Schools today rely on having good Information and Communication Technology (ICT) systems but, in practice, installing and maintaining equipment can be daunting. For one Nottinghamshire school, Ordsall Primary School, ongoing concerns with computer systems had left many of the teachers demoralised and nervous about using technology.

Deputy Head teacher Linda Mann explains: “We’d had problems with our previous provider. Initially, we couldn’t get on the Internet and a couple of our wireless points just wouldn’t connect up. Staff had just lost confidence. If there was a problem, nobody could work out what it was and there was a lot of low morale.”

However, as the school’s ICT co-ordinator, Mrs Mann knew both teachers and pupils would benefit if they could meetGovernment targets to use ICT for teaching and learning across the curriculum. On top of that, the school, which caters for 450 youngsters aged between three and 11, needed the technology to run the curriculum side of its operations efficiently.

After hearing about the success which IT provider, XMA, had enjoyed with another school, Mrs Mann invited its engineers to visit. She says: “They came in and talked to us about our current provision and how it could be improved.

“They immediately alerted us to the fact we could set up an outside classroom because our wireless connections were, technically, strong enough. They also discovered problems with the security of some of our Internet use which, as a school, was extremely important.”

Delivering best practice with optimised ICT
XMA staff immediately maximised the capacity of the school’s systems and installed a new server and software enabling staff to share lesson plans. They also installed some new laptops, repaired others and re-installed some interactive whiteboards.

Mrs Mann says: “XMA got our IT provision up and running and working to its optimum capacity. They also installed internal drivers to allow different levels of access. That means pupils and staff have separate access to information, depending on what they require.”

Now, when laptops are taken into classrooms, pupils can access a wireless connection from all of them. The new hardware is also allowing the school to tap into nationally-recognised best practice. Mrs Mann explains: “Now we have a secure server and lots of space to store children’s work. We are able to see what the children do in the classroom and assess the curriculum  through ICT.

“XMA also installed the models for national teaching initiatives, such as SEAL, which means our subject leaders can make resources readily available to other teachers. We can achieve Government objectives and it saves us time and money as well. It’s underpinning all our best practice.”

A system secure enough for stringent school requirementsFor Mrs Mann, one of the major benefits of using XMA was the chance to tap into its expertise regarding security. She says: “Security is a massive issue for us. Initially, XMA staff identified we had some non-secure sites coming through and they made sure the right levels of security were in place very quickly.”

After hearing XMA staff advice, the school is also still working on its plans for an outside classroom and intends to erect an external grandstand where pupils can take laptops and still access the Internet.

The support of a professional technician
However, perhaps the most vital aspect of the solution provided by XMA has been the technician service. Teachers keep a log of any issues and Ordsall is visited by a highly qualified technician for half-a-day every fortnight.
If required, the engineer is also able to access the school’s systems remotely. 

“As the teachers become au fait with the system, it’s so handy to have someone around. Everyone feels a lot more confident and is willing to have a go. The technician really helped with that.

“We will certainly continue to use this service. For a school this size there is no way we can cope without a technician. Plus, he is very approachable, understands the system and is quick and effective.

“We would not hesitate to use XMA for any of our future ICT requirements.”