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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.
