The Minister for Education, Julia Gillard, today announced a $40 million initiative to help ensure teachers and school leaders receive comprehensive training in information and communication technology (ICT).

TheDigital Strategy for Teachers and School Leaders, part of the Australian Government’s $2.2 billion Digital Education Revolution, will help teachers and school leaders achieve ICT proficiency and embed these skills across the curriculum and teaching practices.

The Government will consult with education sectors to determine how ICT proficiency can best be achieved in schools and the first part of the strategy will develop a national ICT self-assessment tool to be trialled in selected schools from February 2011.

An in-school professional development program will also be developed based on the results of the self-assessment tool to help guide teachers and school leaders towards customised professional development to support their needs.

The Government will also establish the $20 million ICT Innovation Fund to provide grants for ICT projects.

Organisations including universities, state and territory education departments, businesses and the non-government education sectors will be encouraged to apply for funding from 2010 until 2012 to undertake projects which will:

• improve the capability of pre-service teachers
• enhance the capacity of in-service teachers
• drive innovation through leadership

The fund will call for applications in April 2010.

Through the strategy, teachers and school leaders will be empowered to integrate ICT into education that will improve school effectiveness and provide students with the skills required for the 21st Century.

The strategy will also complement the new Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership’s work to strengthen and advance the teaching profession.

The Australian Government is committed to improving the quality of teaching in schools, investing $550 million through the Smarter Schools – Improving Teacher Quality National Partnership to attract and retain quality teachers and school leaders.

Further information on theDigital Strategy for Teachers and School Leadersis available at: www.digitaleducationrevolution.gov.au.

For more information on the Smarter Schools – Improving Teacher Quality National Partnership, visit http://www.deewr.gov.au/schooling/Programs/SmarterSchools/Pages/default.aspx

Funding through the Digital Education Revolution to reach a 1 to 1 ratio is now being provided through a National Partnership Agreement with State and Territory education departments and through Funding Agreements with Catholic and Independent education authorities. So far, 220,000 computers have been installed in schools across Australia.