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Re Sherston ICT Channel – sorry if this sounds like a free plug. As a teacher, I am rather impressed with the Sherston site. Currently the annual cost of the Sherston ICT channel works out around the same price as a site licence for something like Mission Control or one of their other popular software titles. Admittedly our school did not have any of the software on the channel when we took the subscription. From a teaching perspective, I think at the price represents great value considering the number of games and activities you get. Not just Mission Control, but it also includes full versions of Flowbot, Charlie Chimp, Crystal Rainforest, Gomez Returns and the Model Shop to name but a few. It covers a significant chunk of the ICT curriculum for KS1 and KS2. We have been using the crystal ICT channel in our school quite heavily since Christmas. Kids use it in their spare time at home and break times too. It has worked seamlessly - I have used it in lessons with classes of 20 and over. We have tried it in Opera, IE and Firefox with no problems whatsoever. Using the Opera browser has proved particularly good as it provides graphical bookmarks for the younger children All the technician had to do was install the latest version of flash. Ideally I would like a full online version of the email detectives game and a better branching database. So long as they keep updating the site, we will carry on using it.

thanks for the great responses - much food for thought. On the subject of RM and support contracts - we have had nothing major go wrong with the network, but there have been a few niggles and I know it bothers him greatly. Slow logging on times for pupils and staff being the main issue, despite many calls by him to the RM helpline. I know other people here have had a relatively problem-free existence with them. From what he has told me, he definitely wants to change this summer to a new system, complete with a support contract that includes training for him. I guess that will be good for the school as well as we have some outside support if he moves on to another job. I am not a techie, but I guess it is always going to be problematic when you take over system that somebody else has implemented and managed, especially without experience. He did have a changover training in the summer holiday from the previous technician - but with no teachers and pupils there you don't get much of a feel for all the problems that happen on a daily basis. I do know of an independent school nearby which has just over 100 computers managed by 2 full time msce qualified technicians and that is why i asked the question originally. From my experience of teacher needs, I am not sure how you guys manage in primary schools with such little support in terms of hours. What happens in an emergency?

Hi everyone, What you consider to be a sensible level of technical support in a small school? I ask this as I work part-time as an ICT teacher in a small independent school and I am helping the current technician put together a report for the bursar. We have had quite a few niggling issues with the network. The current technician has inherited an RM system which he hates and wants to change the system to a pure windows server solution or even a linux server solution. The school previously had 2 years relatively problem-free use of an RM system. The technician who implemented and managed it moved on to a better paid job last summer. The school now has a new technician who is fresh out of uni. He is still finding his feet, but I am sure he will get there in the end. Essentially he is required to do everything from being the budget holder to managing the entire school and office system (in all but name - a network manager) We are starting to look at alternative companies that provide training, off-site and some on-site support as part of their support contract, but I doubt that is enough in itself. In my mind he could still do with a part-time assistant to help him, as teacher-related problems still take up a vast amount of his time. The school has 130 computers, 450 end users, 20 interactive whiteboards Any advice or experiences gratefully received.