In a blatant act of favouritism that didn’t go unnoticed by colleagues many years ago, I remember being gifted an interactive whiteboard in my classroom. It was the first in the school and suddenly I was able to model ideas, use video and share children’s own work in new ways that really supported learning. The speed of technology innovation since then has been bewildering, as is the way in which it has become commonplace in children’s lives. The many positives are evident, not least the sheer volume of freely shared information, however this has also brought with it the need to educate young people about the dangers of misinformation and a new kind of stranger danger. The recent Tik Tok platform’s attempt to ban under 18s seems unlikely to have much impact and the changes at Twitter have caused much media concern. Online safety and teaching safe internet use to young people is paramount to safeguarding. This is a daunting task, particularly as it can be hard to keep up with the latest fad, and the technological skill of pupils themselves can be intimidating. The UK safer internet centre (www.swgfl.org.uk) has much up to date guidance and the pandemic taught us many of the benefits, but also the limitations of using online technology to support learning. Not least it finally put to rest the odd idea that somehow computers alone would one day be able to replace the work that teachers do.

In many ways, schools are still exploring the most effective ways to incorporate all that Digital Technology offers. In Camden we are blessed with technology centres such as Google, and the STEAM initiatives seek to maximise the benefits from these but there is still so much left to learn. With the shortage of computing teachers and the competing priorities of a packed curriculum, our schools’ partnership offers much capacity in the form of a hub working. As you will see below, we are seeking expressions of interest in forming a Primary Digital Learning hub, with plans for a Secondary one to follow shortly. We are also seeking school partners to lead an initiative exploring transition. I hope that you will consider offering your school expertise to support these.

Thank you as always for your continuing work and support for Camden young people. It never gets easier, but it certainly never gets less interesting!

Best wishes

Stephen Hall

Chief Executive Officer, Camden Learning