Even more vital for you is the assurance that your learners will be safer with systems that reduce the dangers that exist online.
Key Issues
Be clear about what you want to achieve – your vision for learning. You will then need to make sure that you are buying the right technology to achieve this from quality assured suppliers at the best possible prices.
It is important to recognise all the resources and costs involved in the provision and support of technology to understand whether this is achieving value for money.
This may include an awareness that locking your school in to proprietary products may lead to an ‘exit cost’ when you want to change.
Considering alternatives to managing ICT within the school can help to ensure that valuable resources are focused on teaching and learning, rather than supporting technology.
Your local authority, or other networks, may be able to provide a more efficient procurement service by aggregating your requirements with other institutions. This will drive increased value for money through economies of scale.
What you can do
- Check your development plans for technology – is it about the technology itself, or the outcomes that you want to achieve?
- Read Getting Best Value From Your Investment – A Guide for School Leaders, it will help you save money, step-by-step.
- Approach your local authority to see if they have systems in place for purchasing products and services.
- Refer to Becta’s functional requirements and technical principles when developing ICT requirements.
- Evaluate your current provision www.becta.org.uk/schools/fits, or watch the video.
- Investigate the potential benefits of Becta’s procurement frameworks.
