Improve Digital Literacy with 'Harnessing Technology' Grants

There was a grant scheme that enabled schools to improve the digital literacy of pupils. Harnessing Technology Grants (HTGs) provided the money to put the scheme into effect. The scheme has now closed: it ended around 2011 when Becta, the agency that ran it, was abolished, and no like-for-like replacement grant was introduced. Schools should check GOV.UK for current ICT funding. The rest of this article describes how the scheme worked.

The Department for Education and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (a department that no longer exists) devised Harnessing Technology Grants. They replaced the national digital infrastructure grants and the e-learning credits.

Purpose of HTGs

The purpose of the HTGs was to develop a skills and education programme that harnesses ICT (Information and Communications Technologies) for the advantage of students. The government’s ambition was to ensure that teachers and students can use technology confidently.

Within this ambition, the HTG strategy had five aims:

• To support disadvantaged people
• Give the right ICT tools to teachers
• Ensure good practice and innovation
• Integrate personal ICT in school systems
• Help students and teachers gain access to ICT learning platforms at home

Funding Provision

The British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (BECTA) administered HTGs on the government’s behalf until it was abolished in 2011. Local authorities received the Harnessing Technology Grants by applying to the DCSF (the Department for Children, Schools and Families, renamed the Department for Education in 2010). The local authorities then distributed the money to maintained schools, voluntary aided schools and academies. Local authorities did not need to match the funding.

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Distribution

Local authorities could keep up to a quarter of an HTG. They could use the money to make ICT purchases such as broadband for the schools in their areas. Local authorities could exceed the 25% retention limit only when their schools agreed. But there had to be evidence that if a local authority bought ICT goods and services on behalf of schools, the authority would save money.

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Purchases

Harnessing Technology Grants were for ICT capital expenditure. In this context, capital expenditure refers to assets that last longer than the financial year in which the schools or local authorities buy them. Among the ICT that the grants covered were upgrades, software, hardware, equipment, infrastructure and digital curriculum resources. In keeping with the capital expenditure definition, any software had to have a life beyond the financial year in which the school or local authority bought it. In other words, if the software came with a licence, as it often does, this had to be for longer than a year.

Any new ICT infrastructure had to be an improvement on the existing system in order to qualify for an HTG. It also had to have a life beyond the financial year in which schools and local authorities bought it and had to increase the value of current fixed assets. New ICT infrastructure could not simply maintain existing standards.

Digital curriculum resources often come as subscription services. However, schools and local authorities were able to use an HTG to pay for them if the assets became their property when the service period ended, or they had a licence to use the resources for more than a year.

Other Related Grants

As stated above, Harnessing Technology Grants were for ICT capital expenditure. HTGs did not cover revenue expenditure, although schools and local authorities may need this for subscriptions to certain types of software and for technical support services.

To assist with revenue costs, schools and local authorities could apply for funding from sources such as the School Development Grant. The School Development Grant had a wider remit than HTGs and allowed schools and local authorities to apply for funding that led to improvements in teaching and learning. This could include revenue expenditure related to ICT. The School Development Grant has since closed as a separate grant, with the funding rolled into general school budgets. Schools should check GOV.UK for current sources of ICT revenue funding.

The Next Step

Now that you have read through the advice above, you might want to put it into practice. Our Grant Eligibility Finder lets you tell us what you need funding for and we will match you with the types of UK grant most likely to accept your application. Try it now →