Head of Information Services

[KWestos]

Do you think this is an appropriate title for a new position within a school. This post will be above the Network manager and reports to the Business Manager/Bursar. This is purely a strategic role driving policy, managing sims co-ordinators and overseeing whole school ICT use. There will be no technical requirements to this post, purely strategic.

Is this title ok, also, can anyone come up with alternatives, i.e ICT Director??

[kmount]

Strategic curricular? or strategic service/provision?

[IanT]

I've noticed alot of schools bringing in this form of role in, mainly called ICT Director.............to overlook the entire IT......teaching and technical....I know alot of Network Managers dont like it......I know a few......

[KWestos]

I've noticed alot of schools bringing in this form of role in, mainly called ICT Director.............to overlook the entire IT......teaching and technical....I know alot of Network Managers dont like it......I know a few......

Hi Ian

Many thanks for the reply. I guess from your reply you are one.

Would it be possible for me to pick your brains regarding the role of ICT Director within schools.

Many thanks

[IanT]

Im no ICT Director and wouldn't wanna be one at all!

Plus I dont work within the education sector yet......used to be a Network Manager (6 Months ago) and used to have a ICT Director who "tried" to control things........

[pete]

How many schools would have sufficient (financially justifiable) work for a (presumably non-teaching) person dealing with IT strategy?

I mean, here we have an ICT Coordinator with responsibility for guiding curriculum use of IT, but they're a full-time teacher. Our IT strategy is a 3-way between him, me and $deputy_head, with input from interested parties on a per-project basis.

Now for an academy or something ("parent" school and affiliated schools) I know of a few places where they've got a IT Director (+NM + techs at the main site) plus NM + techs at the other schools so efforts can be coordinated. However, $closest_place is run by lunatics, so I won't recommend you talk to them and the individual per-site heads often throw a tantrum and stategy takes a swan dive out of the window.

[Diello]

Director of IT Strategy?

How many schools would have sufficient (financially justifiable) work for a (presumably non-teaching) person dealing with IT strategy?

It's down to the importance the school places on IT at the end of the day. If IT is central to the ethos of the school in providing education, then yes, if it's more discrete, then no.

[bossman]

Strategic leader of ICT? (SLICT)

[KWestos]

How many schools here have a non-teaching ICT Director (or equivalent) who does not get involved in the nitty gritty of support. It would be interesting to find out!

[Hollie1985]

How many schools here have a non-teaching ICT Director (or equivalent) who does not get involved in the nitty gritty of support. It would be interesting to find out!

not many schools I know of have a non-teaching ICT Director but lots of colleges do.
Answering the job titles question- Strategic ICT co-ordinator, E Learning Co-ordinator, Strategic E Learning Development Manager some ideas there

[apoth0r]

That is the exact role that I am hoping to move towards within the next 5 years. Bringing the IT technical aspects and the curriculum needs together. It's an important role in this day and age and needs to be a lot more accepted then what it is.

[KWestos]

That is the exact role that I am hoping to move towards within the next 5 years. Bringing the IT technical aspects and the curriculum needs together. It's an important role in this day and age and needs to be a lot more accepted then what it is.

I fully agree. I've been a network manager here for just over two years and getting increasingly frustrated because the IT is so disjointed here. I want to pull it all together but don't have the time as the support takes all my time up.

We have just become a specialist school, formed a trust partnership with another school my school will be expanding by almost a third in the next two years, so something needs to be done.

My vision (I hate that word) is to adopt the other schools ICT provision, provide support for the feeders and provide a more focused approach to ICT. It's just how do I approach it. I have started to write a report, but it's just convincing the powers that be!

[apoth0r]

It's easy to say that IT support is providing the yes/no approach to requests but then you need the "what shall we do instead" appraoch to try to find a compromise.
Some people don't need to hear the jargon behind how or why it is possible but hear that someone is there looking into a possible alternative.
IT support does a fantastic job in most schools, but it's that bit in between that is often missing, not only is it then furthering the gap between teachers and technology but it's putting a fair few off it completely by simply hearing "no's" all the time.
I'm sure it'll be a hard-worked position but at the end of the day, it's going to have to happen in most schools to keep the flow of technological improvement in schools, which can help schools turn around without flamboiant policy changes every year.

[mossj]

Stratigic Head of IT? (SHIT)

[KWestos]

Stratigic Head of IT? (SHIT)

I like it! I get that every day, but not the title