What Developments are you considering in your role?

[donkeymusic]

Hello,

 

I am currently applying for a Network Manager role and looking at future developments, I have a few ideas but wondered what other schools have scheduled for the next 12 months, if you were willing to share your ideas, it may be helpful to me and others in creating development plans.

 

Thank you for any assistance.

 

Thank you

[Jcx500]

Before I left education , we had a cloud first approach with any new projects.

[sippo]

Depends on what the setup is. One School, many schools?

 

We have developed everything to one network through an mpls, and are definitely Cloud First. Moving towards Azure files in the not too distant future. Other projects include Phone system trust wide, an MFP solution trust wide and Win 11 rollout.

[donkeymusic]

We are a single site, think we are already doing most things with regards to moving services to the cloud, just wondered if there is anything else I may be missing, that's innovative that I could mention, I think a trip to BETT will be required this time round.

[TechMonkey]

What is the school asking for? Where do they want to be in 5 years time? No point innovating if the school isn't ready or willing.

 

Get your foundations solid and up to date (switches, fibers, Wi-Fi, Servers), get your cloud platform squared away (M365/Google), get your security nailed down, get your processes in line (onboarding, offboarding, device building, etc).

 

Then you know you are in position to offer just about anything anyone asks for so you can get in on meetings and ask the question, go see department heads and ask what they need and what they want. Tell them to go blue sky, you may not be able to get there but you may be able to get part way. Don't forget the office and admin areas, they will use IT the most but may have the least understanding of what is possible. I bet there are at least 5 processes they do that you could automate to free them up to do other things.

 

Innovating for innovations sake is pointless. Make sure you are doing the basics well and then find problems that need a solution or questions that need an answer.

[jmak]

Look at the school development plan (should be a public document). Anything you propose should support the teaching and learning objectives of the school.

Find out as much as you can about the school's existing IT setup - you can often glean a lot from their website - what learning platforms do they use, what state is the website in and who produces it, are they a Google or O365 school (unusual to find a school that doesn't have either nowadays), is there an IT support area on the website for parents or staff - making better use of stuff they already have is often achievable and potentially lower cost and disruption than a complete reinvention.

It's often worth a chat with the recruiting manager - it shows you're serious and you can clean information about what they're looking for in a person as well as technically which will help you do better in the interview.

Also - don't insult what they've already got - the person you're hoping to replace might be a well loved and trusted member of staff.

[Roberto]

We are a single site, think we are already doing most things with regards to moving services to the cloud, just wondered if there is anything else I may be missing, that's innovative that I could mention, I think a trip to BETT will be required this time round.

 

It’s not enough to be Innovative, you have to tie in to the strategic goals of the school. What does the school want? What is the demographic aspect of your catchment area looking like (as this will affect future planning - if no one knows then congratulations you’ve just found and innovative use for data to predict future enrolment). What direction has it been following for developing Teaching and Learning and what innovations will improve that?

[donkeymusic]

Thanks for all the replies,

 

I guess saying innovative was the wrong word to use.

 

We do have a lot of the suggestions already in place in line with our school development plan, so its thought o offer some new which is why I was asking for what others were doing.

 

Thanks

[Noxid_w]

We're finding a good goal to aim for whilst planning for the next 3 years is aiming to reach the "standard" that the DFE recommened. A bit of chuckle to read but gives us ideas on how to develop our network.

 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/meeting-digital-and-technology-standards-in-schools-and-colleges