Greener approach to education ICT (7/12/2009)
A green ICT strategy needs an overall sustainability agenda, says Terry Street, green ICT procurement product manager, Socitm Consulting.
All over the country, new schools are being built under the Building Schools for the Future initiative. Several of my colleagues advise LEAs on their BSF programmes, and they frequently comment on the irony that new schools typically have extensive air conditioning, necessary in part to carry away the heat generated by all the new computer equipment.
Mailshot 2009-09-18 - Building Schools for the Future
According to Partnership for Schools, this month over 100,000 school pupils returned to learning environments which have benefited from BSF investment. A large proportion of these are in LEAs for which Socitm Consulting has acted as ICT and Procurement Consultants, ensuring appropriate development of the ICT elements of the Outline Business Case, developing the Output Specification, developing and managing the procurement phase, assisting in contract development, and ensuring smooth management of the complex interface between BSF construction and ICT contractors.
Building schools for the future
- New, effective methods of teaching and learning in schools, community facilities and pupils’ homes
- Working co-operatively in partnership with other schools nationally and internationally
- Enabled by the innovative use of ICT for teaching, learning and administration
Building Schools for the Future programme support
The project issues
South Tyneside and Gateshead Councils are the sole remaining partnership scheme in Wave 1 of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. Uniquely the scheme also includes the local PCT as part of the proposed Local Education Partnership (LEP).
A major challenge for the programme was the very different nature of the current ICT arrangements across the scheme and the phasing and different size of the scheme in the two authorities.
Building Schools for the Future programme support
The project issues
Solihull had been selected as a Wave 1 authority for the BSF programme. Due to its unique circumstances the authority had decided not to set up a Local Education Partnership (LEP).
This required a different approach to the procurement of the programme and the need to consider how the authority would ensure that ICT was fully integrated with the new school building designs.