Dos_Box Posted March 9, 2023 Posted March 9, 2023 You can view the page at https://edugeek.me/article/711
Dos_Box Posted March 10, 2023 Author Posted March 10, 2023 (edited) If you haven't seen this yet, please take part in the survey (it is an official UK govt one!), so the DfE can begin to get an idea of the state of technology in English schools. Your contribution really does help here. Edited March 12, 2023 by Dos_Box
timbo343 Posted March 12, 2023 Posted March 12, 2023 Completed but what is interesting is they are still failing to understand that schools simply don't have the budget to renew systems, infrastructure or tech in the classrooms. It's all well and good putting £4.5K switches into a primary school (and sending out more than 1 to a small school that only needs one!), having 10Gb fibre links between switches, installing expensive fibre and having multiple routes around a school. For most of my answers i was hoping a reason why we struggle to keep up or have a refresh plan is due to no budgets / funds. To me, there is a lot of money being wasted on over-spec'ing hardware for schools and even under-spec'ing in some places. If schools had sufficient budgets in place, like what we had back in 2006 / 2007 and before the 86% cuts came in, non of us would be in the positions we are in now - what i'm finding is there simply isn't any budgets for IT. Instead of providing money to contractors who think they know what schools require, they need to be speaking to those in schools who know what schools need! Then what happens, companies who start selling the equipment start putting up prices and then greed sets in. Take connectivity to the net, some of our schools struggle to get FTTP because there are no cables in the ground! Surely the ISPs and the DfE should be working together to get schools connected and not be waiting for OpenReach (or other companies) until 2024/ 25 to lay cables in the ground - i'm starting to think StarLink technology might be the way forward here! Another online meeting with the DfE would be useful but a meeting with someone who knows what they are on about would be useful, the last one that we had was disappointing. I'm going to stop now as i don't want my day ruined by something that i cannot control. 3
3s-gtech Posted March 12, 2023 Posted March 12, 2023 If you haven't seen this yet, please take part in the survey (it is an official UK govt one!), so the DfE can begin to get an idea of the state of technology in UK schools. Your contribution really does help here. England, not UK.
Dos_Box Posted March 12, 2023 Author Posted March 12, 2023 England, not UK. Thank you, changed now. Hopefully this survey may go some way to poviding funds/resources to bring school networks up to their spec. It would be nice to see an NGfL V2.0 (without the RBC's and all the issues they eventually caused back then) this time come out of the research. We can but hope.
Dos_Box Posted March 13, 2023 Author Posted March 13, 2023 **BUMP** If you haven't taken part in this survey yet then please do, this will help the DfE identify the needs of schools in England.
PrimaryNetMan Posted March 14, 2023 Posted March 14, 2023 Take connectivity to the net, some of our schools struggle to get FTTP because there are no cables in the ground! Surely the ISPs and the DfE should be working together to get schools connected and not be waiting for OpenReach (or other companies) until 2024/ 25 to lay cables in the ground - i'm starting to think StarLink technology might be the way forward here! This should be the first building block the DfE look at. While WiFi 6 and Multi Gig switches a great, when it's all hanging off a wet piece of string FFTC circuit, what is the point? In the same boat as timbo343 with a primary school that was built only 15 years ago having to stump up for eye watering ECCs as a 40/10 connection just isn't fit for purpose.
localzuk Posted March 14, 2023 Posted March 14, 2023 One of the questions is rather odd with this survey. "What is your maintenance / refreshment plan for the existing technologies at your school? Please select an answer for each of the technologies." Then it bundles Broadband and Wifi together. Except, broadband is an operational expense, done yearly/3 yearly, and wifi is a capital expenditure, done every 5-10 years. Really odd thing to bundle together!
PrimaryNetMan Posted March 14, 2023 Posted March 14, 2023 Yes I found that frustrating. It's like even the DfE thinks Wi-Fi is the internet and vice versa.
Dos_Box Posted April 28, 2023 Author Posted April 28, 2023 **BUMP** The survey is still up and running and if you haven't yet filled it out I urge you to do so as this may lead to more funding for IT in schools, but they can't do this unless the DfE get a better idea of the state of IT in your schools, so, if you haven't done so then please fill out this survey as soon as you can.
mavhc Posted May 25, 2023 Posted May 25, 2023 Appears special schools don't get hacked, so they don't want to know from them
TIOAOA Posted May 25, 2023 Posted May 25, 2023 Appears special schools don't get hacked, so they don't want to know from them Yep we aren't on the list of schools either
Dos_Box Posted May 25, 2023 Author Posted May 25, 2023 Appears special schools don't get hacked, so they don't want to know from them I have emailed them asking for clarification about special schools and the survey and will let you know when I get a reply. 1
Dos_Box Posted June 12, 2023 Author Posted June 12, 2023 **BUMP** They have contacted us to let us know the survey will be ending soon (no date given I'm afraid), so if you have not yet completed it yet, then please do so as soon as you can, as it is for your benefit to let the powers-that-be know about your schools IT situation.
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