ngreenwood

I am sorry to hear that but at the end of it all if you are good enough you will get one of the pool jobs and progress much quicker than when employed by the council. Same as any private sector employment. The example you give is Northgate, what I see everyday with RM is network managers who have been TUPED over and then promoted to positions which they are really enjoying.

Car phone rings.... "Hello" "Hi...Ive just heard we are getting BSF and we are getting TUPED over to RM" The poor victim was in the wrong place at the wrong time "Mother fu^*£% ^&%* *%*&%£ How dare you cut me up *(^*$&^ %"(£ %*"( )("&

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I agree with the answers to your questions. As a guy who has worked in a council run ICT team and now works for RM but was not TUPED I an in a unique position to step back and view it all. 1. What happens to the Network managers? They get Tuped in the same role. Managed Services need onsite management just as much as anyone else. 2. What happens to creativity and development (as opposed to just having one system, hardware, software foisted upon us)? Depends on the contract and the current situation of the school. If it is a complete rebuild then it will likely be a new ICT system. In the case of RM this could mean CC4. 3. What happens regarding other - not IT - jobs we do around school? That is something you can discuss with the company 4. What about help desk (is it local to school or based in India)? The RM helpdesk is in Oxfordshire 5. How much access and freedom do the remaining IT staff have? Depends on Q2, but will stay the same in most instances 6. How many redundancies have been made (either by economic reasons or change of conditions)? None that I know of, RM seem to be hiring as apose to firing. 7. What new opportunities are opended up (I don't mean moving on up the managed service provider)? Moving up the technical ladder; support consultants, implementation of networks etc. Management ladder, e.g. Team Leader, Project Management. 8. If there are any Network Managers left in BSF schools are they supported and allowed to stay - or are they "encouraged" to move on or up? Whatever they want to do, but RM are very good at promoting those that deserve it 10. During the Interim service do things remain the same or do new systems, software and hardware get forced on us? Things remain the same, except the helpdesk 11. How are hours, holidays and salaries affected? TUPE means that they stay the same 12. How are the remaining IT staff supported (local, remote only)? Depends on requirements, usually both local and remote 13. What sort of improvement (or worsening) of service is provided by having EVERY IT call routing through a possibly foreign helpdesk? It cuts down on the annoying calls, e.g. My computer wont turn on; because its unplugged! The hardest part is getting teachers to give the correct information If you are prepared to work hard then getting Tuped will be the best thing that can happen to you as it will help you progress your career. These are my opinions and experiences only, and in no way am I speaking on behalf of my employer

Livedrive. £50 for a year and its unlimited. You can map it as a network drive too.

I switched away from VM. Cost a lot as we had to have a BT line put in but it was well worth it.

USB sticks can be removed when the administrator login screen is displayed!

Also, although people on here bag RM. It is a great company to work for, | rmCareers , there are always jobs opening up at this time of year due to new schools taking on Managed Services etc.

Do try local councils; my first job was a 13k a year Junior IT Techy job at a local school. Two years on I have moved to the biggest company in the UK educational IT sector. Techy jobs in schools are ideal as you get experience at almost everything, leaving you with an impressive CV.

No, dont implement CC4 for at least a year. Trust me, I work for RM.

The NM stays as he is. IMO the NM gets the best deal out of being TUPED. Starting on the management level at RM is quite good.

My old job is being advertised:- Vacancies