This is often the case in primary schools, where there are few dedicated IT technicians.Students at the University of East London can take IT as a specialist subject on the primary PGCE course. For some students, IT and their second subject are natural counterparts; for others, training in IT is a way to bolster their career prospects.IT teaching has more than one career path and, because of their expertise, IT teachers may find they take on support or management roles more quickly than teachers of other subjects. Colleges also recruit recent graduates from other disciplines with substantial computing elements, including engineering and psychology. Combined degrees in computing and business studies are also popular.Some teach another subject as well as IT in schools, and several PGCE courses, such as the tertiary PGCE at Bolton Institute, give students the option of studying teaching in two subjects. Sometimes, training colleges can waive this requirement, especially for entrants who have substantial experience of working with computers. The standard requirement is for graduates whose courses are at least 50 per cent computing.

They often enter teaching because they want to `give something back’. They see their industrial experience as a valuable asset.”Nor is teacher-training for IT restricted to graduates with pure computing degrees. Often, they have worked in computing or a related industry, and they may have developed a taste for teaching while training staff in IT skills.”The combination of low pay and low esteem would seem to be a significant factor in discouraging young graduates from entering the profession,” says Dr Chatterton. “Paradoxically, it is less of a discouragement to mature candidates with good working experience of IT.

“There are some people who say they will not be needed in the future, because everyone will be using IT. My philosophy is to teach them to make themselves redundant, but they never will because IT keeps changing.”Only a minority of new computer science graduates consider teaching; the financial rewards are much greater in industry, particularly at present. However, universities that run PGCE courses in information technology report a high level of applications from mature students. Few, though, would deny the current shortage.”There are plenty of jobs for IT teachers,” explains Michelle Selinger, chair of the Association for Information Technology in Teacher Education (ITTE). Recent changes in the school curriculum are making this less tenable.”Some teachers argue that the need for IT specialists is temporary.

Once computer technology is part of mainstream teaching in other national curriculum subjects, there will be little need for subject specialists other than to teach programming – especially at post-16 level. So schools need qualified IT specialists who can keep abreast of developments in computing. Leaving IT to the maths teacher is no longer enough.Dr John Chatterton, ITC co-ordinator and PGCE admissions tutor at Sheffield Hallam University, says: “Some headteachers still believe they can employ, say, a maths or business studies teacher, who will be able to take on IT as a secondary task. THE SKILLS shortage in information technology is all too real. According to research carried out for Microsoft, 73 per cent of people in the information technology (IT) industry believe that there is a shortage of qualified staff. Failing independent schools are issued with a notice of complaint, a legal document which sets out an plan, and time limits for carrying it out.

More and more businesses rely on computers, while the Internet, the “millennium bug” and preparations for the single European currency mean that the need for people with computer skills is higher than ever.
Meeting that need means teaching more information technology skills, especially in schools. Schools which take no action are struck off the independent schools register. This usually only happens when a criminal investigation is involved and there is little to stop a school opening at the same site, under a different name.. The Government is now hoping to concentrate its efforts in this unregulated sector.Reports on leading schools, such as Roedean and Manchester Grammar, are invariably positive, while those at the opposite end of the spectrum often produce horror stories.For example, in 1997, Ofsted penned a damning report of Quantock School, near Bridgewater, that the boarding school, which accommodated nearly 100 primary and secondary pupils, largely from Ministry of Defence families, failed to meet legal requirements on health, safety and welfare.Unlike failing state schools, independent schools are not subject to special measures, and this will not change under the new system. We want them to feel positive and to see how they can build on good practice.”Visits occur once in a blue moonCHRIS WOODHEAD, the Chief Inspector of Schools, says there is a “stubborn minority” of independent schools (about 3 per cent) of “serious concern”.There are, in fact, hundreds of schools outside the main independent school associations, and while Ofsted manages many short visits to schools, it has been carrying out full inspections on no more than a handful each year.The chances of a school being inspected regularly are therefore tiny. Our first and foremost objective is the assistance we can give to a school to improve its performance.