RESEARCH undertaken by East Lancashire-based business Daisy Group has revealed the modern headteacher’s biggest tech-related headache is not cyber bullying or internet grooming, but teachers’ inability or unwillingness to keep pace with new technology.

A specialist division of the ICT business interviewed education leaders from across the UK at the Academies Show 2015 in London about their tech-related problems. More than two thirds of education providers confessed to being concerned by the volume of teachers struggling to get to grips with the new digital-related demands placed on them.

The survey has been challenged by Richard Jones, headteacher at St Christopher’s CE High School in Accrington, who said the most important thing for teachers is to be good at providing education to children, not to be experts in ICT.

Mr Jones said: “I may be a little old-fashioned but I remain convinced that the most powerful and influential resource in any classroom is the teacher. Young people are surrounded by mobile technology, much of which is used in a destructive or at best a mind numbing way.”

The survey also shows 30 per cent of those questioned admitted they weren’t as ‘clued up’ about technology as they should be. Another 36 per cent said, while confident in some areas of ICT, they knew they had weaknesses in others.

Just a third were confident they knew enough about ICT and modern technology to be able do their job properly.

When asked about tech-issues affecting their school, 44 per cent described an influx of new digital equipment but teachers struggling due to a lack of training. More than a third reported infrastructure problems, saying internet speeds were either too slow or variable.

Mr Jones said: “Teachers are not facilitators or IT technicians, they are experts in their field who should serve as inspirational role models. I dread the day that schools become the educational arm of Google or YouTube.”

Colin Bell, of Daisy Group, said: “We discovered a real range of issues affecting schools, from inappropriate use of social media to poor connectivity... However, there is simply no excuse for schools having an out-of-date infrastructure or admin system.”