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Curriculum Online is an online catalogue of priced and free digital learning products at http://www.curriculumonline.gov.uk to support the teaching of the Curriculum in England up to and including Key Stage 4. The catalogue is provided by the DfES as part of a programme to give £330m, between 2002 and 2006, to maintained schools in England to spend on software and web services.
2) Is the DfES giving money to my school for Curriculum Online products?
Each LEA in England has been given money using the Standards Fund (Grant 31c) for the following types of schools and other educational establishments -
" Maintained primary schools
" Maintained secondary schools
" Maintained nursery schools
" Maintained nursery places in the independent sector
" Special schools
" Pupil referral units
The funding is known as electronic Learning Credits (eLCs) but is paid as cash to LEAs based on the number of schools in their area and the number of pupils at those schools. Each maintained school is entitled to £1000 as a starting point plus £9.70 for each pupil at the school (some institutions get a flat rate e.g. The Traveller Service). Independent schools with maintained places will not receive the £1000 baseline figure but will receive the pupil allocation of £9.70 for each maintained place.
In total the DfES is giving out £330m in the following batches:
Amount Issued To be spent
£100m From April 2004 Date of issue to end of Aug 2005
£100m From April 2005 Date of issue to end of Aug 2006
Leas must either give out the money to their schools or hold the money centrally with the schools' agreement to make bulk purchases. Likewise, schools may combine eLC allocations for larger purchases.
If you don't know if your school has received its allocation of eLC money, you should first check with the budget holder at your school. Then, if necessary, talk to your LEA and speak to the individual or team who distributes Standards Fund money received from the DfES. If you still cannot find the answer please contact the team at the DfES by completing an enquiry form on the Curriculum Online website or by telephone on 0870 000 2288.
3) Why do we have to spend our allocation by 31st August?
As with all Standards Fund money it must be spent by the end of the academic year to ensure its effective use. If the money has not been spent by the deadline, the DfES will reclaim the money from Leas so it can be redistributed to other areas.
4) What am I allowed to buy using eLC money?
Electronic Learning Credits (eLCs) can only be spent on digital learning products advertised on the Curriculum Online website at http://www.curriculumonline.gov.uk.
Currently our site is displaying over 20,000 digital learning products, of which over 5,000 are free of charge, with this number growing on a daily basis. Each product will have been certified as eligible for Curriculum Online by an approved supplier using our definition of a digital learning product.
These products will also be advertised in approved suppliers' catalogues and can be purchased directly from the supplier if the product is displaying the Curriculum Online logo.
5) What is a digital learning product?
We broadly define a digital learning product as an item of software or a web service that is specifically targeted to support the teaching of the Curriculum in England.
The product may include items such as user manuals, technical support and the cost of distribution. It is unlikely though to include any items of hardware as these are not allowed unless they cost only a small fraction of the cost of the software and are sold as a package.
6) Why can't I buy hardware such as a digital camera?
Curriculum Online is aimed at raising standards in Curriculum subjects by giving teachers software and web services that will help them teach in the classroom. If we allowed the money to be spent on other items, we might not achieve this aim.
If your school needs hardware or any other item that we do not provide, please talk to your LEA to see if other budgets are available.
7) How do I find and buy a product that is advertised on Curriculum Online?
Use our search facility to find products by selecting from various criteria including Key Stage/School Year, Subject and QCA Schemes of work. You can also look for cross curricula topics, SEN products, key words and the various methodologies within the "more search options" facility.
The search results give further details of the product and link to the websites of suppliers. Follow the link to the supplier's website to find out how to order the product.
If the product is priced, you should tell the supplier if you are using your eLC money for the purchase. Using eLC money to pay for products does not alter the supplier's ordering, distribution or invoicing system nor does it prevent suppliers from offering discounts to customers.
When you have received the product, the supplier will invoice your school directly. The expenditure must be recorded in your school's accounts under Standards Fund Grant 618 and may be audited at a future date.
If the product is offered free of charge, details will be displayed on either the product details page and/or the supplier's site describing how to obtain the product.
8) Do you provide a list of approved suppliers or products?
We do not publish a list of approved suppliers. If we did provide a list,
this might encourage teachers to concentrate on well known suppliers within
the industry rather than exploring the benefits of all the products on offer.
We do not provide a list of products as we advertise over 20,000 products
and many have very similar titles. Instead, use our search facility to find
the right group of products to suit your needs or enter key words in "more
search options" to look for the title of a product.
If you are not sure if a supplier is approved and cannot find their products
on our site, please contact the Curriculum Online team at the DfES by completing
an enquiry form on the Curriculum Online website or by telephone on 0870 000
2288.
9) How can I advertise a product on Curriculum Online?
Priced and free products are advertised on our site by Content Providers. Teachers are also able to share free products with other teachers.
A Content Provider is an organisation or individual, approved by DfES who can legally supply the product. To become approved, applicants must agree to the DfES Terms, have at least one eligible product and pass a financial check. Currently over 300 companies are approved Content Providers.
The Content Provider decides if their products are eligible for Curriculum Online and places and maintains details of the products on our site. The Content Provider may either provide this software free of charge or sell the product for eLC funding through an approved Retailer.
A Retailer is an organisation or individual, approved by DfES who has been given permission to sell a product on behalf of a Content Provider and receive eLC money in return. To become approved, Retailers must agree to the DfES Terms and pass a financial check. Currently over 250 companies are approved Retailers.
Some organisations apply to be both a Content Provider and a Retailer to supply and sell their own products and receive eLC money in return.
To become a Content Provider and/or Retailer for Curriculum Online, please visit http://register.curriculumonline.gov.uk to begin the registration process that is managed on behalf of DfES by the British Educational Communications & Technology Agency (Becta).
Teachers who would like to make a resource freely available can add content via the Teacher Resource Exchange at http://tre.ngfl.gov.uk
10) I'm a teacher and I need some further information, where can I find it?
The Teacher Centre on our site contains a lot of useful information including
-
" Advice on the technical requirements of using Curriculum Online products
" Guidance on the use of digital products in the classroom
" The process of adding a product to our site as a teacher (links to
the pages)
You can access the Teacher Centre by clicking on the link on the left hand
side of the screen.
If you have a query that cannot be answered from the information in the Teacher
Centre, please contact the Curriculum Online team at the DfES by telephone
on 0870 000 2288.
11) Can you help me use the Curriculum Online website?
At the top of every page there is a "Help" button which will give
more information about the displayed page.
For example -
" From the search page if the 'help' button is clicked, information will
be displayed on how to use the search;
" From the product information page if the 'help' button is clicked,
information will be displayed on the layout and contents of the product information
page.
If you have a query that cannot be answered from the information in the Help
pages, please contact the Curriculum Online team at the DfES by completing
an enquiry form on the Curriculum Online website or by telephone on 0870 000
2288.
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