and 88 per cent of secondary schools. A further five and six per cent respectively are planning to invest in the technology in April of next year.