Training news in brief
• NHS organisations are unaware of IT training packages available for use
throughout the health service, IT training software provider SanScrip claims. The
company says in September last year the NHS Information Authority selected
SanScrip to provide IT training materials to offer training through Windows and
other PC applications and purchased licences which allow all parts of the
health service unlimited reproduction and training use UK-wide. But five months
on SanScrip says most NHS organisations have not been told about the packages
and some are wasting time and money developing or buying identical materials.
It also says there has been no official advice to NHS organisations in
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland or to most health trusts in England.
Upward trend in time spent on teaching for staff
• The average number of days per employee allocated to training has risen by
approximately half a day, according to the latest quarterly figures from the
Industrial Society. Figures in the Society’s Training Trends magazine show the
average number of training days recorded last year was 4.7 up from 4.2 the
previous year. Overall 98 per cent of respondents had used an external training
provider over the previous year, with the key reasons given for this being the
quality of training staff and the design of the programme. One-day courses are
the most common means of delivery, followed by on the job training.
Consultation paper for teacher development
• Schools minister Estelle Morris has announced a consultation paper on
professional development for teachers to include a national framework for
standards. Among the key proposals is the idea of providing bursaries to enable
teachers to take sabbaticals for developmental and research. The move has come
as the Government has sought to quell teaching union anger over
performance-related pay.
