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EdTech Demonstrator schools and colleges programme

How to apply to be a Demonstrator school or college and receive grant funding.

About the programme

The DfE is running a selection exercise to identify Demonstrator schools and colleges who are using technology effectively, and who are keen to share their experience and support other providers. This may include offering support and guidance on the effective use of technology to help reduce teacher workload, help create efficiencies, improve accessibility and inclusion, and ultimately support excellent teaching and learning.

The successful Demonstrators will receive between £75,000 and £150,000 in grant funding to support the delivery of this programme.

Applicants should note that for the purposes of this page, all publicly funded primary and secondary schools will be referred to hereafter as ‘schools’ and all providers of 16 to 19 education delivering publicly funded 16 to 19 study programmes as ‘colleges’.

How to apply

The deadline for applications is 11:59pm on Friday 22 November 2019. Applications will be assessed against all criteria included within the Expression of Interest (EOI) application pack (MS Word Document, 103KB). Applicants that are successful at the EOI stage will be invited to interview in January, with successful schools and colleges notified in early spring.

To apply, complete the Expression of Interest (EOI) application pack (MS Word Document, 103KB) and return to [email protected]. Ensure that you have read the guidance notes carefully before submitting your application.

If you have any questions regarding the programme or application process, we will be running Q&A webinars on the following dates:

If you wish to attend one of the Q&A webinars, click on your chosen date to register via Eventbrite. If you have any questions about the Q&A sessions or about the programme, email [email protected] and use ‘Demonstrator programme’ as the subject heading.

Who can apply?

To apply, your institution must be a state funded provider of primary, secondary or 16 to 19 programmes of education.

Your institution must also meet the following criteria.

Ofsted

  • Ofsted overall rating: ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’
  • Ofsted leadership and management: ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’

Performance data

The following performance data criteria must be at least average for 2017 to 2018. Schools and colleges applying must meet all applicable criteria.

KS1:

  • Phonics results for 2017 to 2018 published date are at or above 91% at the end of year two

KS2 schools at or above national average for:

  • reading, writing and mathematics (as defined in the DfE performance tables)

KS4 schools and colleges, at or above national average for:

  • Progress 8 scores
  • Attainment 8 scores
  • 9 to 5 pass rate in English and Mathematics
  • percentage of pupils entering the EBacc

KS5 schools and collegesInstitutions offering KS5 must meet the following criteria, depending on where the pupil majority lies (for example, for institutions where over half of pupils are sitting A levels, the A level APS scores would apply):

  • at or above average A level APS score (32.12)or
  • at or above average Tech Level APS score (28.11)

For KS2 and KS4 data see DfE published data for guidance.

Bids from consortiums of schools or colleges are welcome, but the lead bidder must satisfy the minimum criteria.

Applicants should be aware that if successful at EOI sift, further information will be required at the interview stage. Applicants should be prepared to provide more in-depth project planning information at this point. This includes:

  • project planning, including a detailed plan of activity across year one and year two of the programme
  • costing schedule, including a detailed plan of how the funding will be spent
  • accessibility and inclusion, including demonstration of a solid understanding of technology to supportaccessibility and inclusion

Key dates

  • end of 2019 – schools and colleges shortlisted for interview
  • January – shortlisted Demonstrator schools and colleges notified and interviews begin for final selection
  • early spring – successful Demonstrator schools and colleges announced

All applicants should be available for interview in January 2020.

Programme parameters

The Demonstrator schools and colleges programme is scheduled to run until the end of the academic year in 2021.

Demonstrators will be expected to support a broad network of other schools and colleges through a mix of activities, which should include the provision of advice, guidance and training. As a minimum, Demonstrator schools and colleges should:

  • show evidence of impact of their own technology use and capacity to help others
  • support other schools and colleges to use the technology already available to them more effectively to help address the challenges they face
  • support schools and colleges on the strategic implementation of technology, including how technology can support back-office systems to support increased efficiency, teacher flexibility, workload reduction and improved accessibility and inclusion
  • support meeting the needs of teachers and pupils and support improved outcomes

We expect successful Demonstrators to determine the number of schools and colleges they will support, and the type and intensity of support they will provide (according to the capacity of the Demonstrator and the needs of the schools and colleges they work with). We will agree minimum expectations for the numbers of organisations that each Demonstrator will support within their conditions of funding.

A third-party delivery partner will work with the Department to ensure that the Demonstrators are supported at a national level. The delivery partner will work collaboratively with Demonstrators from project inception through to evaluation and project closure. The delivery partner will be responsible for:

  • management and day-to-day support of the Demonstrators
  • allocating associated funding to Demonstrator schools and colleges quarterly
  • governance – ensuring value for money is achieved and conditions of grant are met by the Demonstrators
  • conducting formative and final evaluation, including monthly meetings with the DfE contract manager

The procurement exercise for the delivery partner is due to launch by 14 October, more information can be found on Contracts Finder.

Programme reach

The final number of successful Demonstrator schools and colleges will depend on the number and quality of bids received. However, our aim is to fund at least 2 Demonstrators within each region across the country.

Funding

Funding will be made available to support Demonstrator schools and colleges through funding for the delivery of the EdTech strategy published in April 2019.

The successful Demonstrators will receive between £75,000 and £150,000 in grant funding to support the delivery of this programme. The level of funding made available to each Demonstrator will vary depending on the intensity of proposed activity and number of schools/college each provider will support.

All expressions of interest should provide an overview of proposed expenditure against planned activity. Applicants should consider costs relating to resourcing backfill, travel and subsistence.

Background

The EdTech strategy made a series of commitments to help teachers and education leaders capitalise on technology to help reduce teacher workload, foster greater efficiencies, remove barriers to education and ultimately drive improvements in educational outcomes.

The strategy set out a range of barriers to the effective use of technology and put forward commitments to help address the issues. This included actions to help support teachers and education leaders develop the skills and confidence to use technology, and a commitment to launch a network of Demonstrator schools and colleges to showcase good practice and leverage expertise across the sector through peer-to-peer support and training.

Find more guidance and support for education providers who want to improve their use of EdTech in our Using technology in education collection.


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