Leicester City Council is part of the first wave of 17 local authorities to benefit from the BSF investment. In Leciester the Local Education Partnership known as the Leicester Miller Education Company was established in 2008 as a partnership between Miller Construction, Leicester City Council and Partnership for Schools, the government's BSF delivery body.
Through BSF, Leicester City Council has been awarded more than £235 million to rebuild or remodel every secondary school in the city. This will provide a 21st century learning environment that will help engage and inspire pupils, staff and people in the community.
Building Schools for the Future will bring longterm benefits to the people of Leicester:
- Bright, modern buildings that replace run down and outdated buildings. Good quality , thoughtful design will help reduce bullying and other anti-social behaviour.
- The latest in Information & Communications Technology facilities (ICT) will be at the heart of the schools creating an inspiring learning environment. ICT equipment and services will be maintained and updated when required so every school can offer the latest technology.
- Facilities that meet the needs of pupils, staff and the community so that schools can deliver a wider range of curriculum activities. People from the local communities will also be able to use many of the facilities
- Prosperity through new jobs, training and mentoring opportunities
- Schools that are safe and secure places which promote learning and encourage positive behaviour. The buildings will be built to high environmental standards
There are four schools in phase one - all of which have open in the first half of 2009:
Click here for information on Fullhurst Community College - Jan 2009
Click here for information on Judgemeadow Community College - June 2009
Click here for information on Soar Valley College - June 2009
Soar Valley College - Video Case Study
ICT in Leicester BSF Schools
While BSF does include new school buildings, it is intented as far more than a simple building project. Using ICT to support new approaches to teaching and learning, the approach enables students to learn outside the normal school routine and offers access to a new and exciting range of information and resources. Through extended opening hours, the new facilities will also be used by the whole community.
Northgate was appointed ICT managed service provider in December 2007. Over the lifetime of the project 16 schools will be re-modelled and upgraded and over £27m invested in ICT.
Leicester will be ahead of other authorities by providing each child with access to Northgate's Managed Learning Environment (MLE) called N-able. N-able provides students with their own personalised learning area with the support and assistance they need to maximise their independant learning and to progress in line with their own individual learning plan.
Implmentation of N-able will be tailored to the requirements of each individual school and will incorporate the Fronter Virtual Learning Environment and resources currently used in the city primary schools. Accessible via the internet from any location, N-able will give each learner their own personal online space to work on assignments, store their work and access emails enabling them to communicate with teachers and fellow students.
Combining academic information and school adminstration systems, over the course of the project, N-able can provide parents with secure access to information about their child such as their attendance, their homework assignments and their assessments. Leicester parents will be able to keep up to date with their child's achievements online and really get involved in their child's education, improving communication between parents, school and students.
The implementation of a managed learning environment will enable learners and teachers to share and store work and resources that can be securely accessed anywhere and anytime. N-able is part of a wider ICT managed service provided for the schools by Northgate. Once completed schools will have access to a helpdesk and a school based technician to ensure any computer problems are fixed swiftly and disruption to education kept to a minimum.
Who Will Benefit?
The first schools to benefit from N-able will be Beaumont Leys Secondary School, Fullhurst Community College, Judgemeadow Community College and Soar Valley College. Each of the schools will be fully equipped with high speed broadband giving learners access to a variety of engaging online learning resources to help support their education.
Teachers will be supplied with a digital tool to enable them to continually assess learners work and offer as much or as little guidance as students might need. N-able will also allow schools to incorporate administration systems such as registration, student assessment and cashless catering to reduce administration and reporting time and allow teachers to once again focus on teaching.
Smart Card Technology
The schools will also benefit from Smart Card technology. Used by students to register for their morning and afternoon classes, Smart Cards allow the school to monitor pupil's attendance and reduce truancy. Smart Card technology will also be implemented to provide cashless catering with the facility for parents to top up the cards on-line - which means children no longer have to bring money to school as well as school library access.
"By creating stronger links between home and school, the managed learning platform encourages young learners to view their education as more than just what goes on in a classroom. N-able allows children to really take ownership and control of their own learning and promotes lifelong learning which is at the heart of what we are trying to achieve."
Cllr Vi Dempster, Cabinet Member for Child and Young People's Services
