Benchmarking IT Support Staff Levels

[jimmckenna]

Hi, I am aware that this issue has been voiced several times before, but require some help. My location is in "perilous" financial state of play. Basically severe deficit budget. It looks like cuts will happen accross all departments. My aim is to keep my technicians in a job!! Like other departments we are being benchmarked against other schools in the near vicinity to compare staffing levels. However, I am advised that it's simply based on the number of Pupils (no other form of benchmarking) at one school against the number of pupils at my location. I am of course trying to defend both my own role and that of my technicians. At this stage all I am looking for is a quick "snapshot" of information requested below. My answers are also listed and if you could offer me in a similar manner that would be easy to compare. If not applicable just answer N/A . Of course, if any colleagues have been in this situation before and had to defend their IT Support staffing levels your advice would be most helpful too. Here we go:

 

Location: Staffordshire

Number of Pupils on Roll: 1300+

Do you offer Support to Schools in Pyramid: Yes we support 10 other schools (3 middle)+(7 First) with regular scheduled visits and ad-hoc requests (SLA in place)

What Support to you buy in?: We use LEA for MIS (SIMS) but no other support

Scale of Network: 1500 users, 550+ PC's, 27 Servers (various functions), Managed WiFi network with 400+ BYOD devices, IP Telephone, CCTV

No of IT Support Staff: 1 x Network Manager, 1 x Snr Technician, 1 x Technician, 1xVLE Technician

 

Appreciate any response or comment. As I say at this stage just a quick snapshot of your location with similar information to above and I can then gauge my responses to the Senior Team.

 

Many Thanks!!

[FN-GM]

Location: Rochdale

Number of Pupils on Roll: 1200

Do you offer Support to Schools in Pyramid: None

What Support to you buy in?: SIMS Only

Scale of Network: 1500 users, 900+ PC's, 27 Servers (various functions), Managed WiFi network with BYOD devices, IP Telephone, CCTV

No of IT Support Staff: 1 x Network Manager, 2 x full time technicians 1 x part time

[Linfit]

Location: Rochdale

Number of Pupils on Roll: 1000

Do you offer support to schools in pyramid: Not currently

What support do you buy in?: SIMS only

Scale of Network: 1150 users, 750 end user devices, 30+servers, physical and virtual, Managed Wifi, IP telephony, CCTV, Building Management, Remote Access VDI's, everything with a plug...

No of IT Support Staff: 1 IT Manager (only part time hands on IT and mainly SIMS and realted stuff) 1 Network Manager, 1 Full time tech, 1 part time (50%) tech.

[hardtailstar]

Location: Kent

Number of Pupils on Roll: School 1 has 360, School two has 270, school three has 150

Do you offer Support to Schools in Pyramid: No but I do work in three schools

What Support to you buy in?: All three schools has LEA for Sims, One has curriculum support too and the other two don't. One school has a tech from local secondary once a month

Scale of Network: School 1 has 435+ devices, School two has about 200 devices, School three has about 100 devices

No of IT Support Staff: Just me employed by all three schools

[Miscbrah]

Location: South Coast

Number of Pupils on Roll: 1200

Do you offer Support to Schools in Pyramid: Yes, 4x primaries.

What Support to you buy in?: SIMS only.

Scale of Network: 1500 ish pupils, 150 ish staff. 700 ish PCs, 20 odd servers and infrastructure to run it all.

No of IT Support Staff: 1 x NM, 3 x full time technicians 1 x "primaries technician."

[themightymrp]

Location: Leeds

Number of Pupils on Roll: 1100

Do you offer Support to Schools in Pyramid: Nope

What Support to you buy in?: CMIS Only - and then only rarely

Scale of Network: 1250 users, 800+ PC's and laptops, 14 Servers (mixed physical and virtual), Managed WiFi network (Unifi) with BYOD devices, 40+ printers, CCTV, Frog VLE, anything audio/visual wise

No of IT Support Staff: 1 x Network Manager, 1 x full time technician (me)

[rob998]

Location: North East

Number of Pupils on Roll: 400 (small school but primaries make up for it)

Do you offer Support to Schools in Pyramid: Yes, 5x primaries with weekly visits to each

What Support to you buy in?: SIMS only.

Scale of Network: 500 users, 400+ devices, 13 Servers (various functions), Managed WiFi network with BYOD devices, IP Telephone, CCTV, Cashless Catering

No of IT Support Staff: 1 x NM, 1 x IT Apprentice

[Hokalus]

Location: Yorkshire

Number of Pupils on Roll: ~850

Do you offer Support to Schools in Pyramid: Yes, 4x primaries supported on a when needed basis

What Support to you buy in?: SIMS, Telephone

Scale of Network: ~980 users, ~500 computers & laptops, 12 servers, WiFi, things with a plug

No of IT Support Staff: 1 x NM, 1.5x Technicians (we share one with Technical Theatre)

[localzuk]

Location: Somerset

Number of Pupils on Roll: 550

Do you offer Support to Schools in Pyramid: No

What Support to you buy in?: LEA for SIMS

Scale of Network: 650 users, 300+ PC's, 5 physical/24 virtual servers, Managed WiFi network, IP Telephone, 50 tablets, 10+ printers, 34 projectors/IWBs, VLE, Cashless catering system, ID card production, multiple digital displays, stage lighting/sound etc...

No of IT Support Staff: 1 x Network Manager, 1 x Technician

[hallb15]

Location: Leeds

Number of Pupils on Roll: 726

Do you offer Support to Schools in Pyramid: Nope

What Support to you buy in?: SIMS only

Scale of Network: 800 users, 200 PC's and laptops, 4 Servers, Managed WiFi network (Netgear) with BYOD devices, 4 MFD printers, anything audio/visual wise

No of IT Support Staff: 1 x ICT Manager

[DrPerceptron]

Location: Devon

Pupils: 1650

Do you offer Support to Schools in Pyramid: Yes

What Support to you buy in?: LEA for SIMS

Scale of (main) Network: 2100 users, 700+ devices, 13 copiers, 34 Servers (mixed), "WiFi" - Non BYOD, VoIP, Projector in all teaching rooms, VLE, Public Web for students, On-Premise Exchange 2010

No of IT Support Staff: 1 x Network Manager, 2 x Technician, 1 x Apprentice, 1 x Primary School Tech (only supports the primaries)

[TheCrust]

Location: Derbyshire

Number of Pupils on Roll: 1300+

Do you offer Support to Schools in Pyramid: Yes we support our local partner primaries and several SEN schools. We also provide a managed network service to the school next door (to SLA)

What Support to you buy in?: We use LEA for MIS (SIMS) and have an ESC UK agreement for get-us-out-the-poo support with Microsoft (rarely needed, but a god-send when we do)

Scale of Network: 2000 users inc external students and school next door but excluding parental accounts for SLG, 1200+ PC's (1100 or so ours split 60/40 desktops and laptops), 20+ Servers (various functions inc. VMWare and Exchange cluster on-site, self-hosted SLG), Managed print solution, Cisco WiFi network for laptops and BYOD devices, IP Telephone, CCTV.

No of IT Support Staff: 1 x Network Manager, 1 x Snr Technician, 1 x Technician, 1x Feeder School Technician

Edited September 22, 2014 by TheCrust

[jimmckenna]

Hi,

Thanks for all your replies!! Much appreciated, based on info received it should offer me some help in that I am not too much out of "sync" with schools that have replied. Still looking for a few more particularly any other schools in my location Staffordshire. If you do not want to offer information displayed here please send me a PM. Once again, many thanks for the replies so far!!

Edited September 23, 2014 by jimmckenna