School ICT News Bulletin No. 251 - 16/06/2015

Published by ICT Shared Services

June eBulletin Update

Norfolk Broadband - procurement process for new contract from 2016

In MI sheet 80/15 we advised that Norfolk County Council is tendering to replace the connectivity and internet services for schools as well as corporate services and other partners. The tender includes the option for telephony services. We said we would ask the market to propose services based on the requirements and outcomes that schools require.

As part of the initial consultation we asked you in MI Sheet 93/15 to complete our survey to develop the Invitation to Tender and gauge the importance of various requirements for individual schools to guide the market responses. In addition we had feedback from two of the Headteacher Associations, Network Managers and ICT Steering Group members.

We‘d like to thank those of you for taking the time to complete the survey as well as being able to meet some of you through the groups mentioned above, the feedback was very informative and built into the Invitation to Tender document.

The tender documentation was published in the supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union on 30th May 2015.

Procurement process timeline

Consultation with Schools

The procurement process is competitive dialogue. So to help us in this process and to achieve best value it is important that we have a clear view from as many schools as possible on the importance to you of the various elements.

·         Survey for any members of staff, governors or academy trusts

We are re-opening the survey via this link and would welcome feedback from any members of your community to respond. The survey will close at 11pm on Tuesday 21^st July 2015.

·         Events

We spoke to a number of governors at the NGN conference on 13^th June. We will have representatives at the following events:

·         17^th June Schools Finance Consultative Group

·         20^th June NGN conference                              Green Britain Centre, Swaffham

·         23 – 24^th June E2BN conference                     Wyboston Lakes, Cambourne

·         25^th June ABMNS conference – Association of Business Managers in Norfolk Schools                                                         John Innes Centre

·         26^th June Capita Headteachers’ session         Green Britain Centre, Swaffham

We are also arranging events for week commencing 13^th July. More details to follow shortly. Further events will also be scheduled for the Autumn term.

·         News updates

News update will be made to Headteacher Associations and via

o   MI sheets

o   ICT ebulletin

o   Norfolk Schools’ website

o   ICT Shared Services for Schools website

o   Google Group for Network Managers.

o   Norfolk S4S Services for School site

Capita SIMS contract extension

As you are probably aware schools' current contracts for Norfolk SIMS MIS (management information system) were based on an initial 5 year agreement with Capita SIMS which is due to end 31st March 2016.

We are now in the process of extending the agreement with Capita within the terms of the contract and will have the revised details and pricing available for schools later this term. 

Our ICT Shared Services team has visited many schools this term to make sure that you have access to information at the touch of a button from your homepage. We want to develop this support network further as feedback tells us both Heads and administrators’ appreciate the opportunities for networking with their peers as well as hearing about best practice from experts. The revised contract is likely to bring some system changes to SIMS which will be more user friendly.

We are aware that other providers are contacting schools with alternatives so our full article here also covers the guidance from DfE and ICO when choosing an MIS for compliance with DPA.

If you are remaining with Capita SIMS then the SIMS solution is continually checked for compliance with DPA and data hosting standard ISO27001.

For more information please click about here.

E2BN Conference – Two free places per school!  
The E2BN conference looks like being another great event with a programme packed with inspirational speakers, fun and informative workshops and a terrific exhibition. Take a look at the programme now www.conference.e2bn.org

If your school takes its broadband from E2BN (E2BN Direct) or from one of our member LAs (Bedford Borough, Cambridgeshire, Central Beds, Luton, Milton Keynes, Norfolk, Peterborough, Southend On Sea, Suffolk or Thurrock) or you are a Milton Keynes local authority school you can send two members of staff along to the conference free of charge!
 

Internet Filtering in Primary and Special Schools

Did you know that you can take control of the internet filtering in your school at no additional cost?

Since we published this article in May many schools have taken up the option to control filtering in school - choosing which sites to block and unblock at any time during the school day.

In case you missed this article it means that if you wanted access to sites like Twitter, Vimeo, Facebook, etc. you can do this quickly and easily in your own school without having to contact the ICT Shared Services Service Desk.

Unblocking YouTube is possible for schools that are on the elearning caste. Information about moving to the elearning caste can be found here.

Managing your own filtering means taking responsibility for any changes made, this is why we need the permission of the headteacher and chair of governors when moving onto this system.

If you want to access more sites in school and have not yet signed up to SWURL, please follow the simple instructions on how to opt into this service on the ICT Shared Services Website  http://ict.norfolk.gov.uk/page.aspx?id=1005 .

SWURL is the product name for Smoothwall’s on line portal which enables schools to block and unblock sites. It is included in the Norfolk Schools’ Broadband contract. For more information about SWURL and other options for managing filtering locally please see the ICT Shared Services website http://ict.norfolk.gov.uk/topic.aspx?topic_id=735

Author: ICT Shared Services