Isle of Sheppey Academy to benefit from new 21st Century ICT rich learning environments
15 June 2011
The Isle of Sheppey Academy in Kent is to benefit from a new state-of-the-art Information & Communications Technology (ICT) service from Northgate Managed Services worth £5.8million. The ICT service forms part of the overall £54million building and development programme, which will see the opening of two brand new 21stCentury learning environments in the east and west of the island in 2013.
With Business and Enterprise as one of the Academy's Specialisms, ICT is used as a key tool to delivering the Academy's innovative teaching and learning approaches. Each site will benefit from high levels of ICT device provision and the most up to date technology and resources to support and inspire learning in each of its 2,450 students. Not only will teachers and learners have 24/7 access to learning, resources will also be available to parents and the wider community, underpinning the Academy's role as a hub for the island.
Working in partnership with the Academy, Northgate will deliver a robust, flexible and sustainable ICT solution that is tailored and designed to meet the needs of the Academy, yet flexible enough to respond to evolving priorities and changing technologies. Engaging with teaching and support staff, Northgate will also support the Academy in preparation for the move into the new facilities.
The school-based customer support engineers will be supported by Northgate's Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) certified service centre of excellence in Belfast.
In addition, the Academy will benefit from Northgate's "cloud-based" application called MY-SCHOOL, which unites a range of the academy's systems and applications under one single sign-on. Teachers and students will be able access the academy's educational resources from any device connected to the internet, at any time. Using a wide variety of widgets such as RSS news feeds, weather, maps, and search functionality, each student will also be able to customise to their individual preference.
Executive Headteachers, Alan Klee and David Rahman, said:
"The Academy aims to instil a culture of high expectation for every student. The new technology-rich environments will help every student raise their attainment and achievement levels across a range of academic and vocational subjects and equip them with the necessary skills to be successful citizens of the future. We look forward to working in partnership with Northgate Managed Services to help us achieve this"
Chris Wiseman, Sales Director, Northgate Managed Services
"We are delighted to be working with Kent Local Education Partnership 1 and the Academy on these inspiring new learning environments. The academy is keen to take advantage of the latest computer-based teaching and learning approaches, and Northgate's extensive experience with schools right across the country will help them to do this."
Northgate already supplies ICT services and solutions to over 1,250 schools, colleges and academies across the UK working with a plethora of exceptional centres of learning, including Trent Valley Academy in Gainsborough Havelock Academy in Grimsby, Litherland High School in Sefton and Abraham Guest High School in Wigan.
