Northgate Managed Services confirms financial close on Blackburn with Darwen and Bolton BSF contract
15 January 2010
Schools across Blackburn with Darwen and Bolton are set to build on existing progress in achieving excellence in education with the creation of a media-rich learning environment as part of the Government’s Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. Working closely with ICT services and solutions specialist, Northgate Managed Services, contracted by Balfour Beatty, schools will benefit from an initial £41.3 million invested in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) making them some of the most advanced schools in the country.
The project will see nine Blackburn with Darwen secondary schools (two phases) and 15 Bolton schools (three phases) rebuilt or re-modelled and upgraded to provide flexible and attractive learning environments that better support learning. As just one part of the project, each authority will benefit from the creation of a Discovery Centre, equipped with the very latest innovative learning and teaching tools. The centres will ensure schools can experiment with and evaluate new technologies over the lifetime of the contract. Each school will utilise ‘thin client’ technologies* which helps them save energy, utilise computer equipment more efficiently and ultimately enable students to access learning materials from a wide range of devices such as desktop PCs, laptops and PDAs. Every student will also have access to an online learning platform, providing true anytime, anywhere learning for the entire school community.
In addition, Northgate will be providing an interim managed service from 1st February 2010 where school technicians will transfer to work directly for the ICT specialist in the lead up to the full BSF service. This will help free up school staff to focus on the educational outcomes of this multi-million pound initiative. This interim service will aid the improvement of standards, ensure a smooth transition for ICT and ultimately transfer risk, helping to establish confidence across the school community. From September 2010, schools will have access to the online learning platform. This will help all schools benefit from BSF investment and allow early access to BSF ICT services.
Both authorities will benefit from the latest Learning Platform called N-able. Accessible through the internet from any location, Northgate’s Learning Platform will provide students with their own personalised learning area where they can work on assignments, store their work and access emails, enabling them to communicate with teachers and fellow students. Combining academic information and school administration systems, over the course of the project N-able will provide parents with secure access to information about their child such as their attendance, homework assignments and even their canteen purchases. This will help parents get involved in their child’s education improving communication between parents, school and students.
The creation of a safer school environment is also a key element of both local authorities’ vision for technology. To achieve this, Northgate will implement E-registration, access control and cashless catering systems to help make the schools a safer place for everyone.
David Hyland, Managing Director, Education, Northgate Managed Services, comments: “We are extremely proud to be involved in the Blackburn with Darwen and Bolton Building Schools for the Future project and look forward to working with the Authorities, Balfour Beatty, the LEP and the individual schools to transform learning and teaching using ICT. By working in partnership with the schools, we will be offering innovative, high quality facilities and integrated information and communication technology to help deliver personalised learning tailored to the needs, interests and aptitudes of their learners. We are delighted to be involved in this project and feel the benefits to young learners will make both authorities best practice models for BSF projects across the country.”
For further information, please visit the web site at www.northgate-is.com/managedservices contact tel: +44 (0) 28 90859085 or e-mail info@northgate-is.com.
*‘Thin Client’ is a generic name for client machines on networks that deliver applications and data via a centralised computing model with the majority of processing carried out by the server(s). This is also known as server-based computing. (Thin Client Technology in Schools report, Becta)
