IT-Op78 Posted July 10, 2011 Posted July 10, 2011 Hi, I would really appreciate some advice.. I work for 4 primaries.. as an ICT Operations Manager 27k .. now one of the schools wants me to work for them full time.. same hours/salary.. the head has been going on about this for a few years ..but i have always declined.. (prefer the variety and security..and that i'm not a big financial burden on a single school) the problem is that working for multiple schools.. the work is very similar and i feel i'm not progressing much. There would be plenty of work to fill my time If I went for the single school option (radio station, podcasts, mutimedia .. etc) the worry is financial security.. the school is only a single form entry with a childrens centre..I dont know of any primary schools with a techie on a similar salary...the ones I have seen are for 2 form entry+ i dont know what to do..I want to take the job..but just this worry..the Head says theres nothing to worry about..
elsiegee40 Posted July 10, 2011 Posted July 10, 2011 I've worked in a single for entry state primary school and now work in a single form entry independent. Personally, I doubt there'll be enough IT work alone to keep you going full-time. You would have to do something else as well to fill the time. I did/do both schools part-time and was/am the School Librarian in those part-time hours. I would get the Head to explain in writing what your duties would be full-time. From the school's point of view having you there whenever something 'goes wrong' sounds wonderful, but I suspect the extra time would be changing printer toners and digging teachers out of holes... not developing your career. Find out what the Head wants to achieve by having you there more often. A compromise may be to increase your hours at this achool and drop one of the other 3.
IT-Op78 Posted July 10, 2011 Author Posted July 10, 2011 Thanks Well I am already doing 2.5 days here.. I dont want to cut a single school out.. I think it's all or nothing now (used to work for 11 schools) the head would want me to get more involved with the curriculum side of things.. like working with the children everyday in our radio station, creating podcasts, we have just bought ipads, imacs, a green screen .. the teachers dont have the time .. so she is looking at me to support them in this...I also maintain the website.. there will definetly be work for me..
witch Posted July 10, 2011 Posted July 10, 2011 If you are absolutely sure that there is the work then I would go for it. tjay works full-time in a local first school - it is a bit bigger than you mention but she is certainly busy - she does a great deal of DVD editing and filming etc - they have a green screen etc. However, it all depends on what you want to do in the future, because I am not sure how useful that sort of expertise is going to be when looking for an NM's job in a few years? That salary is amazing though- as the only tech in the school, responsible for everything, I get paid a lot less than that! What sort of responsibilities do you have? Mortgage, dependents, what? That would have some bearing on your future.
IT-Op78 Posted July 10, 2011 Author Posted July 10, 2011 thanks witch.. yes the salary is high..which is the scary bit really..feel like a sitting duck. I think if I dont take it..then the school might get someone else in for the days im not there .. or let me go and get someone else ful time. I have a really good relationship with the head though.. and wouldnt consider this move for the other schools. I have been doing the job for 10 years now.. starting with 11 primaries.. tbh I dont enjoy it as much.. and I do not want to pursue a technical career.. I enjoy the multimedia side a bit more.. Adobe After Effects / imovie etc.. I think move will alow me to develop those additional skills.. i do have big commitments.. 100k mortgage.. 3 kids.. and strife.. i mean wife!
witch Posted July 10, 2011 Posted July 10, 2011 thanks witch.. yes the salary is high..which is the scary bit really..feel like a sitting duck. I think if I dont take it..then the school might get someone else in for the days im not there .. or let me go and get someone else ful time. I have a really good relationship with the head though.. and wouldnt consider this move for the other schools. I have been doing the job for 10 years now.. starting with 11 primaries.. tbh I dont enjoy it as much.. and I do not want to pursue a technical career.. I enjoy the multimedia side a bit more.. Adobe After Effects / imovie etc.. I think move will alow me to develop those additional skills.. i do have big commitments.. 100k mortgage.. 3 kids.. and strife.. i mean wife! If I were you I would have a long and serious chat with the head (he isnt near retirement, is he?) and really get a handle on what he wants and where he is going..and then take it!! tjay reckons that they make loads of money selling dvds of anything and everything so from a budget perspective it is really valuable to the school to have a multi-media presence.(they don't allow photography at the events so the parents are keen to buy!) If the technical bit is not you anymore, then go for it! Life is too short AFAIC. Enjoying your job is really important. Good Luck
featured_spectre Posted July 10, 2011 Posted July 10, 2011 I personally would take the job but on the proviso that the headteacher signs you on for a minimum of 2 years (I say this so you have definite stability until the pay freeze is over) and gives you a full and structures layout of the work that you will be undertaking. This job seems like a gold mine to some of us, as some of us are Network Managers and are on a lot less (Infact after you pro rata my wage etc I am on 15k less a year!)
SYNACK Posted July 10, 2011 Posted July 10, 2011 Given the way things are going the more curriculum focused job at a single school will probably be better for you long term as long as you get assurances of stability like the others above have meantioned. Besides in a school environment ICT specialist consultant is way more lucritive and marketable in the long run. Dropping to a single school may actually make it easier too as there will be just the one set of problems/solutions to keep in mind.
Jiser Posted July 10, 2011 Posted July 10, 2011 (edited) Moving to one school seems like a bit of a risk. Surely you could increase your hours with the school and perhaps drop another ? In terms of career development variety is the spice of life. Contradicting what alot of people have said above I think having more schools would be better. (Maybe not on the stress levels - but that depends on how you handle stress) I would also question if there would be enough to do long term at one site? You may eventually be drawn to browsing the internet or not doing anything particuarly constructive....You say your interested in multimedia? But unless your an expert what actual skills are you getting in delving into 'multimedia' stuff for your career? As lets face it, senior management just want a working computer network. Edited July 10, 2011 by Jiser
IT-Op78 Posted July 10, 2011 Author Posted July 10, 2011 thanks! I have had a serious chat with the head and voiced my concerns.. i have been assured that i have nothing to fear.. i think she wants me to become ict-co ordinator in the futue... not sue how i feel about that! i actually accepted the position last week..and will be putting in my resignation this week to the other schools.. just last minute jitters i guess.. I dont have any formal IT qualifications.. i did complete the ccna academy program.. but never bothered with the exam..
Jiser Posted July 10, 2011 Posted July 10, 2011 thanks! I have had a serious chat with the head and voiced my concerns.. i have been assured that i have nothing to fear.. i think she wants me to become ict-co ordinator in the futue... not sue how i feel about that! i actually accepted the position last week..and will be putting in my resignation this week to the other schools.. just last minute jitters i guess.. I dont have any formal IT qualifications.. i did complete the ccna academy program.. but never bothered with the exam.. Good luck then. Maybe you should get some certs under your belt to back up your experiance.. Perhaps the new school would pay for it? Some MCPs or higher educaitions
featured_spectre Posted July 10, 2011 Posted July 10, 2011 get the school to put you through a crash course on CCNA do you can get your final Cert. Having the semesters mean nothing without that last bit of paper. Also becoming ICT Co-Ordinator is a good thing as you would be the man who has the final say (well excluding the HT/Govs) on all ICT in the school, that is a good thing
IT-Op78 Posted July 10, 2011 Author Posted July 10, 2011 Moving to one school seems like a bit of a risk. Surely you could increase your hours with the school and perhaps drop another ? In terms of career development variety is the spice of life. Contradicting what alot of people have said above I think having more schools would be better. (Maybe not on the stress levels - but that depends on how you handle stress) I would also question if there would be enough to do long term at one site? You may eventually be drawn to browsing the internet or not doing anything particuarly constructive....You say your interested in multimedia? But unless your an expert what actual skills are you getting in delving into 'multimedia' stuff for your career? As lets face it schools at the end of the day senior management just want a working computer network. i'm already working 2 and half days at the school.. and i have a backlog of work.. i find myself browsing the web at the other schools! it's really strange..they see me as just a technical person.. whereas at the other school i'm involved in a lot more.. i disagree about having more schools.. you basically firefight..and cant move the school on with new tech.. the head will realise this sooner or later (it has happend to me) and will appoint someone else for more hours..not because they are unhappy.. they want someone who will move ict forward (without paying extra)
IT-Op78 Posted July 10, 2011 Author Posted July 10, 2011 doing the ccna academy put me off networking lol! the head said she will send me on courses etc..so thats good.. the only thing i'm not looking forward to is doing staff training
featured_spectre Posted July 10, 2011 Posted July 10, 2011 believe me, get the certificate, it will help in the long run (Mind you I hated the final exam)
elsiegee40 Posted July 10, 2011 Posted July 10, 2011 (edited) You are interested in more than the technical side and that's good if you want to go full time with this school. As witch says, do be sure the Head isn't close to retirement as you could find a change of leadership scuppers something that should be good for you. As for ICT Co-ordinator... that worrries me. I'm expecting to be shouted down, but in my view that role is a teaching position. You are responsible for ICT curriculum and planning and will be directing teachers in what they teach... It was suggested that I do this, but I refused on two grounds. Firstly, I am not, and have no desire to become, a teacher (they did offer GTP). Secondly, teachers tend to respond to leadership from other teachers, particularly when it comes to what and how they teach. I am also school librarian; while I organise book week, I ensure the academic side is led by the English Co-ordinator. My attempts to get the teachers onside in the couple of years our English Co-ordinator was absent in the run-up were fraught with difficulties to put it mildly. The same activities presented by a fellow teacher were much more readily taken on board. Don't get me wrong, I present to the children regularly in Library and IT roles, particularly for e-safety. I get good feedback from both staff and children alike, but the lesson planning, curriculum planning, observation parts of the co-ordinator's role need training to do it properly. Edited July 10, 2011 by elsiegee40
IT-Op78 Posted July 10, 2011 Author Posted July 10, 2011 @elsiegee40 yes i agree... i have no desire to be an ict-coord or a teacher! and i think i'll cross that bridge when the time comes. we have a new ict-cord for Sep so thats good news.. the head is not near retirement.. but she wont stay at this school forever.. and i voiced these concerns.. cant go into too much details.. but she did reassure me..
witch Posted July 10, 2011 Posted July 10, 2011 It depends on the school - if the school is small the head may want him to teach all the ICT and then being the IT-coord isnt such a big deal. A friend of mine locally is ICT coord in a local 2 form entry First school (reception to Yr 4). She teaches all the IT and is also the tech responsible for the network. Because she has no-one to tell what to do it works very well, and the only thing she does with other teachers is liaise over how to integrate IT into the rest of the curriculum.
elsiegee40 Posted July 10, 2011 Posted July 10, 2011 It depends on the school - if the school is small the head may want him to teach all the ICT and then being the IT-coord isnt such a big deal. A friend of mine locally is ICT coord in a local 2 form entry First school (reception to Yr 4). She teaches all the IT and is also the tech responsible for the network. Because she has no-one to tell what to do it works very well, and the only thing she does with other teachers is liaise over how to integrate IT into the rest of the curriculum. The thing is that many schools are moving away from dedicated IT teaching these days. In these schools, they'd no more have an IT teacher in the primary school than they'd have a teacher just to teach handwriting. ICT is becoming a tool used in all aspects of school life, so the co-ordinator who is responsible for what is taught and how it is taught requires more general knowledge of the curriculum and that would require a teacher to be undertaking the role. TBH I think the ICT Co-ordinator's role will go too in these schools... there isn't a handwriting co-ordinator, the handwriting scheme will generally come under literacy.
IT-Op78 Posted July 10, 2011 Author Posted July 10, 2011 i'm not confident enough to teach a class of 30 .. i do work with small groups though.. e.g lunchtime club to create games in 2DIY, stop motion animation, garaband podcasts etc.. and then with school council after school to improve the school council part of the website.. so we setup a blog and created some videos to show what school council is about etc.. taking a whole ict lesson is a diff matter...stress levels would be though the roof!
witch Posted July 10, 2011 Posted July 10, 2011 Well in the first school my friend teaches the basics to make sure that they are all at the same level. She teaches them how to lay out things and run basic programs. There isnt an IT teacher at the junior school I work in, but sometimes I think there should be as the teachers dont really know what IT can and cant do. They just use it to write word docs and browse the internet. It may be that because many schools dont have IT coords, this school may be thinking more of an IT manager who coordinates the use and development of IT which might be just up your street!
IT-Op78 Posted July 10, 2011 Author Posted July 10, 2011 yes i think thats eventually what could end up happening.. one of the teachers was also saying something about developing our own ict resources.. so i guess there will be plenty for me to do.. got to hand in my 1st resignation tomorrow morning
featured_spectre Posted July 10, 2011 Posted July 10, 2011 where are you based if you dont mind my asking? As for ICT Co-Ordinator - it is a great role for you to step up into, and if you ever wanted to step into the corporate world, its close to a CIO position
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