Birmingham Schools’
ICT Technician Service
Birmingham Schools’ ICT Technician Service Birmingham Schools’ Technician Service (BSTS) is an on-site ICT Technician Service designed by a Becta Accredited Infrastructure Services Supplier, XMA in conjunction with Link2ICT.
We selected XMA through a formal tendering process to ensure ‘best value’for Birmingham Schools. The assured quality of BSTS, also means that schools can transition from any other support service they currently use with complete confidence.
Under BSTS, a qualified ICT technician will make regular visits to your school to help take problems of a technical nature away from your teachers and pupils, so they can focus on teaching and learning.
By taking up the Birmingham Schools’ Technician Service, you can focus on embedding ICT in the Curriculum, in the knowledge that professionals are there to help you with all technical issues.
Why join the Birmingham Schools’ Technician Service?
• Why pay the whole cost of a full time technician, when you may only require a visit once per fortnight? You can tailor the planned visits to your school’s requirements and pay only for the time you need per week or per month
• Quick fixes by telephone and remote support are also offered as options with this service - Why wait for a scheduled visit if your problem can be solved more quickly through remote support of your network? This part of the service does not replace the familiar face of the BSTS technician during their
regular visits, but compliments them, so that your ICT systems are kept working at peak efficiency
• Access to qualified ICT Consultants and Project Managers is also available 12 March 2010from BSTS - to support your future ICT projects that are strategic to your schools ongoing development
• Access to a wealth of School and Commercial expertise through your BSTS technician. Your technician will have high-level system engineers at the end of the telephone and a PC link to escalate those issues that are most challenging. The wealth of knowledge that the technician can draw upon is beyond the level that an individual school can be expected to employ through it’s own resources
• BSTS will be a tool to help you raise standards. ICT is critical to enabling your pupils to achive the best results from their education. We want to help you provide ICT that works. This will help motivate pupils and teachers, as they will increasingly see ICT as an enabler and not a barrier
• Be part of a wider ICT support community. Your BSTS Technician will be working in other local schools when they are not at your school. They will understand the needs and aspirations of the wider Birmingham Schools Community and be able to openly share ideas
• Avoid the cost of recruitment, training, holidays, covering sickness days and the cost of retention of skilled technicians (or let BSTS compliment those that you already have)
• Get ‘best value’ from the considerable investment you have made in ICT by ensuring it works efficiently and is being used effectively
What does the Technician Service consist of?
The BSTS technician will be a trained, CRB checked ICT engineer who is familiar with a school environment. You can ask them to undertake tasks such as:
• Support of your curriculum network and PC’s including legacy equipment
from any vendor
• Diagnosing and resolving all ICT problems
• Administering software updates, patches and firmware upgrades
• Installing new equipment and curriculum software
• Providing technical support and advice for all school staff
• Acting as a ‘gateway’ to more sophisticated advice for major projects
How do I start this service?
• XMA will discuss with you how many visits you need each term,and determine
the service levels to be set, so you understand what the service can deliver
within a budget you can afford
• Upon joining the service, XMA will survey your site, introduce your BSTS
technician and ensure you know exactly how to obtain the support you
are entitled to
• The BSTS technician will visit the school at the pre-arranged day and time.
• In between visits you could obtain support through our helpline for a more
timely fix, or to help us prepare the technician for the issues they will meet when
they next visit
• For those who select the remote support option, XMA can remotely take control
of your network to help diagnose and fix problems
Service Level Options
BRONZE Your technician visits your school when scheduled and completes
as much work as possible in the time purchased. Providing support
for your curriculum network.
SILVER Provide support for both your curriculum and admin networks
(Management Information System – CMIS or SIMS.Net)
GOLD All the benefits of silver however the school will be provided with
a bespoke managed ICT service. Covering all aspects associated
with ICT, allowing the school and ICT subject leader to concentrate
on teaching and curriculum development.
Extra days can be purchased to allow you to tackle those ‘bigger jobs’ that can’t be completed within your
normal contracted time.
To find out more contact:
Gurj Lalli on: 07977 138069
Email: gurjinder.lalli@xma.co.uk
Education team on: 0115 846 4696
Email: education.team@xma.co.uk
Scheduled Visit Frequency Bronze Silver Gold
½ day per fortnight in term time per year £2,280 N/A N/A
Full day per fortnight in term time per year £4,275 £5,700 N/A
½ day per week in term time per year £4,680 £5,850 N/A
Full day per week in term time per year £8,775 £11,700 N/A
Regular weekly support N/A N/A POA