Primary School ICT Support

[robsonma]

Hi All,

In June 2015 I started working in a Primary School Moving from a ICT Support roll at a Large Wholesale Distribution Company.

June was ok in School the odd ICT Request, projectors, ink in printers ect. But they gave me NO handover at all, I was given no passwords for staff laptops as they all had LocalAdmin accounts.

Anyway First day of New Term was Monday and I have a OSTicket system I got 19 Tickets on the Monday and Tuesday, then I get asked to Import all the students from Sims and upload it to the Photograph people for student photos in October, after advising my boss (The Business Manager) this was more of a Admin Job then a ICT Job she took it off my hands.

Monday I was asked to create labels for every child’s book in the School, oh not not one but one for every child for every subject. Spelling, Maths, Science, 4,300 Labels in all. Which I have just completed today. I have been asked to import all the students to learning sites, sort out New Staff Laptops, Printers then got the news on Wednesday that I had to go around and take the photo of every pupil in the school, 435 of them Take their photo on a ipad and put names to every image. I then got 4 laptops to build from scratch, I have found myself rushing jobs and not doing them correctly. Then today Friday at 9.15 got told I had to do the assembly, create a powerpoint with 4 lots of music and a music video for the end. I have to set up the hall ect wich took all morning to re set everything up after we had all the main hall lights (Theatre type) Checked. Then 30 mins for lunch and in the hall at 2.15p,m to 3.15pm and I finish at 3.30 on a Friday.

Like I said I have found myself rushing jobs to get things done, my OSTickets are Building up and I am simply not getting through them, I have never sat down at the Server since the Wednesday before we broke up in july. I couldn’t tell you if the Backups are running or not!

Its Just turned in to a joke, and today I told my boss I would get hold of a Job description and we will see what jobs I should be doing. Its mainly the head teacher she is a NIGHTMARE!!

For all the IT Support people in Primary Schools, is this right? Is there anything I can do?

I feel like I am dogsbody to the Head Teacher Rather Then ICT Support!

[synaesthesia]

No, that's not right - however being a "jack of all trades" in small and/or primary schools is quite common. You need to sit down with someone up high and discuss this and go through your job description bit by bit - it may also be useful to have a copy of the paperwork you had for taking on the role (things like job adverts).

 

There are certain things you need to do as priority over *any* other jobs, regardless of who they come from and checking the backups is one of them. Duty of care, and don't be afraid of telling the HT that you value data protection and child protection over the demands of *any* member of staff, for example.

 

I would already be looking for another job also; mostly so you can judge your options before going into any further discussions.

 

And of course, this should go without saying - if you're with a union, speak to them immediately. If you're not, join one immediately.

[comrade]

That is pretty much how many primary school support roles are. You will be asked to do almost anything.

 

The important thing is to keep senior people happy, such as your boss, the head, SLT. And make sure you do urgent jobs only at times like this. Remember its the start of the school year so your going to be really busy. You will also have to deal with total w*nkers, but that is also part of the job, just don't take it personal.

 

I personally would not pass on jobs, not at this early stage.

 

You want to get to the situation where your school cannot do without you, or without the hassle of replacing you. When you are at this point, you can say to your boss I can't do this or that as I have higher prioritys, but if your this new they might get the hump and make life more difficult. Its a grey area, you need to do what they ask, but also draw the border of where it stops.

 

The exception is creating power points, that is a no no and who ever told you to do that, even if it was the head, explain to them clearly and briefly that you will not be doing that as you have to check the backup and carry out vital server work. Don't say no to them, make it should like you would like to do it, but are too busy.

 

I would advise you stick it out, do the best you can and perhaps talk to the school later in a few months about getting a part time apprentice (if that can be done).

 

If its still the same by christmas then start looking for something new next year.

 

I don't think I ever had a hand over and have worked in six primary's. Edugeek is always your friend and Google.

 

Think of the positive things, in the mornings write things on a note pad what you are doing that day (plan to anyway), take a tea break every now and then, and also work late a few nights a week. Go out for lunch, take a walk.

 

I guarantee you it will get better by half term. Would you want it dead slow instead?

Edited September 11, 2015 by comrade

[elsiegee40]

Primary schools are strange places to work. They have very low staff numbers, so everyone is a generalist and covering for the weird and wonderful is the norm.

 

I compare it with the medical profession. GPs cannot easily specialise, they have to deal with everything and anything their community throws at them in the name of medicine. Their better staffed equivalents in the secondaries are more like the hospital doctors who would throw their hands up in horror at being asked to do things outside their speciality.

 

As a primary tech, I have covered the office (alone on snow days when I live closest to school), lollipop duty (with training), emergency TA cover, book fairs.... It's not for everyone, but being a central part of the community in a primary can be very rewarding. The kids all know you... and even their parents treat you warmly.

 

Yes, I have the main duty of being the sole NM, Tech, IT junior/general dogsbody, but I see my role as bringing on the other members of staff so that reliance is not placed on me so much for the photography or whatever duties.

 

A long serving teacher at my school tells a tale of arriving at school for interview to be greeted by a lady wearing an apron and covered in flour. The lady apologised that the interview would run late because the cook was off sick and she was cooking the pudding for school lunch; the lady was the headmistress.

Edited September 11, 2015 by elsiegee40

[ZeroNeg]

I started 3 years ago in a small primary and it has been the most rewarding job ever. True you have to be versatile and help with stuff outside your job description. As the others have said prioritise your day. Get in a routine and just explain to staff that some IT jobs are a must to do or the network will not work well. They will understand and you will fit into place. I do loads more than the tech before me but they do appreciate it and you find that out at christmas. My advice is just settle in find your place and let the dust from the start of a new school year settle. And most importantly joy.

[Wubbalubbadub]

A long serving teacher at my school tells a tale of arriving at school for interview to be greeted by a lady wearing an apron and covered in flour. The lady apologised that the interview would run late because the cook was off sick and she was cooking the pudding for school lunch; the lady was the headmistress.

 

This made me smile! Sounds like a great school!

[TechSupp]

Although I sympathise with you, I have been doing tech support in one or more primaries for the last 11 years and I'm afraid what you list are all the typical jobs you will get asked to do (and probably more as well). Working in a primary is an all out job sometimes and just starting out in it will be stressful and very busy. i was the same when I started and spent the first 12-18months getting on top of it all and yes, no hand over or info, same as you, but then things did get easier. Did you by any chance go and talk to anyone in school school tech support before you made the change? Its not a job in primary where you can just sit and tinker with PC's waiting for the next call to be logged (you luck they even log issues).

[jamin100]

I got asked to order 2 skips and a mobile paper shredder.

 

I've also helped the caretaker rod the drains where the toilets run into. Luckily for me he was the one covered in sh1te at the end of it

 

Primary's are strange places

[synaesthesia]

I've even done some strange "out of the ordinary" things as an external support contractor for my primaries. I didn't mind at all, because if I can help, I will. My first comment was based on what you said about the head. In hindsight of course, perhaps it may just be a misunderstanding.

It'll still be worth sitting down with them and asking what they expect and laying out what you are comfortable with.

 

Funnily enough I too have seen one of my primary headteachers and the Bursar handing out food at the canteen. I did ask if it was a typical occurrence due to staff shortages - apparently they like doing it (Can't argue with that, thought it was a lovely idea!)

[witch]

That's the key - if there is time to do the extra stuff, then yes, why not? BUT I work in a primary and I would never do powerpoints for people, nor labels as I barely have enough time to do the job as it is. I don't take children's pics or import into SIMS, Neither would I be expected to.

You seem to have an awful lot on your plate and I think you need to sit down with your boss so that you can explain that the IT issues must be the priority, and to discuss which IT issues need to be done first.

I will turn my hand to any job, but only if there isn't anything IT-wise that needs doing urgently.

[biz]

I will turn my hand to any job, but only if there isn't anything IT-wise that needs doing urgently.

 

My feelings exactly. Will I help unravel a jammed laminating pouch from a hot laminator before the SBM find out? Yes, because I'm not busy, I like fixing things and I like helping people out. I think the last two reasons are why most of us do this job.

[Jamman960]

I work in an independent prep/pre-prep and most of the job is fairly technical however there is a lot of hand holding - with labels for instance I'd refuse to do them but will happily assist staff with the process if they need it, those sort of jobs will take one person forever or individual teachers a few minutes each.

[TechSupp]

Agree, primary is usually a job thats very varied but the lube does have to be drawn somewhere, rodding drains...no...when I'm really busy..not at the moment and anything else within reason, it helps the days and weeks go much quicker. The key word is flexability.

[robsonma]

I would like to thank you all for your comments, some quite Different Answers. I have thought about things over the week end and as some of you suggested I am looking for another job but will stay until I do have one. I will try and get hold of a job description and get a meeting with the Head and my boss, and in the mean time I will be passing some of the jobs back like taking the photo of every pupil in the school. Like some-one said it might take me a full morning to do where if the Class Teacher or TA did it it could take 30 mins to to the whole class, which i am happy to help with! Fingers crossed things get sorted or a new Job Comes up.

Once again Thanks for all your help.

[TomHD]

My feelings exactly. Will I help unravel a jammed laminating pouch from a hot laminator before the SBM find out? Yes, because I'm not busy, I like fixing things and I like helping people out. I think the last two reasons are why most of us do this job.

100% Agreed

[dry]

I agree with alot of what's been said on this thread. I don't mind lending a hand when I'm not busy, as normally it's quite an interesting job and you do get rewarded- e.g. asked by the caretaker to remove old cables from the school roof. Got me out of the office for a few minutes, and was rewarded with panoramic views of the local town. Kids now think I'm superman as I magically appeared on the roof at breaktime and chucked their lost footballs down to them.

[GuyJD]

I wouldn't say jack it in and start looking for another job just yet, give it a go, the beginning of the school year is really busy and you will be asked to do jobs you wouldn't normally do, you just need to prioritise and politely say no, for instance the labels and photo's you mentioned, I would have immediately said that that is more of a TA job and politely declined, but that's not saying I wouldn't have done them had I had the time. In my short time here I've built desks, helped with classroom displays and even rescued a stranded cat from our roof! Primary schools are all about doing what you can to help out but don't let it take you away from the important stuff you're actually there to do.

Working as the sole ICT Techie in a primary can be very stressful at times but also immensely rewarding, for instance at this years first day back staff meeting I was introduced by the Head teacher to new staff as the person that the school could not function without, when you are being held in that high regard by the boss then you must be doing something right.

[Joanne]

Yeah I get asked to do weird things in my school. If I was busy though, I would say no to stuff like powerpoint / assembly stuff. I've just been asked to make labels for website logins, which I don't mind, but definitely not for books. If they want labels for books they can do them themselves!!

[mthomas08]

@OP

 

This is one of the reasons why "IT" doesn't always work. Instead of doing the job you applied for, got the job for, you are instead doing "Admin" work.

 

Unfortunately this is the attitude in some Schools that if ADMIN have not got the time shove it on the desk of IT Support. Why? because no one else knows how to do it. Pulling data out of SIMs technically is the Data Manager's job. An IT technician asking for a report is no different to asking a report for Students with grades, classes, diet or medication. Unless the whole School has been given training to pull off reports, in that case anyone with training can do it.

 

I won't go in to detail but I will say this, there was a time when I was being asked to do a lot of "NON" IT Support jobs. It came to the point I considered looking else where because it's not the job I chose my career path to go. It certainly is not the job I applied for and that section "deemed relevant by the boss" in the job description is within "reason" not "You are dogs body".

 

There is a big difference to being asked to do something nicely when you are not busy but doing endless amount of admin work when you are working flat out? No. Not unless the School employs another technician to do the job.

 

Why does it happen? Because Teachers in general do not have a clue how much work you have on and how long it takes to do it. They come back after having 6 weeks off, smiling, happy and feeling refreshed. And before anyone says otherwise I have had many Staff talk to me about what they did for those 6 weeks and it wasn't work.

 

Our start of term was insane plus a man down. Luckily enough our Head wasn't pleased about the "Non IT" request and this is always the difference between Schools. If you have a boss that isn't like that, sorry I don't want to work for them. If you have a Head who want's you doing your job, that's the person to work for.

 

If the Head decided to add another 20 class rooms to the School with a PC, Projector and even an IWB in every one I will gladly support it. If the Head decides to add 30 Student PCs as well to those class rooms, I will gladly support it. I will do all the planning, budgeting, arrange cable installation, work with the caretakers, suppliers and even the Teacher to make sure it was arranged properly. Why? that's my job, the career I chose. After all us doing non IT Support jobs isn't just about "going the extra mile" you are doing a job you didn't apply for, not what you chose your career path and if you are not careful that could become your job.

 

At the end of the day, I always say - if things are that bad you should consider walking away. Some may say that doesn't fix the problem, to me your happiness is a priority and being treated essentially like a door mat is not something you or anyone should tolerate. I don't expect the garbage man to clean my bins after he has emptied them, perhaps he can empty the bins inside my house while he is at it?...

 

I don't mind going the extra mile for my job, I've cleaned desks before I put a PC on them, I've vacuumed floors, moved tables all to be able to do my own job.

 

Sometimes you have to check with the Head and see what their stance is. If their view is the same as yours, a simple No I am really sorry but I have so much work on my priority is IT Support.

[Oaktech]

Hi All,

In June 2015 I started working in a Primary School Moving from a ICT Support roll at a Large Wholesale Distribution Company.

June was ok in School the odd ICT Request, projectors, ink in printers ect. But they gave me NO handover at all, I was given no passwords for staff laptops as they all had LocalAdmin accounts.

Anyway First day of New Term was Monday and I have a OSTicket system I got 19 Tickets on the Monday and Tuesday, then I get asked to Import all the students from Sims and upload it to the Photograph people for student photos in October, after advising my boss (The Business Manager) this was more of a Admin Job then a ICT Job she took it off my hands.

Monday I was asked to create labels for every child’s book in the School, oh not not one but one for every child for every subject. Spelling, Maths, Science, 4,300 Labels in all. Which I have just completed today. I have been asked to import all the students to learning sites, sort out New Staff Laptops, Printers then got the news on Wednesday that I had to go around and take the photo of every pupil in the school, 435 of them Take their photo on a ipad and put names to every image. I then got 4 laptops to build from scratch, I have found myself rushing jobs and not doing them correctly. Then today Friday at 9.15 got told I had to do the assembly, create a powerpoint with 4 lots of music and a music video for the end. I have to set up the hall ect wich took all morning to re set everything up after we had all the main hall lights (Theatre type) Checked. Then 30 mins for lunch and in the hall at 2.15p,m to 3.15pm and I finish at 3.30 on a Friday.

Like I said I have found myself rushing jobs to get things done, my OSTickets are Building up and I am simply not getting through them, I have never sat down at the Server since the Wednesday before we broke up in july. I couldn’t tell you if the Backups are running or not!

Its Just turned in to a joke, and today I told my boss I would get hold of a Job description and we will see what jobs I should be doing. Its mainly the head teacher she is a NIGHTMARE!!

For all the IT Support people in Primary Schools, is this right? Is there anything I can do?

I feel like I am dogsbody to the Head Teacher Rather Then ICT Support!

 

My middle school tried this with me when I started. I spent the first term basically saying 'this is not what you hired me for'. They got it eventually, and when I started to make a real difference to the user experience they backed off and let me get on with what they actually hired me to do.

 

I wasn't having arguments as such every day, but I was very much having to be very firm about what I would and wouldn't do. It appears that my predecessor spent way too much time making labels and taking pictures and not nearly enough time making sure the system worked as I arrived to a broken DC and an incomplete DNS system and multiply nested GPOs that needed WMI queries to work because the AD structure was so bodged.

 

You'll get there, but you need to be borderline rude to establish boundaries.

Edited September 14, 2015 by Oaktech

[Duranis]

Yep sounds like my job. My job description is "ICT Technician", my actual role is Admin, IT tech, Network manager, ICT coordinator, occasional TA, TA/teacher assistant, AV engineer, Stock taker/ordering, IT trainer, general dogsbody and probably a few more.

 

I actually don't mind it too much, I like getting involved and helping people. I do always prioritise the workload and the core jobs always come first but I'm happy to help Y5 edit some videos or helping the site manager shift some stuff about. I am lucky that I have good staff here though and they understand that a lot of what they ask for is outside of my role and I don't always have time to do it.

 

Yes this does mean that the workload is almost always super high and I don't always get as much time to work on things as I want (i.e. a lot of rainy day projects like converting our old laptops into digital displays take a log time to get going). However it is nice to be a valued member of the school and pretty much the "go to guy" for anything nobody else can solve.

 

I would say though that if you are not getting time to get the core work done then you need to get your line manager on board and explain to them the problems you are facing. Just saying "this is not in my job description" while technically correctly has never sat well with me (though of course there are exceptions) but saying "if I do all of this I don't have time to do the work in my job description" is perfectly valid and any halfway reasonably manager should be understanding and supportive.

[DGardiner]

That's the key - if there is time to do the extra stuff, then yes, why not? BUT I work in a primary and I would never do powerpoints for people, nor labels as I barely have enough time to do the job as it is. I don't take children's pics or import into SIMS, Neither would I be expected to.

You seem to have an awful lot on your plate and I think you need to sit down with your boss so that you can explain that the IT issues must be the priority, and to discuss which IT issues need to be done first.

I will turn my hand to any job, but only if there isn't anything IT-wise that needs doing urgently.

 

this is the key, if theres time... why not, but i won't do someone else's work like powerpoint for assemblies, or sit in the hall and press next next next on a powerpoint because they can't be bothered to pickup the clicker.

 

As for taking photos of every child... - nope, the teachers have cameras get to it... my job is to maintain the it systems and keep them running

 

you just have to find the happy medium of getting the it stuff done and keeping yourself busy without being used and abused because someone else can't be bothered to do what they are being paid to - don't get me wrong if you don't know how to do something ill show you how but I'm not doing it for you... teach a man to fish and all that

 

i too have also done the assisting the site manager with clearing the drains they just need to understand xyz is your job anything else is optional extras and at will and not an expectation. though the varied tasks can be nice to break up the monotony and give you some chill time

Edited September 15, 2015 by DGardiner

[Patrick]

Don't be a door mat. That is key.

[GrumbleDook]

Becta did a special intro purely for primary schools when it comes to IT Support. The official version was all about communication, shared knowledge and resources, ensuring staff could grow to be self-sufficient and so on ...

 

The unofficial version was that you have 2 roles.

 

1 - Ensure the key stuff gets done that will save the school in the event of nasty things happening. This is your backups and DR, working accounts and devices, protecting the learners from the nasty stuff on tinter web.

2 - A whole heap of stuff that might be vaguely related to your job but realistically takes some of the burden off classroom teachers who have no-one else to support them in that area.

 

If number 1 is not getting done then it is not about getting out the JD and banging on the Head's table ... it is about pointing out the jobs that need to be done as the school will be in a world of hurt if they are not. Go in with estimates about how long it will take to do them so that you can block time out, and make sure staff know that you are blocked out for those time periods ... unless there s a major disaster. Tell them what a disaster looks like and get the Head's agreement to be able to politely tell people to go away if it doesn't fit that criteria.

 

It will be painful to start with ... but stick with it ... Primary schools are some of the most exciting and appreciative places to work.