Dear Colleague,
The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) has now completed the allocation of funding for eLearning Credits to LEAs, and has published the formula by which it is to be distributed to schools. We have now completed and checked our calculations and I am writing to tell you how much your school will be receiving. This information is contained in Annex 1.
Further details about Curriculum Online and eLearning Credits are available on the DfES website at http://www.curriculumonline.gov.uk. This site is the Curriculum Online Portal and contains the current newsletter, information, guidance, answers to frequently asked questions and the database of Curriculum Online-certified products searchable by Key Stage, subject and topic. The DfES has indicated that the portal is designed to help users, “find further information about products, including publishers’ guidance, teacher reviews and guidance on how to buy.”
The eLearning Credits that you receive can only be used to purchase digital resources, approved under the Curriculum Online scheme, from Curriculum Online registered retailers. Full details are on the website. At present, schools continue to use normal procurement processes to purchase these approved digital resources. Later in the year, the DfES is hoping to implement an electronic, on-line payment system that will enable schools to purchase directly from the portal.
I hope that the details here, together with those on the Curriculum Online website, will answer most of your questions about Standards Fund 618 and eLearning Credits. Please don’t hesitate to contact David Orsborne at the Norwich Professional Development Centre (David.Orsborne@norfolk.gov.uk) if you have any further questions or if you need any further information or guidance. He will be pleased to try and help.
Yours faithfully,
Bryan Slater
Director of Education