Three Rs 'should not be neglected' in primary schools

The importance of IT skills should not be overplayed, the regional editor of the Good Schools Guide believes.

Details of a proposed new curriculum were revealed in the Guardian recently and much interest was focused on the fact that people in teaching jobs would be asked to draw more attention to websites such as Twitter and Wikipedia in the classroom.

While Sue Fieldman believes a focus on IT skills is essential given the importance placed on them by employers, she nevertheless feels this should not come at the expense of the three Rs.

"You have got to make sure that the basics aren't neglected to deal with some of the things that modern day life needs," she commented.

"It's no good having IT skills if they haven't been taught correctly to read, write, add up and [gained] the basic learning skills you need for life."

However, Stephen Crowne, chief executive of Becta, believes IT training assists in the learning of core skills such as reading and writing.

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