To say that becoming a school’s ICT co-ordinator is to be handed a poison chalice is an understatement. However enthusiastic you are, there are times you wish you had opted for RE instead.

The problem is that ICT is a daily, on-going challenge and everyone expects you to deal with their special problem first. For most primary ICT co-ordinators the task is doubly difficult as you are expected to manage your class and teach every subject to boot.

Well help is at hand in the form of The ICT Co-ordinator’s File from pfp publishing, designed to provide you with the help and support you need, dedicated to your particular concerns, every term. The File includes:

* practical advice and strategies for managing all aspects of your role;

* the latest information on hardware and software in down-to-earth language;

* a step-by-step guide to website building;

* photocopiable resources for you and your colleagues to use in class;

* jargon-busting training materials and handouts to use with your colleagues.

Like other pfp publications, this book aims to be accessible, immediately useful and completely understandable, and who doesn’t long for guidance which is practical, accessible and jargon-free?

The file is freely photocopiable in your own school. You can copy articles for colleagues, worksheets for your charges and advice and handouts for parents, etc. As a bonus, you can freely download the contents of The ICT Co-ordinator’s File in PDF format from pfp’s website. Each issue is divided into the following sections:

* management - creating policy, managing colleagues, co-ordinating the teaching of the ICT programme of study, and so on;

* training - information on current issues and training materials to use with colleagues;

* curriculum - guidance on how to integrate ICT with other curriculum areas;

* future issues - more practical ideas, lesson plans, children’s instruction sheets, etc; which, again, are freely photocopiable;

* Internet and email - issues like building a school website and educational use of email;

* hardware and software - reviews from a practical teaching perspective along with related articles such as designing an ICT network room;

* information updates - up-to-date information on government and teacher websites, the ICT programme of study and the QCA’s ICT scheme of work.

Is it worth pound;69 of your curriculum area’s hard-fought cash? It certainly is. I’ve been in this game for many years and I found numerous items and gems of useful information.

The ICT Co-ordinator’s File ring-bound photocopiable resource pack published by pfp publishing Price: pound;69.50 for a year’s subscriptionTel: 020 7404 2776 Fax: 020 7404 2766 www.pfp-publishing.com