Tessa Jowell gives approval to BBC Digital Curriculum

Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell has approved the BBC Digital Curriculum, which is intended to provide a valuable educational tool for schools, with a strong series of conditions.
Digital Curriculum is a new digital learning resource aimed at teachers, students and individual learners, which will be provided free of charge to schools.
A total of 18 conditions have been attached in giving the approval to BBC Digital Curriculum, to make it distinctive from and complementary to services provided by the commercial sector.
The conditions set include requirements to innovate and promote educational and technological experimentation, maintain high standards, work closely with the DfES Curriculum Online Content Advisory Board, publish annual plans for BBC Digital Curriculum and report annually on the service’s performance.
The service will be reviewed after two years to monitor whether the BBC are meeting the conditions set out in granting approval. The review will include an independent assessment, which will look at the impact of BBC Digital Curriculum on the educational software market, and a public consultation.
In addition, the BBC have made a commitment – set out in their original proposal for the service – to spend half of the £90 million budget for content on commissioning services from the private sector.
Curriculum and we look forward to seeing materials that will build on the BBC's media-rich archives."
Publishers of educational material have reacted angrily to the news, and have threatened legal action.
(GB)