FITS

Primary FITS case studies can be found at http://schools.becta.org.uk/index.php?section=re&catcode=ss_res_tec_pfits_cas_04

Andie, Last year we ran a Primary FITS pilot with 35 schools in 5 local authorities. From the pilot we put 2 school and 2 local authority (LA) service provider case studies in the Primary FITS area of the Becta website - if you would like to have a look. Other LA's have also begun to roll out Primary FITS so may be able to provide feedback. If you would like to email me at [email protected] I can provide you with some contacts.

Ric and Mark, thanks for your comments. I certainly appreciate the tight training budget for technical staff in schools which needs addressing if schools are going to manage and maintain the increasing complex and critical ICT infrastructure. Where budgets are limited the training needs will need to be prioritised. FITS is now recognised by the DfES, Ofsted, Becta, LEAs and schools as the standard for schools to meet for their ICT management and technical support, which should raise it's priority. Becta plan to continue the development of FITS and the wider availability of the expert workshops for schools so it should hopefully become accessible to more schools in the near future. Paul

Alex and Mark, the training materials are only available to those attending the FITS expert workshops. The two main reasons for this is that the workshop offers the delegates advice specific for their environment from the expert trainers and it also encourages the sharing of ideas and experiences. The costs of the workshop is only a fraction of other training available for technical staff priced between £100-£200 for the day depending on which training partner you choose. This even includes a free lunch! If a group of schools were to get together I'm sure that you would be able to negotiate an even better rate. The workshop is intended to be delivered to groups of 6 - 15 delegates so 13 would be easily enough. If you are thinking of getting a group of technical staff from schools together I'm happy to ask the training partners to get in touch with you to let you know what they can offer. Just drop me an email with your contact details [email protected] Paul

Rob, In the toolkit of Service Desk you will find a spreadsheet with the fields for logging incidents and problems. You may like to take these fields and use them, with other you feel appropriate, in your database? Paul

Rob, I often get asked by Network Managers if there is a free database available for logging incidents and problems. If your one aligns with the FITS processes I would be happy to let others know who they can contact. It would save a lot of people time reinventing the wheel! Paul

Mark, the ethos of FITS is to start simple and make small improvements. Might I suggest that instead of getting bogged down in testing, selecting and installing a sophisticated helpdesk tool you may like to download the Excel spreadsheet for logging incidents and their resolutions from the FITS website. A number of schools have used this call log spreadsheet as a starter for getting their reactive technical support under control as it is key that user reported incidents and requests are logged to ensure that they don't get forgotten or lost. Also, the resolutions are logged to build up a knowledge base of information and allow you to look for underlying trends. The call log spreadsheet can be found at: http://www.becta.org.uk/fits and click on the Service Desk icon (telephone). Then go into the toolkit and click on Service Desk tools. Cheers Paul Stonier

Thanks for all your feedback on FITS it has been a fascinating and informative read. In response to the comments about FITS having to be part of the ICT mark to encourage schools to adopt it. I have been reliably informed by the people in Becta developing the ICT mark that FITS will be part of it. Cheers Paul Stonier

Some of the training partners are willing to supply a trainer at a venue organised by an LEA or group of schools. I'm sure if there was enough interest in your area/region, say 15 network managers/technicians, they would be happy to come to the north of Scotland. If you think this could be a possibility please conact me and I could help get the ball rolling. Thanks Paul [email protected] 0779 5351060

Becta have developed FITS to help school implement best practice ICT management and technical support. FITS has been developed specifically for schools and adapted from ITIL the world's defacto industry standard. FITS is a toolkit of advice checklists and downloads which can be adated and adopted to suit each schools specific environment. Along with the FITS website http://www.becta.org.uk/fits there is also PDF downloads, pocket guides, assessments, expert workshop training and case studies which are freely available. Many schools have began their implementation of FITS and have gain the benefits of putting in place the processes to manage their day to day activities. I would welcome any comments or feedback on FITS or be happy to answer any questions you may have. Thanks Paul Stonier [email protected] 0779 5351060

Becta have recently launched the FITS expert workshops to help schools with in-house technical support staff understand and implement the FITS best-practice framework, including processes to control the day-to-day activities of technical support. The FITS expert workshops are designed to provide a full explanation of the FITS processes, a demonstration of what is involved in implementing FITS, an understanding of how and where to start an implementation of FITS and an action plan for implementing the processes specific for each school's environment. There are currently five Becta training partners delivering the FITS expert workshops. For further information visit http://www.becta.org.uk/fits and click on FITS expert workshops now available or contact [email protected]