LinkBack URL
About LinkBacksmark: Are you sure it was an HLTA, as opposed to a regular TA? I was on the understanding someone had to be a certain level of qualification to be able to go on the course/assessment to become a higher-level TA.
mark: Are you sure it was an HLTA, as opposed to a regular TA? I was on the understanding someone had to be a certain level of qualification to be able to go on the course/assessment to become a higher-level TA.
Don't count on it - although they're very good at making the process (for them) as difficult as possibleOriginally Posted by bishopsgarthstockton
Tony are you ever going to take sides on the Managed Services issue as you are doing a fantastic job of sitting on the fence...
We need people like you condeming The Governments Managed Services Policy and shout that from up high... not just sit on the fence with School Politic Political Correctness Spin..
Oh is this is the new Government initiative of getting the Teaching Assistants to become basic level ICT Support..
Our County is offering TA's the chance to go on a quick Free course to learn basic ICT support..
This is to Supplement the outsourcing of the In House ICT Departments to the Managed Service companies and the technicians onsite will not be controlled by the school so they are trying to make the Teaching Assistants do some of the dog work (like moving printers)
It is mate... It's called the BSF and it's coming to take over every In-House ICT Department in Secondary Schools in the country and outsource in to a Large Managed Service Company..
BSF Link http://www.edugeek.net/index.php?nam...viewforum&f=45
Ohhh in that case its worse than I thought Grommit... grr
No we are not part of BSF yet. Still a very long way off.
If I could honestly say that, for all schools, having a Centrally Managed Service was a bad thing then I would be out there ... shouting it down and doing what I can to make it flaming difficult for things to go ahead.
Unfortunately I have come across a good number of schools where, in so many ways, it will make more of a positive difference then a negative one. Schools that have poor investment in IT facilities and IT support who, in spite of going on SLICT and having assistance from a many groups, still bugger things up and are likely to put the school in financial jeopardy due to white elephants and unsustainability. Schools where the politics and in-house power struggles dictate what goes on and not the needs of the users. Schools where NMs / Technicians *are* blockers and are antagonistic to *all* users. I wish I could say that these are a minority but from personal experience (and only personal experience) I would say that at secondary level it goes back to what I have said before. 1/3 are fantastic and pushing things forward, 1/3 are at the status quo point and 1/3 of schools are well below par and the IT adds virtually nothing to the school.
There are things that I want to do, over and above anything I do as part of EduGeek, to try and make sure that the positive things are not lost under BSF. I have also realised that even though there are a goodly number of people in important education organisations / QANGOs who don't agree with how BSF is being done ... *they* are pretty powerless to do things about it and *they* are just trying to do what they can to ensure that the good things of it come out on top.
BSF is unbelievably political. I know a lot of education initiatives are but this one even more so. Because of this there is a chance that some things get lost on the way and some LAs may chose it as an opportunity to do some rearranging and that gets thrown into the mix too.
To clearly indicate my view point ... I cannot see there is any way short of serious political negotiations to stop BSF. The unions have not decided to jump in on this, neither have the QANGOs or other interested groups.
However, I can see how things can be done to hold people accountable and to ensure that what work is done on the IT side of things can be brought to the front and make a seriously positive difference. Ensure that there is still a goodly amount of local control. Work to continue innovation. Making sure that bearaucracy does not get in the way.
The important thing in this is making sure that there is consultation (yeah .. I know .. another buzzword, but one that will be recognisable to the BSF contract winners who lurk on the site). The stuff with LEPs is not working that well (again ... personal opinion based on what I have been told by some people involved) and the NCSL course has not been as successful as it should have been.
Some of these are being addressed at the moment but it will take more work and more talking.
So .. a summary. Personally I cannot see any short or medium term way to get rid of BSF. I can see a number of ways to make sure that it is not buggered up. I will work on what I can do to to bring out the good points and try and perform damage limitation on the bits I can't.
I am not sitting in the fence ... think of it as building a platform across the fence to pass food parcels to the POWs and at the same time berate and call to task the guards for the slovenly attire and poor planning.
Sadly this is all too true, and it's not always the IT staff to blame - but pressures from incompetent management. The problem is a lack of accountability in schools, solve this and there is rarely need for outsourcing.Unfortunately I have come across a good number of schools where, in so many ways, it will make more of a positive difference then a negative one. Schools that have poor investment in IT facilities and IT support who, in spite of going on SLICT and having assistance from a many groups, still bugger things up and are likely to put the school in financial jeopardy due to white elephants and unsustainability. Schools where the politics and in-house power struggles dictate what goes on and not the needs of the users. Schools where NMs / Technicians *are* blockers and are antagonistic to *all* users. I wish I could say that these are a minority but from personal experience (and only personal experience) I would say that at secondary level it goes back to what I have said before. 1/3 are fantastic and pushing things forward, 1/3 are at the status quo point and 1/3 of schools are well below par and the IT adds virtually nothing to the school.
“think of it as building a platform across the fence to pass food parcels to the POWs and at the same time”
I see it more as putting a checkpoint on a busy hallway slowing down traffic so simple jobs now take ages. The idea behind it isn’t bad it just implanted badly. There should be more local control.
I can see a lots of lessons plans being scrapped due to problems not being fixed right away. It’s not like a Teacher can make a phone call during lesson and then wait for someone to fix the problem.
“Unfortunately I have come across a good number of schools where, in so many ways, it will make more of a positive difference then a negative one.”
I agree its positive in some schools the problem is when they come across a school where it will have a negative difference they just ignore it and say look its working in the other schools, listing xx positive school name, so it should work for you.
Where are the guarantees that IT managed services will be any better?Schools where the politics and in-house power struggles dictate what goes on and not the needs of the users.
Yes. Classroom supervisors by any other name. They cover lessons so are solely in charge of classes. The TAs were asked if they wanted the job and none did. We have 3 HLTAs now, none with any qualifications.
That was my understanding too from watching TeachTV.
That's shocking. But sadly, believable. :cry:
This boils down to how the SLA is set up between the LEP, the school and the specific company. Companies that fail to meet the required standards or give a service that leads to a drop in performance of the schools will be financially penalised ... and it could be quite heavily.
You've just highlighted the main problem there. We all know too well that the Gov/RBCs/LEAs cant seem to do this right, Cachepilot and SIMS being great examples. I assume they both have SLAs signed, so why in the SLA does it not state "must be fit for purpose"?
If it did say "must be fit for purpose" then why is it that capita are in the firm belief that all users should have power user, or better still, admin rights?
Theres so many reasons why cachepilot is useless i cant ven be bothered listing them as it really would take all day.
But maybe in the SLA it does say "must be fit for purpose", and the gov/rbcs/leas arnt doing anything about it. Either way...
Who loves our government????
What sort of fools work in the government??
This country has gone to the dogs. I would get out if I could, but I love the weather.
But by that time all the in-house Technicans have gone to the new company or retrenched.. and the Network Manager is so other lower role, sidelined or retrenched..This boils down to how the SLA is set up between the LEP, the school and the specific company. Companies that fail to meet the required standards or give a service that leads to a drop in performance of the schools will be financially penalised ... and it could be quite heavily.
So it is a case of putting all you eggs in one basket and hoping for the best as there is no IT Manager to assist the School with it's problems and it will be up to the Teaching Staff or Business Manager to deal with these issues.. and hopefully the Business Manager has the ICT Knowledge to know what he requires.. or to spot if they are speaking rubbish
And by God do not get into a dispute with your Managed Service Company because they like lots of other companies do.. might withhold service untill they are paid..
yes yes Tony I know there are checks and balances.. but the bottom line is on Grass roots level that most companies play the blame game...
I deal with it every day.. they all try to squirm out of responsibility and blame it on the kids..... and it's lots of companies that do this when it is plainly in their scope of works....
Now I as an ICT Manager stand my ground because I know what is right .. whats a Business Manager going to do ?
"Its the Flux Capacitor on the Server Mr Business Manager"... "It's worn out and its not under warrenty"... "It's gonna cost £500 to replace"...
In Fact I saw RM once replace a 80GB HDD into a server and they charged the school £600
Then me as a feeder school Network Manager saw this and spoke to the Head that this was out of order and excessive.... we confronted RM who dropped the price to £300..
Now if I as a feeder school Network Manager was not there then they would have paid up not knowing that it was wrong..
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
