ICT Services 4 Education

School ICT News Bulletin No. 302 - 18/07/2022

Published by ICT Solutions

eBulletin Items

  1. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Audio-Visual equipment framework
  2. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Telephony framework now available for Schools and Academies
  3. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: NSIX accounts - please check your account details and error export files
  4. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Service Desk opening hours over the forthcoming Summer holiday period
  5. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Powering Off Core Network Equipment Over The Summer Holiday Period
  6. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Reminder for schools using Groupcall xporter
  7. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Changes to multiple-location Google Drive items, commencing on June 27th 2022
  8. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: SLA Online contract cancellations for Academies
  9. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Microsoft Basic Authentication is being disabled from October 1st 2022

1. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Audio-Visual equipment framework

Are you looking to purchase or replace any of your Audio-Visual equipment in the near future? If the answer is 'yes', then you may wish to consider purchasing from our Audio-Visual framework.

 

More details can be found here

 

For more information, please contact us on 01603 475603 or ictcontractsteam@norfolk.gov.uk

 

 

 

 

2. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Telephony framework now available for Schools and Academies

We recently went out to tender for a 3 year telephony framework for Schools/Academies to purchase from to give you confidence in upgrading your telephone system, especially with the impending switch off of ISDN/PSTN in 2025.

 

Each supplier will have had due diligence carried out on them and met certain standards for technical, financial, health and safety and pricing. They are as follows:

 

  • Comm-Tech Voice and Data
  • Eastern Voice and Data
  • Midland Telecommunications Management Ltd
  • Tel Group Ltd

 

If you would like to learn more, please contact us on 01603 475603 or ictcontractsteam@norfolk.gov.uk

3. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: NSIX accounts - please check your account details and error export files

Always check your account details export files
 
If your school has NSIX accounts then you will receive account details files via Anycomms along with any pupil and staff errors. If you send in tab files from your MIS then you will receive these export files each time you send in new staff or pupil tab files. If you don't receive export files within 2 hours of sending in your tab files then there has been an error processing your files. Please check that your tab files are in the correct format, named correctly and are the correct file type (.txt or .tab). Further details about the correct file format for tab file imports can be found on the following page: https://icteducation.norfolk.gov.uk/page.aspx?id=157 . If you believe your files are correct then please contact us and we will check what the issue is. 
 
If you are connected to our IDM via Xporter then you will receive these export files every Monday morning. You can also request a new set of account details files via https://password.nsix.org.uk/sso/webcall.aspx .  
 
 
Always send in complete pupil and staff data files
 
If you send in tab files, please ensure that these are always a full list of all your staff and all your pupils. If pupils or staff members are missing from your tab files then their accounts will lose affiliation to your school and will eventually be suspended and deleted. This is why it is very important to check the Staff_Email.csv and Pupil_Email.csv account details files which you will receive every time you send in tab files. These should always be a complete list of all the NSIX accounts your school should have. If there are pupils or staff members missing from this list then that means that their accounts are no longer linked to your school and if this is not corrected, their accounts will be suspended and then deleted. 
 
Always check any error files you receive
 
If you receive staff or pupil error files via Anycomms then it is important that your review these and if you can not resolve the errors then please contact us. If accounts are left in error then they will be suspended and then deleted. 
 
The following page gives further information on some of the errors which can be reported due to data issues with your staff and pupil import files: https://icteducation.norfolk.gov.uk/page.aspx?id=159
 
Duplicate staff accounts
 
If any of your staff members have been allocated a new duplicate account but they want to continue using their original account, you will need to contact us to report this. This can happen if you have changed the name of the staff member on your MIS. If we are not notified then the original account will be suspended and then deleted. 
 
If you have any queries concerning your school's NSIX accounts or any errors which are reported for your accounts, please contact the Service Desk on 01603 475603 or ict@norfolk.gov.uk.

4. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Service Desk opening hours over the forthcoming Summer holiday period

To reflect the reduced demand on the Service Desk over the forthcoming Summer holiday period, we will be changing the hours of the Service Desk accordingly.

 

From 1st August - 26th August, the hours will be as follows -

 

09:00 to 16:00. 

 

Normal opening hours of 08:00 to 16:30 will resume on Tuesday, 30th August

 

For more information, please contact the Service Desk on 01603 475603 or ict@norfolk.gov.uk

5. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Powering Off Core Network Equipment Over The Summer Holiday Period

We would like to ask schools to refrain from turning off the power to the core networking equipment over the forthcoming Summer holiday period. Core networking equipment includes routers, switches and servers, often in a wall or floor cabinet. These devices are monitored by ourselves and Updata and turning off the power results in false alarms. This could potentially result in your school incurring a charge for an engineer visit.

 

Services Affected:                           Schools Internet, email and any service accessed via the internet

 

Services Not Affected:                    All other school systems which do not access the internet

 

When:                                               22nd July 2022 - 6th September 2022

 

What You Need To Do:

If there is no alternative to powering off the communications cabinet and core equipment then please contact the Service Desk to advise us in advance

 

For More Information:

Please contact the Service Desk on 01603 475603 or ict@norfolk.gov.uk

6. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Reminder for schools using Groupcall xporter

** The below only applies to schools using Groupcall xporter (typically installed on the server), not those schools who send in tab files for generating/updating their NSIX accounts **

 

Groupcall continually monitor the data feed connection between your school’s MIS and their central servers.

 

With the Summer break approaching, we would like to advise that if you are looking to undertake any maintenance work on your network that might impact the connectivity between your MIS database and their central servers could you please inform us before the Summer holiday period. Such maintenance work might include:

 

  • Changing Internet Service Provider (ISP)
  • Upgrading or replacing your existing server
  • Changing MIS provider

 

For more information, please contact the Service Desk on 01603 475603 or ict@norfolk.gov.uk

 

 

7. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Changes to multiple-location Google Drive items, commencing on June 27th 2022

We have been notified of a change being made by Google, commencing June 27th, and continuing over the following weeks thereafter. The change will affect files and folders which are held in multiple places within Google Drive. You will now start to see a banner appear which will warn you of the impending change. 

 

What does this mean for me?

If you have folders or files which are stored in multiple locations within Google Drive, whilst one location is preserved, all others will show a shortcut to the item. Any items that you have shared previously will retain exactly the same permissions.

 

What do I need to do?

You do not need to do anything, this change will take place automatically.


For more information, please contact the Service Desk on 01603 475603 or ict@norfolk.gov.uk 

 

8. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: SLA Online contract cancellations for Academies

Information for Academies regarding cancelling an annual contract for items such as Google NSIX/Microsoft emails, Chromebook Management or ICT support contracts etc. 

 

If you do not wish to renew an annual contract for any services, please email details of the contracts you wish to cancel to ict@norfolk.gov.uk and we will remove the relevant item from SLA Online.

 

Please ensure that you notify us in writing of any cancellation of ICT support (Basic or Enhanced) contract by 31st May 2022 and all other services by 31st August 2022, before the contract renewal is rolled forward to the next 12 months. 

 

Please note that unticking any items under 'Annual order', will not cancel the contract renewal.

 

For more information, please contact the Service Desk on 01603 475603 or ict@norfolk.gov.uk

9. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Microsoft Basic Authentication is being disabled from October 1st 2022

Microsoft have announced that from October 1st 2022, they will be disabling “Basic Authentication” to the M365 platform. This means any client (user app, script, integration, etc.) using Basic Auth for one of the affected protocols will be unable to connect.

 

What is basic authentication?

 

In simple terms, it’s gaining access from an application in a less secure way. An example being your email account.

 

Why are they making these changes?

 

Basic Authentication is an outdated industry standard, and threats posed by it have only increased in the time since Microsoft originally stated that this change was being implemented. 

 

What will happen after October 1st?

 

The app will receive an HTTP 401 error: bad username or password.

 

What do I need to do?

 

In preparation for the change, please check to make sure none of your users are using basic authentication. For schools who have an ICT Solutions technician, we will be working with you to identify any potential affected users.

 

 

For more information, please contact the Service Desk on 01603 475603 or ict@norfolk.gov.uk

 

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