School IT spending up 8.6 per cent in Q1

Education sector growth tipped to continue, says BESA

IT procurement in UK primary and secondary schools jumped 8.6 per cent year over year in the first quarter of 2012, according to quarterly figures from the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA).

Ray Barker, director of BESA, said he had hopes the growth would continue, although it is always difficult to make accurate forecasts.

"However, after a time of uncertainty resulting in a market contraction of £11.9m in 2010, schools are now realising that funding for education resources is still good; schools are starting to invest again and become more confident," Barker said in a statement. "We are still seeing a degree of caution, obviously, as schools are now investing more wisely."

Barker said the first indication of possible market improvement came in Q4 last year. The trade association's research at the time suggested sales expansion of 3.2 per cent. The Bett education technology show continued to do well in January, he said.

That came after the market shrank 7.2 per cent in 2011 and 19 per cent in 2010, Barker said.

"The research findings are not only good news for our education sector but for the nation as a whole. In these times of massive change, embedding ICT and digital learning content into the curriculum has become the new currency of learning," claimed Barker. "Children need to learn in a way that will prepare them for the world they will work in."

Members of Publishers Association division the Education Publishers Council and BESA subgroup the Educational Software Publishers Association also recorded rising sales in Q1 2012, indicating that primary schools spent 15.4 per cent more. However, secondary schools spent two per cent more on products from these BESA members, Barker said.