The Department for Education (DfE) has introduced a new Essential Digital Skills (EDS) framework and associated national standards, which set out essential digital skills for life and work.
As of September 2020, adults aged 19+ with no or low digital skills are now entitled to take EDS qualifications free of charge under the Adult Education Budget, in line with existing entitlements for English and maths.
The new standards cover five areas:
In 2019, DfE commissioned the Education and Training Foundation (ETF) to deliver the start of blended CPD programme to prepare teachers, trainers and leaders to deliver the new qualifications based on the standards. The ETF commissioned a team led by Sero Consulting with DESQ, Angela Sanders and SkillsLogic to deliver the programme, which was designed around a blended training model with four modes of delivery:
All online elements of the programme are hosted on the ETF’s Enhance Digital Teaching Platform alongside the ETF’s Educational Technology (EdTech) offer based on the Digital Teaching Professional Framework.
The first phase of the EDS workforce development programme was fully launched on 17 February 2020 and concluded on 31 March. It proved popular and interest in the online resources has continued.
The second phase of the Essential Digital Skills CPD programme has now launched, delivered by the same team and responding to feedback from the sector (click below for more information).
A rich and diverse programme of training and professional development has been designed including the following core elements:
Training:
Community of practice:
Pedagogy and evidence-based practice programme:
Initially all CPD events will be hosted online but it is hoped to run some face-to-face events from January 2021 onwards.
To see the CPD events currently available and to book your place, please visit the ETF booking system.
The programme is supported by an Advisory Group including members of the original Consultation Group which helped to inform the design of the programme. The Advisory Group includes representatives from all the pathways indicated above.
All elements of the programme are fully-funded by the Department for Education and are therefore free to the sector.
For providers wishing to take advantage of the online Essential Digital Skills offer on the Enhance Digital Teaching Platform, there is a new Management Dashboard facility to enable tracking and reporting on staff progress completing EDS self-assessments and modules and gaining digital badges. This enables providers to harness the free resources on the platform as part of a structured CPD programme.
Subscription to the Management Dashboard is currently free for a period up to 31 January 2021. To subscribe please visit the ETF booking site.
The following assets are available to help you raise awareness about the essential digital skills professional development programme in your organisation:
To keep in touch with the programme developments, please contact Sero Consulting.