Kent Secondary School Students to Benefit from a £29 Million Investment in ICT
27 October 2008
Northgate Education (www.northgate-is.com/education) has been appointed as Kent County Council’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) provider as part of the Kent Building Schools for the Future (BSF) Programme.
Northgate Education ( www.northgate-is.com/education) has been appointed as Kent County Council’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) provider as part of the Kent Building Schools for the Future (BSF) Programme. Northgate Education is a leading provider of ICT managed services, solutions and software to schools throughout the UK, and will be working closely with Kent County Council, Land Securities Trillium and Partnerships for Schools (PfS) to provide Kent schools with innovative ICT which supports each school’s education vision.
The announcement represents the launch of the £600 million project to refurbish or rebuild and transform the delivery of education in secondary schools in Gravesham, Swaleand Thanet. Eleven schools will be benefit from the initial £29 million investment in ICT provided by Northgate Education. Once completed, Northgate Education will begin work on the remaining 25 schools in these districts.
With ICT firmly embedded in the education vision of Kent schools, BSF will allow for even more innovative ICT to be used in classrooms as well as providing tools to help teachers improve the delivery of education. Committed to ‘anytime-anywhere learning’, schools will be working closely with Northgate Education to provide learners, parents and teachers with access to education resources via any internet enabled device.
As part of the innovative ICT available, each learner will have access to “N-able”, Northgate’s online Managed Learning Environment (MLE), N-able provides students with their own personalised learning area with the support and assistance they need to maximise independent study and to progress in line with their own individual learning plan. Accessible via the internet from any location, N-able gives each learner their own online space to work on assignments, store work and access emails allowing them to communicate with teachers and fellow students. Each teacher has a digital toolbox providing them with resources to continually assess pupil\'s work and offer as much or as little guidance as they might need. N-able also allows the school to incorporate management and administration systems in one place, for example pupil attendance, as well as achievements in coursework and exams which can be provided to parents.
Working with Kent County Council and Land Securities Trillium, Northgate Education has embarked on a substantial engagement programme with the schools in Kent to fully understand their vision for education. By collaborating closely, Northgate has developed a strategy that provides flexible ICT which meets Kent’s BSF objectives and each of the school’s needs. Desktops, laptops, networked projectors, interactive whiteboards, handheld devices as well as full wireless coverage are the tools which enable students to be independent and skilled learners with as much or as little teacher assistance as they require.
Grahame Ward, Kent BSF Programme Director, said: “ICT is central to KCC\'s vision for Building Schools for the Future and by working very closely with Northgate Education we are turning our plans into reality. By equipping our BSF schools with state of the art ICT facilities we will not only improve the business of education through more efficient school management process, greater collaboration and the sharing of resources, but also raise attainment and transform the educational opportunities available for young people.”
By working alongside the design and build teams, including architects and construction companies, Northgate continues to work hard to ensure ICT is embedded into the design process of each school at every stage. Kent schools will no longer have traditional classrooms but ‘learning spaces’ - ICT rich environments which allow learners to make full use of ICT to enhance their education experience and to engage in their own learning. Encouraging extended community interaction, the new ICT provision will also support Kent’s vision to provide a range of services and facilities for children, adults and the local community throughout and beyond the school day.
David Hyland, Managing Director of Northgate Education, commented: “We are extremely proud to be involved in Kent’s BSF project which will transform learning and teaching across the region’s schools. By installing innovative technology schools are exceeding Government requirements to ensure that students have the best possible educational resources available. Each school will have not only a building designed to optimise education but significant technology resources which can be used by the teachers and learners to make education really engaging. Learning resources will be accessible via the Internet from any location at any time of day. We are delighted to be involved with such a forward thinking BSF project and feel the benefits to young learners will make Kent a model of best practice for BSF projects in other areas.”
Kent’s overall Building Schools for the Future Programme, the largest school building scheme in Europe, is worth as estimated £1.8 billion.
Tim Byles, Chief Executive of Partnerships for Schools, the government agency responsible for delivery of the BSF programme across England, commented: “As the largest BSF scheme to reach financial close to date, this marks an important milestone not just for Kent, but for the national BSF programme. At its heart, BSF is about transforming education and improving the life chances for all young people, and I look forward to charting the progress of this first phase of Kent’s ambitious scheme.”
For more information about the Kent\'s BSF programme, log on to www.kent.gov.uk/bsf
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