50,000 Teachers Sign Up to 'Learning Schools'

RM PLC
30 March 2000



        50,000 Teachers Sign Up to Learning Schools Programme

RM plc, the leading supplier of Information and Communications Technology
(ICT) to UK education, has now signed 50,000 teachers from over 2,500
schools to the Learning School Programme it runs in partnership with Open
University.  The main reason for this faster than expected uptake is the
growing enthusiasm among teachers for adopting ICT as a teaching and
learning tool.

Of the 50,000 teachers already signed up, over 10,000 have already
commenced their training and many more will begin in the coming months.
RM and the OU together aim to provide every teacher and school librarian
on their Learning Schools Programme course with the skills to use ICT as
a teaching tool in all areas of the curriculum.  It gives them practical
ideas and approaches to apply in their own teaching so that in turn they
give their pupils the full benefit of the power of technology.

The Learning Schools Programme is an approved provider under the Lottery
funded ICT Teacher Training Initiative, an important element in the
government's push to improve the provision of and use of ICT in the
classroom. It is the only training provider to offer training throughout
the UK across all curriculum subject areas.  Launched in February 1999,
with an initial list of more than 40 training providers, the Lottery
funded ICT training initiative has made £230 million available over three
years to train all 490,000 existing full-time equivalent UK teachers and
librarians.

RM has worked with the Open University to develop the best and most
innovative training materials and course delivery mechanisms for
teachers, making use of the Internet and Internet conferencing to
facilitate distance learning.  Because of this and because the Programme
offers a tailored route through the training to support their individual
needs and also provides a whole-school management and local support
structure, it has proved very popular.

Richard Girling, RM's chief executive, said:

'We are delighted that in its first year of operation so many teachers
have chosen the Learning Schools Programme to provide them with training
in how to get the full benefit of technology in the classroom.  RM has
invested significantly in the Learning Schools Programme and the response
levels we have seen so far strongly support our decision to do so. We
believe that the lottery funded teacher training initiative will be an
important factor in the future growth of the use of information and
communications technology in education.'


For further information, please contact:

Richard Girling               RM plc               01235 826000
Mike Greig

Gill Ackers                   Brunswick            020 7404 5959

Notes to Editors

RM is the leading supplier of ICT resources to UK education, providing
educational software, services and systems to primary schools, secondary
schools, colleges and universities.