1. Leadership & Management

a. Vision for ICT

b. Strategy to achieve the vision

c. Use of ICT to improve operational effectiveness and efficiency

d. Monitoring and evaluation

---

a. Vision for ICT

---

Overview of this strand

This strand reflects the importance of having a comprehensive vision for ICT. Schools that make effective use of ICT ensure that the vision is owned and understood by all staff, and endeavour to engage other stakeholders including governors, parents, community groups and other partners. An effective vision should support and enhance the school’s aims in terms of learning, teaching, management and administration. However, visions are not static and need to be reviewed and updated in the light of developments in technology, practice and national policy.

 

Evidence for this strand may include

• The expressed aims of the school
• The expressed vision for ICT (written or verbal) and any revisions
• Discussions with staff and others to identify their understanding and ownership of the ICT vision and their roles in creating and reviewing that vision
• Processes for review of the vision, including previous vision statements
• Outcomes from reviews (such as discussion documents, questionnaires and notes from discussions) which focus on the vision
• Governors’ and other meeting minutes
• Communications beyond the school to identify the understanding and sharing of the vision for ICT
• Formal and informal discussions with pupils

1. The Vision

Whatever the school's aims and aspirations, the ICT Mark demonstrates that a school is serious about a whole school apprach to the way it uses ICT. The assessment process is rigorous, carried out by accredited assessors and replaces the Naacemark accreditation. The ICT Mark  is a real standard that is fully supported by Government.

 

Questions the school should ask

• Does the school have a clear vision for ICT that includes all members of the school community?
• Is the vision more focused on pupils’ experiences in learning and teaching or the technology and resources?
• Does the vision include wider issues such as management and administration?
• Is the ICT vision linked to the school’s wider aims and aspirations?
• Does the vision lead the school into new and innovative practices?
• How does the vision recognise new national policy developments?

 

The starting point should be the schools aims as stated in school development, self-evaluation or post OFSTED plans. An ICT vision should be an inclusive statement that recognises the distinctive contribution of ICT in supporting a schools' wider aims in each of the areas of the self-review. (For all of the main areas, see the home page of this Wiki, or look at the sidebar). The vision should clearly identify where ICT will enhance aspects of the school’s work.

 

Naace advice on creating a 'vision'

2 Development & Ownership

Actively involve staff, governors and pupils in the development of the vision. Aim to ensure that the vision is understood and embraced by all stakeholders.

 

Questions the school should ask

• Who has been involved in the development of the school's ICT.
• How widely is the vision understood and embraced?
• Is the ICT vision well expressed and recorded so that everyone can access and understand it?
• Has the school considered if and how pupils and/or parents have been involved?

 

One of the best ways to ensure that the school's vision for ICT is understood and communicated, is the production of a school ICT handbook which includes an ICT policy. Naace have published an outline of the contents one would expect to see in such a handbook and policy.

Buckinghamshire's ICT handbook

3. Review

Ensure the vision is regularly reviewed and evaluated, and revised in the light of developments in technology, knowledge of effective practice and the outcomes of school monitoring and evaluation.

 

Questions the school should ask

• Is the vision kept under review?
• Is it informed by an understanding of emerging technologies and educational practice?
• Do the outcomes of the school’s own evaluation contribute to the review?
• In keeping up to date, has the school sought advice, guidance and information from outside – for example, other schools, Local Authority, other individuals and agencies?

Resources

Example of a Primary School Education ICT Vision

Example of a Functional Specification for a Secondary School Project

---

b. Strategy to achieve the vision

---

Overview of this strand

This strand looks at the most effective practice and ensures that there is a strategy that sets out priorities for realising the ICT vision and that this is integral to whole-school planning and takes account of the school’s current stage of development. A distinction is made between strategic and operational leadership so that the school focuses on both overall planning and day-to-day delivery. The strand stresses the importance of careful financial planning which takes account of all related costs and the impact on outcomes. The need for effective planning for long-term sustainability is also highlighted.

 

Evidence for this strand may include

• The school’s ICT strategy and other development/improvement plans
• Documented priorities for ICT development within whole-school planning
• Discussions with leaders at varying levels across the school
• Minutes of governors’, staff, subject or phase meetings, and ICT working groups
• The expressed vision for ICT
• Discussions with staff to identify the scope of the strategy and their understanding of the priorities
• ICT budget plans and processes
• Documentation and/or planning related to sustainability
• Staffing and leadership structures, job descriptions and other documentation related to strategic and operational leadership
• Professional development policy and records

 

There will be links from this Element to, and evidence shared with, Elements 5 (Professional Development) and 7 (Resources)

1. Strategic Leadership

Leadership is essential for effective ICT; the strategy must be 'owned' at SMT level, and not devolved to teachers or technical staff.

 

Kent strongly recommends that all Headteachers take part in the Strategic Leadership in ICT courses (SLICT). There is now strong evidence of a correlation between Headteacher ICT skills and those of the staff and children.

 

Courses

Primay SLICT

Secondary SLICT

 

Questions the school should ask

• Where does the responsibility for strategic leadership lie and how was this decided?
• To what extent are the headteacher and senior leadership of the school actively engaged in the strategy for all aspects of ICT?
• What is the involvement of the governors?
• How is the leadership team kept up to date on national policies and new strategies?

2. Operational Leadership

School leaders should walk the talk, actively empowering and supporting appropriate staff to take leadership of operational direction at all levels, with clear accountabilities.

 

Questions the school should ask

• Who has responsibility for operational leadership of ICT?
• How well is ICT co-ordinated across the whole school?
• Are those with this responsibility enabled and supported by strategic leaders?
• Are individuals clear about their responsibilities and to whom they are accountable?

3. Strategy to Achieve

Questions the school should ask

• Is there a clearly defined ICT strategy?
• Does it set out clear priorities for action which drive the more detailed planning?
• Does the strategy take account of all of the inter-dependent elements that directly impinge on its success – curriculum planning, staffing, staff development, management and administration rather than just resources?
• Will the strategy enable the school to achieve its vision?

 

The school’s strategy for ICT must set out clear priorities for implementing the vision and action plans to achieve these.

Planning

Funding Guidance

4. Whole School Planning

ICT planning cannot be done in isolation to the wider aims and development priorities for the school. You must be able to demonstrate that ICT is being used to support wider objectives and that procurement, deployment and related ICT decisions are integrated into those wider plans.

 

Questions you should ask

• Is the short- and medium-term planning for ICT consistent with the overall ICT strategy?
• Is ICT planning an integrated part of the whole-school development/improvement plan and not simply limited to a specific departments, curriculum areas or key stages?
• Does ICT planning set challenging targets related to, for example, resources, staff confidence, learning and teaching as well as pupils’ achievements?

5. Budgetary Effectiveness for ICT

Questions you should ask

• Is there is an ICT budget which is clearly defined and well planned?
• Is there an awareness of the wider costs involved, including for example, software, technical support and maintenance, staff development and replacement costs?
• How does the school evaluate the quality and value of existing ICT services?
• Does the school make links between its expenditure on ICT and improvements in learning, teaching and pupil outcomes?
• How do the findings of such reviews influence future budgetary provision and planning?

 

Procurement

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

6. Sustainability

Only addressing the renewal of existing ICT resources will totally miss the point here; this is about sustainability of the vision as well as the infrastructure.

 

• Does the ICT strategy take a long-term view of ICT which includes current and future needs and technologies?
• Does it address the need for continuity and sustainability, for example, to maintain and develop resource levels, staff expertise and curriculum provision in the longer term?
• Is there a broader view of sustainability, for example when there are changes of personnel including leadership?

 

Becta Sustainability forum (only deals with infrastructure and budgetary issues)

---

c. Use of ICT to improve operational effectiveness and efficiency

---

Overview of this strand

This strand looks at the effectiveness of the use of management information systems, performance data and the use of ICT to improve communications. It also focuses on the secure, safe and legal use of ICT and how ICT is used to improve working practices. In best practice, leadership strategically promotes and supports the use of ICT to improve organisational efficiency across a range of activity.

 

Evidence for this strand may include

• Discussions with a range of staff carrying out different roles
• Scrutiny of teachers’ planning, assessment records and databases, and school reports
• Scrutiny of different forms of electronic communications such as email, website, online communities between home and school and the wider community
• Review of any plans and proposals generated by school change teams formed to support and implement internal remodelling and workforce reform measures
• Electronically held performance data and evidence of the analysis of such data
• Data Protection and Freedom of Information policies and guidance for staff
• Policies on e-safety or acceptable use
• Records of staff and pupil assent to acceptable use and related e-safety policies
• Logs relating to risk and e-safety, data protection or Freedom of Information
• Governors' reports/minutes

 

There will be links from this Element to, and evidence shared with, Elements 4 (Assessment), 6 (Extending Opportunities for Learning) and 7 (Resources)

 

1. Use of management information systems

All teachers should have access to ICT for management, administration and planning. This should include sharing of resources, access to data or contribution to databases. The school may wish to consider a fully integrated management information system.

 

Questions the school should ask

• To what extent are the school’s ICT systems integrated ensuring data is only entered once and is available for different uses and users?
• How are the schools administration and curriculum networks integrated?
• How does the school make efficient use of ICT for management, are the ICT systems planned and co-ordinated?
• How do ICT systems enable resources and data to be shared by staff?
• How are ICT systems made easily accessible to appropriate staff when needed?
• How do ICT systems enable new, ‘smarter’ ways of working or simply replicate existing manual processes
• What is the impact of ICT on the management of the school?
• Is the use of ICT systems for management kept under review?

 

Monthly Bulletin from the Data Sub Programme (the DfES group running the data services and information management strategy)

SIMS .net products

Facility Secondary and Primary

RM's Integris Secondary and Primary

2. Use of performance data

There should be an agreed whole-school approach to the use of ICT to record and analyse performance data. This should be used to track pupils’ progress and set targets.

Where possible, pupil data should be available to staff through an integrated system within and beyond the school.

 

Questions the school should ask

• How well is ICT used for the recording and analysis of assessment data?
• How well are ICT systems used to track progress and set targets?
• Is there an integrated ICT whole-school approach to this?
• Do ICT systems support the tracking of pupils’ progress and the setting of individual and whole school targets?
• Is appropriate data available to staff, governors, parents and carers?

 

QCA Using Performance Data

Use of performance data - guidance

Valuable digest demonstrating the use of Management Information

SSAT presentation

Pupil Assessment Tracker

Schools on the ICT Register of effective practice with expertise in this area

 

School Profiles

 

3. Communications

The school should use electronic systems that are easy to use and understand to communicate both internally and externally and regularly review and update systems and processes to ensure they meet the needs of stakeholders.

 

Questions the school should ask

• What electronic systems does the school use for internal communication?
• How does the school use the electronic systems to improve its communication with different groups, such as pupils, parents/carers, governors, the community and other agencies?
• How does the school ensure that these systems meet the needs of the different users?
• What advantages do these electronic systems offer over more traditional means of communication?
• To what extent do these systems integrate with other electronic management systems used in the school?

 

Home-School links with ICT

4. Safety & Security

The school should ensure the safety of staff and pupils using electronic systems. Policies must be communicated to staff, parents and pupils and procedures be in place to deal with issues.

 

Questions the school should ask

• Does the school have policies relating to e-safety for staff, pupils and community?
• Does the school policy for health and safety (H&S) take account of ICT issues?
• What measures does the school have in place to deal with e-safety and ICT H&S issues that arise?
• What proportion of the staff and governors are aware of their responsibilities relating to e-safety and ICT H&S?
• Does the school keep a log of issues that arise?
• How consistently are the school policies applied when issues arise?
• How does the school keep up to date with emerging e-safety and ICT H&S issues?
• When were the policies last reviewed and updated?
• How has the school involved parents/carers and other partners in its advice on e-safety?

 

Kent e-safety policy templates

CFE Digital Curriculum Team esafety Wiki

Download Becta e-Safety Booklet

Becta Security Advice

Computer Misuse in schools

Get Safe Online

Health and safety

Copyright and digital rights

Naace copyright guidance (can be downloaded by members who are logged in)

5. Data protection and freedom of information

The school should publish guidance for staff in relation to Data Protection and Freedom of Information. All staff must be aware of their responsibilities and apply appropriate measures when dealing with data.

The school should regularly review and update its processes and take appropriate action to ensure full compliance with the legal requirements. Parents/carers and others seeking information from the school should be advised of the legal context in which the school operates.

 

Questions the school should ask

• To what extent are staff and governors aware of their responsibilities relating to data protection and Freedom of Information with reference to ICT?
• What policies does the school have to meet statutory data protection and Freedom of Information requirements for ICT?
• What practical guidelines does the school issue to staff relating to these issues?
• How consistently, or rigorously, do staff apply the school's guidelines in these areas?
• What staff development and training has taken place to ensure these issues are addressed?

 

Download official advice and guidance on data protection and freedom of information for schools

Becta advice on data protection and freedom of information

6. Working Practices

The school should use ICT to improve working practices. These should be planned effectively and adopted systematically.

 

Questions the school should ask

• What working practices have changed as a result of the use of ICT?
• What proportion of staff have been affected by working practices as a result of the introduction of ICT?
• Where has ICT enabled the school to adopt completely new working practices, rather than develop traditional ones?
• What has been the impact on school effectiveness of these changes?
• How has the school evaluated the impact of new working practices with the ICT?
• How does the school identify, plan for and implement new ways to improve working practices with ICT?

 

Workforce remodelling with ICT

---

d. Monitoring and evaluation

---

Overview of this strand

This strand explores firstly how the school monitors and evaluates the effectiveness of the implementation of its ICT strategy across the school and the evidence used to make these evaluations, and secondly, how the strategy impacts on pupil outcomes. Where practice in this area is well–developed, regular monitoring of the implementation of the ICT strategy enables the school to monitor its progress against its targets, to prioritise its planning for future developments and to demonstrate its accountability to other stakeholders. Such schools use a wide range of evidence that enables them to link their evaluations to effects on pupil outcomes.

 

Evidence for this strand may include

• Discussions with staff
• Data on the quality of pupils’ work using ICT
• Data on the quality of learning, including the impact on engagement, motivation and learning skills development of pupils
• The level of pupils’ ICT capability
• Discussions with pupils that demonstrate what they know, understand and can do involving the application of ICT to their learning
• Plans that show how monitoring and evaluation for ICT has taken place
• Minutes from Governors’ or other meetings that identify any processes or outcomes for evaluation of ICT impact
• Data and any results of data analysis linking ICT and pupil outcomes
• Outcomes from review processes (such as lesson observations, discussion documents, questionnaires and notes from discussions)

 

There will be links from this Element to, and evidence shared with, Elements 4 (Assessment) and 8 (Impact on Pupil Outcomes)

 

1. Monitoring & Evaluating effectiveness of strategy

There should be regular, effective and evidence-based evaluation of progress. The school should use this evidence to prioritise future planning and to demonstrate its accountability.

 

Questions the school should ask

• What monitoring has the school undertaken to identify the effectiveness of its ICT strategy?
• Does monitoring take place regularly to inform planning, or as an end in itself?
• How does the school use the outcomes of monitoring to prioritise its future planning for ICT?
• How does the school ensure that monitoring is objective?
• How are the outcomes of monitoring used to demonstrate accountability to internal and/or external partners?

2. Evaluation of impact

Regular evaluation of impact of ICT should take place across the school to inform strategic planning and development. There should be evidence of a cycle involving planning > implementation > review > planning...

 

Questions the school should ask

• What evaluation has taken place that links the ICT strategy to outcomes for pupils?
• How was this evaluation carried out?
• How regular and systematic is the evaluation on the impact of ICT on pupil outcomes?
• How are the results of the evaluation of impact used to inform future strategic planning for ICT?

3. Range & quality of evidence

Evidence of effectiveness should be collected systematically and used to evaluate the impact of ICT.

 

Questions you may wish to ask

• What evidence does the school use to link its ICT strategy to outcomes for pupils?
• Is objective as well as subjective evidence used in these evaluations?
• How is this evidence collected?
• How is this evidence analysed to show the impact of ICT on pupil outcomes?
• How is the evidence from within school evaluated against external benchmarks?

---

---

Schools on the ICT Register of Effective Practice

(Look for those schools with the ICT mark logo)

Development Planning

Staffing and Leadership

Strategic ICT Issues

 

Governor Guides for ICT

 

The Governor Guides to ICT series is available from this area in PDF format.

 

The overview publication Information and Communications Technology (ICT): an essential guide for School Governors (PDF 264 KB) outlines the purpose and content of the series.

 

policies and directions (PDF 261KB)

developing a vision for ICT (PDF 275KB)

towards the e-confident school (PDF 291KB)

administrative roles and responsibilites (PDF 299KB)

assessment and ICT (PDF 219KB)

safety and security with ICT (PDF 235KB)

learning and teaching (PDF 220KB)

ICT infrastructure (PDF 212KB)

professional development and ICT (PDF 242KB)

ICT and whole-school improvement (PDF 259KB)

 

Other Local Authority resources and advice

Lewisham Primary

Lewisham Secondary

Oxfordshire Primary

Oxfordshire Secondary