Is a managed service really affordable for primary schools?
Nick Berry, Divisional Director - Education, XMA

XMA's experience demonstrates that a managed service for primary schools is not only affordable but actually cost effective. This has been proven by the fact that the majority of the schools who take a form of managed service from XMA tend to increase their service in some way rather than reduce.

XMA has been most successful where the managed service has been developed in partnership with the Local Authority, and designed to meet the needs of the primary schools in that area.  For example we have worked closely with both Birmingham and Southampton.

The service a primary school requires certainly has to be tailored to their specific needs.  We have found a formula which forms the basis of a successful primary offering, which we then tailor dependent on the individual schools' requirements.

The 3 core components are as follows:

1.  Telephone support/Helpdesk – ensures all issues are logged/managed against agreed SLA
2.  Remote support – allows the majority of urgent issues to be resolved as quickly as possible
3.  On-site technician – regular visits (weekly or fortnightly) to provide local support, continuity and to help put standards in place in line with Becta Framework for ICT Technical Support (FITS).

The contracts we have in place prove value for money and are rarely halted due to budget constraints. These contracts cover both admin and curriculum systems, but exclude MIS Support, which is usually provided by the LA.  The above services are often preceded by a capital project to improve the ICT infrastructure in the school. This provides the catalyst for the school to review how ICT is supported and managed.

With the use of ICT and the reliance on it growing across the primary sector, schools are recognising the cost benefits of using specialists to outsource or ‘out-task’ such skills, in order for them to focus on teaching and learning.

Need extra ICT resource? XMA offers ongoing support through its technician services.  You can have an engineer visit your site (weekly, fortnightly or monthly) for half or full days to provide support for your ICT requirements.  This can include preventative maintenance, troubleshooting, regular data backups, network monitoring and ICT administration. Click here to see how Birmingham Schools use our Schools technician services. Alison Proudman, office manager, Moseley Church of England Primary School. XMA school technician on the bronze service “Our XMA technician is excellent. He has visited for half a day a week for more than four years. “He helps us with regular updates, technical problems and sorts out new software. He also advises on new ICT hardware and supports every member of staff, regardless of their ICT ability. “We chose the service because of the pressures of ICT in schools. It was becoming an increasing burden. I’m not a technician but, before, it used to fall to me. The biggest plus is that he looks after every piece of ICT equipment and does all our troubleshooting which saves me valuable time.”