ICT support services are so important because there is no denying that ICT underpins every part of the modern curriculum. 10 years ago, ICT was purely a dedicated curriculum subject and was only used occasionally by other subjects as part of Teaching and Learning, with time being booked in the ICT suite as and when required. At that time, ICT was barely visible in the classroom, typically being confined to a single PC connected to an Interactive Whiteboard. A typical primary school had typically had less than 50 devices and a small server (quite often just a workstation with shared files, known as a peer to peer network).
Fast forward to 2017 and to modern day primary school is bristling with technology, such as large class sets of laptops and tablets as well as multiple servers and extensive classroom Audio Visual solutions. It’s not uncommon for a modern primary school to have in excess of 200 connected devices, being used all over the school utilising the latest WiFi technologies.
So why are ICT support services and the increase in technology usage important
Teachers in a modern classroom have a huge amount to get across to their students in a short time and whilst modern technology makes the Teaching and Learning experience more engaging for students, in order for a lesson to be successful, the technology must be reliable and available when required. ICT Support is critical to the modern school, to ensure that the technology is available and functioning well. Many schools manage their ICT by allocating an ICT coordinator role to an existing member of staff. Typically, this is an additional role assigned to a teacher responsible for managing an ICT infrastructure which is typically 4 times larger than it was 10 years ago. External ICT Support Services provide modern schools with the means to ensure their ICT investment is protected and available at all times. SchoolCare offer a multi-faceted ICT support services platform, covering onsite, helpdesk, remote and proactive monitoring of critical systems. Supplementing the ICT Coordinators role with regular onsite technical support means that reported issues are dealt with and resolved quickly, along with helpdesk and remote support you can be sure that critical systems are fully maintained and available.
All schools can benefit from ICT Support Services, whether as the primary ICT support function of the school, or to supplement existing onsite ICT Staff. ICT Support Services can provide ad-hoc onsite engineering as required, whether it is to provide ICT support cover or assist with large (or small) deployment projects. SchoolCare’s Pro-Flex ICT Support Service offers Pro-Active and Flexible support contracts to suit the requirements of any school. In its most basic form, ProFlex provides a bank of ICT support hours, which are generally booked at regular intervals, but can be altered to suit the requirements of the school. This onsite time is backed up by unlimited helpdesk and remote telephone support meaning that you can be sure you’re in good hands.
