Northgate Managed Services confirmed as ICT provider to every secondary school in Blackpool
09 December 2010
Blackpool Council has appointed Northgate Managed Services (www.northgate-is.com/managedservices) to deliver ICT services and solutions to every secondary school in the borough as part of a Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme continuing under the new coalition Government.
The £3.5million five year contract will see Northgate embed core technology and ICT infrastructure, including connectivity, storage and communication tools, tailored to the individual needs of the area's secondary schools.
Blackpool Council's BSF funding was reduced to cover three sample schools in the changes to BSF funding announced earlier in the year. The Council chose to reallocate the funding across all schools to help meet the individual needs of all schools and raise the standard of ICT provision across Blackpool.
Committed to providing robust, cost-effective ICT, Northgate Managed Services will work closely with the schools and the Local Education Partnership (LEP) consisting of Blackpool Council and Eric Wright Group to deliver its vision to provide all its 9,000 secondary students with access to ICT. Highly regarded for its flexible approach the leading provider of ICT services and solutions will begin work in January 2011 to tailor and deliver technology which suits each school's requirements. As part of this process, Northgate will conduct a thorough evaluation of existing ICT resources in use by each school and work with schools to identify the areas of greatest need.
The schools set to benefit include a new build at Highfield Humanities College, a significant remodelled school at St Mary's Catholic College and a refurbished pupil referral unit at the Mountford Centre; as well asUnity College, Bispham High School, Palatine Community Sports College, Collegiate High School, , Montgomery High School and St George's C of E High School.
Andy Ross, Chief Executive, Northgate Managed Services comments: "We are proud to be working alongside the schools, Blackpool Council and Eric Wright Group to deliver their vision for secondary school ICT through BSF funding that has been granted under the new coalition Government. We believe this significant partnership is testament to our personalised approach which enables our organisation to provide tailored solutions to meet the exact needs and budget of every school."
Northgate is an accredited supplier on the Government's new ICT Services Framework and already works with a wide range of educational institutions from Local Authorities to individual schools and academies. These include Trent Valley Academy in Gainsborough, Colston Girls School in Bristol, Richard Rose Morton Academy and Richard Rose Central Academy in Carlisle, Havelock Academy in Grimsby and Litherland High School and Abraham Guest High School, one school BSF Pathfinder projects school in Sefton and Wigan.
