Teachers believe that inadequate IT is putting learning in schools at risk, according to new research from Brother UK.

Brother spoke to 100 schools in the UK to uncover what challenges they currently face and how technology can help support their ambitions. It found that 80% of teachers need better access to IT to improve learning in schools. Schools also recognised the value technology brings to learning environments – both in the classroom and behind the scenes – with almost 3/4 saying IT better engaged pupils’ learning experience.

Despite this, more than half of IT heads said pupils perceived that the technology available to them at school was old and out of date.

John Greenhalgh, head of public sector sales at Brother UK, said: “We know how important education is. It plays a key part in making Britain a more prosperous nation. But we’re entering an age where our young people are more tech savvy than ever before. This means it’s even more important that school technology can match up to their growing expectations.

“We know that funding is always an issue for schools, but the savings that can be generated by modern print technology, in terms of time, wastage and running costs, can be transformative.” 

Encouragingly, many schools already recognise the improvements that are needed, with 94% predicting a major step change in the way IT is used in secondary schools within the next five years.

But four out of 10 still recognise that it is not enough to provide pupils with the required learning experience.

On average, IT heads believe teachers could be 16% more effective in the classroom if they had access to modern technology, and calculated that each teacher lost an average of two hours a week through not having access to the right IT.

John added: “It’s amazing to see that the average primary school teacher is wasting 10% of their annual teaching time due to inadequate technology. Investing in efficiency frees our teachers to focus their time and energy where it can make the biggest difference to our young people.”