Education ICT Company Northgate to Enhance Teaching and Learning
14 January 2009
Hugh Christie Technology College Kent has partnered with Northgate Managed Services to address the constantly changing teaching and learning needs of staff and students.
As well as supplying and maintaining ICT across Hugh Christie through a managed service contract, Northgate will be working with Hugh Christie as part of an Active Partnership. This partnership will enable Northgate to offer advice and guidance to the school on how best to optimise its technology to improve the delivery of teaching and learning, Through several identified projects which aim to share knowledge and best practice including assisting with change management, the Northgate team will be actively working with Hugh Christie to drive innovation and to embed ICT into every part of the curriculum and management system
Northgate is commencing analysis of data and information within the school covering all aspects of the school’s ICT management systems. Northgate are working with Hugh Christie to review areas such as attendance and inclusion processes helping to identify trends and suggest improvements to how this data is managed. Analysis of catering and student eating habits will be provided to investigate possible reward schemes and parent reporting. The research will also include Managed Learning Environment usage, network and internet security and safety, extended days and after school activities. The aim of the partnership is to offer an enriched learning experience by making full use of innovative ICT available.
Jon Barker, Principal of Hugh Christie, commented: “At Hugh Christie, we provide a learning experience which is engaging, relevant and personalised, which has lead to improvement of our exam results year on year. We encourage a culture of innovation and change, ICT is the bedrock for education at Hugh Christie. We pride ourselves on being an exemplar school, bringing new technologies to our students to help make learning part of every day life. Working with Northgate means that we can make full use of our existing resources, providing our students with a reliable IT service, as well as offering them the latest innovative facilities. We aim to work closely with Northgate to use the data gathered through research effectively to enhance our ICT offering to improve systems which are already in place and identify areas which we need to address.”
As a state foundation, mixed PFI school, which fully opened its doors in September 2007, Hugh Christie educates over 1,200 11-16 learners with 200 sixth form students . The school chose to partner with Northgate in order to put in place processes and plans which benefit all staff and students, creating a centre of excellence and a best practice model. As well as the Active Partnership the managed service provided by Northgate helps to improve the efficiency of school management systems and the delivery of innovative and creative lessons through effective ICT. While networked computers, interactive whiteboards, handheld devices, and online curriculum software have all undoubtedly transformed the way teachers teach and pupils learn, it is critical that these tools are supported by a specialist provider such as Northgate, to ensure that they are always fully available and working. As part of the contract with Northgate, the school’s existing ICT technicians transferred their employment to the company while retaining their position within the school. Technicians are available onsite to continue to manage the school’s ICT but with the added support of Northgate’s technical team and backup services which maintains the school’s network and servers at all times. This successful partnership means that the students and teachers benefit from the latest innovative technology and resources which are always available.
Jon Barkercommented: “Working with Northgate has removed the burden of managing and maintaining the ICT systems from the school. Northgate manages our ICT requirements centrally which in turn is complimented by local technicians based at the school. The site based technicians have more time to build relationships with staff gaining direct insight into what tools are required to meet teachers and learners needs. Northgate is experienced in working with schools and the kind of managed service which they offer is flexible and tailored to meet the specific needs of Hugh Christie.”
Hugh Christie aims to create the best possible education setting with over 1,200 of the very latest learning and teaching tools such as laptops, tablet PCs and handheld internet enabled devices which revolutionise how teachers educate students. The school offers a mix of learning spaces providing a more personalised and intimate learning environment for each student, allowing for more collaborative group work. The school is fully wireless-enabled allowing students to access their work from different locations throughout the school, offering flexibility for teaching staff to share resources.
Jon Barker commented: “The Active Partnership will enable us to push the barriers of conventional education and to challenge Northgate and ourselves to focus on providing the most efficient and effective education to stretch and challenge our pupils. By encouraging home-school links and providing the handheld generation of learners with new technologies to support classroom teaching we are looking at the best way to educate our students. We are really excited about working with Northgate, trying out different ideas, making full use of our school resources and ensuring our IT offering continues to be innovative and focussed on providing the best education possible for our students.”
