Bridging the technical skills gap: How flexible ICT services enhance school operations

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Choosing the right ICT partner can significantly impact the success of educational institutions.

St George’s Church of England Foundation School, a non-selective secondary school in Broadstairs, Kent, serves approximately 1,600 students aged between 4 and 19. In February 2019, we were selected to deliver a comprehensive, five-year ICT managed service to enhance their teaching and learning environment. With over 30 years of experience in the education sector, we provided the flexible and robust technical infrastructure needed to support the school’s diverse educational needs.

Challenge: Overcoming outdated infrastructure and limited IT support

St George’s faced several ICT challenges that hindered their ability to provide a seamless educational experience. The school’s existing ICT infrastructure was outdated, leading to frequent technical issues and disruptions in teaching. In addition, the school lacked a dedicated and comprehensive IT support system, causing delays in resolving technical problems. There was a growing need for interactive classroom experiences to better engage students and enhance learning outcomes. Moreover, ensuring the security of the school’s ICT environment was paramount due to the sensitive nature of student and staff data.

Solution: Tailored ICT innovations for enhanced learning

We provided a holistic and customised ICT solution to address the school’s challenges. These included:

Custom-fit IT support: We delivered a tailored IT support model, offering flexibility and ensuring the school’s ICT vision could evolve smoothly.
Remote service desk: An ITIL-compliant service desk provides incident logging, tracking, and resolution through a web portal, email or phone.
3rd line remote technical support: Technical escalation support through a specialist team in Belfast, ensuring complex issues were promptly addressed.
On-site technical engineer: Regular on-site visits by a senior technical engineer to support the school’s existing IT team.
Proactive infrastructure management: Monthly maintenance, security updates, and proactive monitoring of the school’s server and network environments.
Interactive classroom solutions: Implementation of devices, software, and solutions to create an engaging and interactive classroom experience.
Comprehensive training and consultancy: Providing education-focused training and strategic consultancy to align IT solutions with the school’s educational goals.
Robust security measures: Ensuring a secure ICT environment with state-of-the-art infrastructure and active network solutions.

Results: Modernised infrastructure and improved learning outcomes

The implementation of our ICT solutions led to significant improvements at St George’s, addressing their critical challenges and transforming their educational environment. The results were substantial and far-reaching, as evidenced by the following key outcomes:

Enhanced ICT infrastructure: The school’s ICT environment was modernised, reducing technical issues and improving its overall reliability for staff and students.
Improved IT support: The custom fit model provided efficient and responsive IT support, minimising downtime and enhancing user satisfaction.
Interactive learning environment: Introducing interactive classroom technologies enriched the learning experience, making lessons more engaging for students.
Stronger security: Robust security measures ensured the protection of sensitive data and provided peace of mind to staff and parents.
Positive feedback: The school’s administration and teachers reported high satisfaction with the ICT services, noting the positive impact on teaching and learning.

Speaking about their experiences, Martin Batchelor, ICT Network Manager at St George’s, commented:

“Due to the ever-changing nature of a school, we recently moved to a Capita custom fit contract. Bringing the primary responsibility of IT support in-house has helped ensure a better working relationship between the school and the IT department. However, having Capita there in the background helps to ensure the on-site team can focus on the day-to-day issues faced by the staff and students. Typically, the full cost of a 3rd line IT engineer would be prohibitively expensive, so having that expertise available through Capita is very reassuring. Not only do we have a designated engineer who works closely with us, but we also have access to a large pool of knowledge across many IT disciplines.”

Our partnership with St George’s exemplifies the transformative power of tailored ICT solutions in education. By addressing specific challenges and providing comprehensive support, we have helped the school to create a dynamic and secure learning environment, setting the stage for continued success. Our tailored ICT services not only enhance school operations but also empower educators and students to achieve their full potential, demonstrating the critical role of a reliable ICT partner in bridging the technical skills gap in educational institutions.