School ICT News Bulletin No. 304 - 14/10/2022

Published by ICT Solutions

eBulletin Items

1. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Meeting digital and technology standards in schools
2. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: FREE ICT Event on 16th November 2022
3. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Changes to Quotations process - 31st October 2022
4. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Office 2013 will reach end of support on 11th April 2023
5. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Service Desk opening hours over the forthcoming half-term holiday period
6. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Launch of new Refresh and Enhancement Programme
7. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Google Hangouts upgrade to Google Chat from November 1st 2022
8. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: New Broadband Framework in place from September 2022

1. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Meeting digital and technology standards in schools

This week, the DfE issued Cyber security standards that schools and colleges should aim to meet on cyber security, user accounts and data protection - Meeting digital and technology standards in schools and colleges - Cyber security standards for schools and colleges - Guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

ICT Solutions are currently working on a useful guide of resources / template links to assist schools with achieving cyber security standards and will be posting these in due course.

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

2. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: FREE ICT Event on 16th November 2022

We are hosting a free ICT event on 16^th November at the John Innes Centre, Norwich with confirmed sessions from:

• Google for Education team

Building a Cost-Effective IT Strategy with Google for Education

Leverage Google innovation to build a foundation of sustainability for your 

organisation. Education technology that is built on the world’s only carbon-neutral 

cloud and is designed to increase productivity while reducing environmental impact. 

Hands on session Title - Chromebooks are for everyone and not just students

Chromebooks are easy-to-use, fast, and secure computers. This makes them a favourite for teachers and admin staff as it removes the technology hassles, letting you focus on teaching and learning and your day to day activities. 

Hands-on workshop will give you a chance to sample a range of activities that are available to your students and staff on Chromebooks.  

• Microsoft Education team – TBC

• Norfolk Police Cyber team - Strategic Cyber Security: Plan for When, Not If

“It will never happen to us” is not a valid answer to organisational cyber security. While cybercrime is becoming more common, increasingly disruptive, and costly, it remains underreported to the Police. It is therefore critical that organisations of any size define, implement, and test a cyber security strategy. This talk will provide a brief outline of what should be considered when considering a cyber security strategy as well as highlight some key national resources. 

• Metropolitan Police Cyber Alarm advisor
• Secure Schools
• NCC Digital Inclusion work with schools

Schools are in a unique position in communities, and the support that they provide to families is ever-increasing. As the number of digitally excluded families increases, we have put together a fully funded offer to provide schools with devices they can loan to families in need.

• Data Protection Education - Learning from Subject Access Requests and Breaches: Making Data Protection Strategic in Your Organisation
• DfE - Get Help Buying for Schools

ICT Solutions new refresh programme

Demonstrations of the latest Audio Visual screens and software and how these are helping with teaching and learning in the classroom

There will be stands from some of our key suppliers for Broadband, Audio Visual, Telephony and key areas within NCC (i.e., IoT (Internet of Things) network, My Oracle, Digital Inclusion), as well as the speakers having stands for you to talk to throughout the day.

A flyer to the event can be found here

Booking is available by SLA online - ICT Event - Innovate, Inspire, Connect and Stay Secure | Norfolk Services for Schools , Eventbrite - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/433443399877 or by emailing our Service Desk - ict@norfolk.gov.uk

We would love to see you there!

3. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Changes to Quotations process - 31st October 2022

The way in which we issue quotations will be changing from Monday, 31^st October, as quotes will be sent via Adobe Acrobat Sign. Emails will come to you from <our staff members name> adobesign@adobesign.com and the process is very straightforward.

When you receive the quote click on the ‘Review and Sign’ link and complete the relevant details with an Asterisk (*) beside them. Then type your name to electronically sign and return the quote.

Adobe Acrobat Sign is used by multiple organisations so chances are you will have followed a similar process before.

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

4. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Office 2013 will reach end of support on 11th April 2023

Microsoft have announced that Office 2013 will no longer be supported after 11th April, 2023. We recommend that anyone running this version starts upgrading to a later version of Office, such as Microsoft 365 Apps, which includes the Office apps you are familiar with (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook). Microsoft 365 Apps are designed to receive regular updates and will help you stay current by getting security updates and the latest features.

Further details can be found at - https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/announcements/office-2013-skype-business-end-of-support

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

5. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Service Desk opening hours over the forthcoming half-term holiday period

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

From October 24th - 28th, the hours will be as follows -

08:30 to 16:00. 

Normal opening hours of 08:00 to 16:30 will resume on Monday, 31st October.

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

6. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Launch of new Refresh and Enhancement Programme

ICT Solutions are pleased to announce the launch of a new 4 year Refresh and Enhancement Programme, which can act as a one stop shop to manage all your ICT Requirements.

This includes:

We recognise that with the constraints on budgets, not all of these items can be dealt with at once and being able to plan your budget for such items over a 4 year period is beneficial for managing finances, so that a full roll-out of services can be achieved.

If you would like to learn more, please visit here

For more information, please contact the Service Desk on 01603 475603 (option 2) or ict@norfolk.gov.uk

7. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Google Hangouts upgrade to Google Chat from November 1st 2022

We have been notified of an upgrade from Google Hangouts to Google Chat, commencing Tuesday, November 1^st, 2022. Should you try and access Hangouts after this time you will be redirected to Google Chat

If you have any conversations that you would like to keep a record of, we recommend you copy & paste them to a Google Doc or similar document as soon as you can. Furthermore, from January 1^st, 2023 all Google Hangouts conversations will be deleted by Google.

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

8. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: New Broadband Framework in place from September 2022

ICT Solutions have tendered for suppliers to be on a Multi Broadband supplier framework, effective from September 2022.  

The framework agreement is open to all education establishments (e.g., Schools, Academies, Trusts, Federations, Adult Learning centres, Nurseries, Preschools, Alternative provisions) to purchase from, within East of England (Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Lincolnshire, Peterborough, and Southend).

The scope of this framework agreement includes the supply, installation, management, maintenance, technical architecture, system design and project management associated with the provision of the services.

As part of this tender process, we have assessed suppliers’ technical solutions, compliance against legislation, financial checks, and experience with working with educational establishments to meet your requirements and provide you with a Framework to call off from to meet procurement regulations.

We are pleased to announce the following four suppliers have been awarded a place on our Framework:

• Eastern Telephones Ltd T/A Eastern Voice and Data
• MLL Telecom Ltd
• Rydal Communications
• Talk Straight Ltd T/A Schools Broadband

All our suppliers will be present at our ICT Conference on 16^th November 2022 at the John Innes Centre, Norwich for you to discuss your requirements with.

For Schools, Academies and Trusts currently on the Updata Connection:

The Capita Updata contract is due to expire on 31^st March 2024, and due to infrastructure changes to the current network, it will not be possible to continue with Capita Updata services in its current format after this date.

ICT Solutions have set up a project team to support all Schools, Academies and Trusts in requesting new quotes and migration to new suppliers and services.   We will be requesting quotes from all our four Framework suppliers for you based on your current solution (or any upgrades that may now be possible in your area). 

There is no obligation to purchase from this Framework, and we have asked our Suppliers not to directly market you.

We have begun working with Capita Updata on exit planning and impacts of leaving the service early, as realistically we will need to start migrating services away during 2023.

We will be in contact with you directly about your services and future requirements.

For Schools, Academies and Trusts with a different supplier:

The Framework is free for you to use to carry out a direct award or run a mini competition against your requirements.

You do not need to come via ICT Solutions for quotes or support, your own teams can deal directly with the supplier.

If you would like to contact the suppliers for more information or quotations please see below, stating Norfolk Framework to get the agreed pricing:

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