Inadequate staff training has meant that computers have failed to deliver expected improvements in school standards, an Ofsted report claimed yesterday.

This is despite government investment in school computers of nearly £1 billion since 1998.

The report found that whilst there have been improvements in children's IT capabilities, standards are lower than in most national curriculum subjects. It also found that the contribution of IT to other subjects was "variable".

Teachers themselves were making "slow progress" because they were having to train in their spare time and only a few had finished courses.