Essential Digital Skills CPD programme

The Department for Education (DfE) has introduced a new Essential Digital Skills (EDS) framework and associated national standards. Adults aged 19+ with no or low digital skills will be entitled to take EDS qualifications free of charge under the Adult Education Budget from September 2020, in line with existing entitlements for English and maths.

Whereas the previous basic ICT skills standards assumed that users went online for specific activities, the new EDS standards reflect the significant advances in digital technology and the way that most people are now continually online.

The new standards cover five areas:

• Using devices and handling information – using devices, finding and evaluating information, managing and storing information, identifying and solving technical problems
• Creating and editing – creating and editing documents and digital media, processing numerical data
• Communicating – communicating, sharing and managing traceable online activities
• Transacting – using online services, buying securely online
• Being safe and responsible online – protecting privacy and data, being responsible online, digital wellbeing.

DfE commissioned the Education and Training Foundation (ETF) to deliver a blended CPD programme to prepare teachers, trainers and leaders to deliver the new qualifications based on the standards. The programme is delivered by a consortium of specialists led by Sero Consulting with Desq and includes:

• An interactive self-assessment tool and a teacher CPD toolkit
• A series of bite-sized, online training modules
• Face-to-face training and online webinars
• Development of a community of practice to offer peer-to-peer support.

In preparation for CPD delivery, the ETF commissioned independent research by BMG Research to understand the skills needs of those who will be delivering the qualifications. The research indicated that providers and staff are largely positive about the new standards but recognise the preparatory work that needs to be done, including training on specific aspects where they feel less confident. The EDS CPD programme focuses on those elements in particular as well as specific contexts in which the EDS qualifications will be taught such as ESOL courses, Offender Learning, Preparation for Life and Work, and SEND.

The programme, launched on 17 February 2020, is free to providers and staff. Details of the first courses are now available on our booking website:

• face-to-face training
• online workshop

The whole offer is hosted on the Enhance Digital Teaching Platform, which has been designed to make training easy to access anytime, anywhere and on any device, especially mobiles.

Communication Tools

The following assets are available to help you raise awareness about the essential digital skills professional development programme in your organisation:

• Flyer
• Infographic – overview
• Infographic – detail of the CPD programme including an overview of the training modules
• Infographic – detail of the CPD programme including the breakdown of topics in each training module

To keep in touch with the programme developments, please contact Sero Consulting.