Thanks for the above, however:

I'm a bit suspicious of the approach that schools may take towards the Home Access scheme. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but it appears to me that some schools may be thinking of this as an heaven-sent opportunity to supplement the school's pupil-to-computer ratio, particularly for those schools that have failed to make proper investment in the past.

This again raises the issue of responsibility for maintenance. From both my own experience and that of others, one thing that we have learnt from the introduction of laptops in schools is that of the high maintenance requirements. It seems obvious to me that schools would be well advised to steer clear of any maintenance responsibilities for HA devices, particularly where families could buy into all sorts of schemes outside of the school's control.

Ray T

Home Access PCs being connected to a secure, safe and effective learning environment with all the tools and facilities available to guide and enhance learning does not seem to be an important part of the project. So there is no mention of the National Education network (NEN) within the Home Access project. The problem with Home Access as a project, is that it will do what it says on the can - give access to the internet from the Home for 5-18 year olds through a mixture of kit subsidies and 12 MONTHS access paid for.

Stephen Crowne's press release quote is perhaps more telling than it was meant to be in the last few lines where he says "There's clear evidence to show that effective use of technology really does boost a child's achievement." The key word is EFFECTIVE. There is no built in effectiveness in Home Access, because as most of us should know, not least BECTA, effective use of ICT to advance attainment involves a lot more than just access.

There is a wealth of evidence and research from BECTA designed to inform schools on how ICT should be implemented to make it effective, I hope that this advice is also applied to Home Access and it isn't just a case of getting kit out and hoping it has an impact - ticking the access box is easy and may make temporary headlines and capture a few votes prior to a general election but it doesn't make it a good spend of public funding nor does it necessarily "boost a child's achievement."

I hope I'm wrong and I know that the two Pilot LAs will be highly committed to make this an enhancement to current learning opportunites and I think that they both will succeed. Wheher the work of the pilots can then be duplicated will depend very much whether BECTA can duplicate the extra assistance the pilots will receive across the whole project and whether they are brave enough to change the way in which the funding is applied after the findings of the pilot point to a much more rounded approach being needed than is currently being suggested.

Regarding the post 1st November 17.37.

JANET is not funded to provide Internet connectivity directly to consumers. Its remit is to provide connectivity and related services for further and higher education institutions and schools, rather than individuals. In the case of schools, JANET connectivity is provided via regional networks maintained by local authorities and regional broadband consortia (RBCs).

There is always change in any marketplace. However, there are many established ISPs which have been operating successfully for a number of years. Broadband connectivity is now embedded within service offerings from a diverse range of major providers such as BT, Sky, Virgin Media, Carphone Warehouse (via TalkTalk) and Orange. We hope to see a wide range of connectivity options available through the scheme, from both existing providers and new entrants to the marketplace as appropriate. In keeping with public procurement guidelines and requirements, all suppliers will be subject to a range of thorough financial checks to ensure their viability under the scheme, as far as can ever be possible.

Regarding the second part of the query, anyone will be able to purchase products and services through the scheme, whether or not they receive a subsidy. Whilst we cannot prevent individuals from spending their own money elsewhere, should they wish to do so, we will promote the scheme and strongly encourage purchasers to consider an accredited package.