Northgate Managed Services wins £15m contract providing ICT services to Oldham schools
17 December 2010
Northgate Managed Services has been appointed by Balfour Beatty to deliver ICT services and solutions to schools in Oldham borough. Schools will benefit from £15 million invested in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) over the next seven and a half years.
Northgate will provide flexible, attractive and media-rich learning environments that will support learning to the new-build Oldham Roman Catholic School, the partial rebuild and remodelling of North Chadderton School, the new Waterhead Academy and Oldham North Academy sponsored by E-ACT.
Northgate will provide and manage a range of technologies tailored to the needs of each establishment. The overall service is built from a number of key components including; infrastructure design and installation to device and software procurement. Committed to supporting the schools on a day-to-day basis through its managed service, the schools and academies network and infrastructure is supported and continuously monitored by Northgate's dedicated Service Desk.
Each school and academy 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 a wide-range of personal user devices. Every student will also have access to an online learning platform, providing true anytime, anywhere learning for the entire school community. Accessible through the internet from any location, Northgate's Learning Platform allows learners, teachers and administrative staff to create their own personliased portal providing single sign on to school applications and resources via the internet. Students will have access to 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.
In addition, Northgate will be providing an interim managed service from 1st April 2011 where school technicians will transfer to work directly for the ICT specialist in the lead up to the full ICT Managed service. 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 2011, schools will have access to core services including the online learning platform. This will help the 4 sites to benefit from BSF investment and allow early access to BSF ICT services.
Andy Ross, Chief Executive, Northgate Managed Services, comments: "We are delighted to be working alongside the schools and academies, Oldham Council and Balfour Beatty to deliver their vision for secondary school ICT. By working in partnership with the schools, we will be offering integrated information and communication technology to help deliver personalised learning tailored to the needs, interests and aptitudes of their learners."
