Disaster recovery such as after a fire can conjure up even more issues when teachers are requesting extra budget for ICT – as one teacher at Frith Manor Primary School in Barnet discovered when most of the school was destroyed in 2002. The school was recently re-opened by the Duke of Gloucester and with its modern buildings, environmentally-friendly design and high level of ICT it very much represents the blueprint for a 21st century school. This achievement has not been easy, with teachers facing a series of budget challenges over those four years.
Two-thirds of the original 1930s Frith Manor building burned down in August 2002, ruining the school buildings, the offices, the administration, teaching materials and ICT equipment (which at that time consisted of a single suite of PCs). As the largest primary school in Barnet with more than 700 pupils, the Headteacher Reg Herring and his team began a massive four year rebuilding project while lessons took place in temporary huts on site.
Supported by the Headteacher, ICT coordinator and teacher Alison Reese was set the task of ensuring the school had, and would have the best ICT once the school building was completed. “I had to pretty much start from scratch to find some new classroom equipment,” she says. “We had extremely limited resources, plus government budgets were being cut – it was a nightmare! We received some insurance money which paid for a set of laptops and a new wireless network, however the network was temperamental, especially when large-scale building work was going on.
“Our PTA was instrumental in raising money, some through external funding such as local businesses, so I researched the best ICT equipment at BETT and put together a plan about what I wanted to buy and when. I recognised the value of investing in interactive whiteboards for each classroom as a way to make lessons fun and engaging, plus I wanted more laptops and accessories such as learner response units. My aim was to make sure the technology enhanced children’s learning and taught them how to collaborate, as well as generating discussion.
“In the interim period I struggled to get enough budget for an interactive whiteboard in each temporary classroom, but managed to buy three. I then worked with the PTA to raise enough money for an interactive whiteboard in each new classroom and three sets of classroom laptops (16 in each). The ICT budget also allowed me to buy two sets of Promethean Activote learner response systems and integral ICT tools for Foundation such as a piano stepper, a double dance mat and programmable toys and also video and still cameras.
“The new school is absolutely amazing and the children adore having such a range of tools to learn with. We are now in the process of upgrading our interactive whiteboards to Promethean Activboard+2 which has an adjustable stand – our nursery class was one of the first nurseries in the country to use it and we’re already seeing the benefits such as increased alertness and sharing in class. We’re aiming to upgrade three more this year and three next year, and we’ve also bought Promethean Activwands for every classroom which allows the smaller children to reach the board and add a little bit more magic to each lesson.”
For more information about Promethean please visit www.prometheanworld.com/uk
