£50k for outside experts to boost IT in Moray's schools

Moray Council will spend £50,000 on consultants to help introduce a strategy so school pupils get the most out of working with computers.

The consultants will liaise with the council's own education and IT officers in order to develop a 'digital strategy' which will also guide youngsters at Moray's schools to the best educational resources available online.

But concerns were raised at a meeting of the local authority's education committee earlier today that the money should go directly towards improving exam results and providing pupils with more subjects to pick from.

Councillor Frank Brown (Elgin North, Scotland) put forward a motion to agree the funding but for the cash to come out of Covid reserves rather than the local authority's education budget.

He said: "I fully support the project. What I don’t support is where it’s being funded from. I don’t think we should fund this from a budget that is intended for attainment."

Seconding the motion, Claire Feaver (Forres, Conservative) said: "This is a bit like putting the cart before the horse. We don’t have a strategy in place on how we’re going to raise attainment."

However Graham Leadbitter (Elgin South, SNP) stated his belief that a digital strategy was central to improving both results and subject availability.

Cllr Leadbitter, who's is said: "It’s difficult to provide the level of choice that Councillor Brown, I and other councillors would like to see in the curriculum unless we get this right.

Susan Slater, a teacher who sits on the committee as a representative of Moray's secondary schools, said the digital improvement plans went "hand-in-hand" with measures to improve curriculum choice and attainment.

Also in agreement was cllr George Alexander (Forres, Independent).

He said: "We’ve heard a lot of references to horses and carts. I would say the cart has been in front of the horse as far as IT and schools have been concerned for years.

"Where the money comes from doesn’t bother me."

The motion was defeated by six votes to five.

Moray Council says it has already identified a consultancy firm capable of carrying out the work.

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