Being smart with your IT budgets

December 13th will see the launch of the first Education Business Technology Summit – an informal event where schools can get smart ideas on how to fund their technology requirements, as well as discuss their concerns with industry experts and suppliers.

It is long understood that technology facilitates better learning outcomes for pupils, as well as innovative teaching methods for teachers. But with technology evolving rapidly, how do schools know what they should invest in? Developments like the new ICT curriculum, bring with it added requirements, while tight budgets add another pressure. Schools therefore need to find innovative ways to get the most out of their spend on technology.

When making a technology purchasing decision, schools must consider that their ICT hardware and software is fit for purpose and available for all; consider 1:1 student tablet access; ensure pupils, staff and parents can interact safely and securely online; and consider how to engage parents in their childs’ development through ICT.

In addition to this, schools are also looking to make significant savings in back office ICT spend.

In response to these challenges, Education Business is launching a new event to help schools across the UK get the most out of their ICT budgets.

The Education Business Technology Summit 2016 is designed to help stimulate the uptake of technology in UK classrooms, giving delegates the opportunity to network with educational professionals to better understand the barriers to delivering safe, reliable ICT solutions.

It is designed to be an informal platform where schools can talk business with ICT suppliers in a no-pressure environment.

Speakers and presentations
Taking place at the Arsenal Emirates Stadium, London on Tuesday 13 December, the Summit will feature a talk from television and radio presenter Angela Lamont, known for her work on the BBC’s Science Fix, The Physical World and It’ll Never Work, as well as Channel Five’s The Fragile Planet.

Education Business will also be joined on the day by Naace, the professional association for UK education technology, as well as education IT companies Genee World, RM Education, iiyama and the Supply Register.

Presentations throughout the day will include case studies from schools on how they plan to use the Pupil Premium funds to address one-to-one access.

There will be a session on the ‘parent pound’ and how schools are using part-parent funding.
Finally, there will be a talk on linking home and schools effectively and safely, using technology to communicate with parents to increase learning opportunities.

After the main seminar sessions, delegates will benefit from one-to-one timed appointments with organisations to discuss their ICT budgets and the individual requirements of their schools.

Lunch and refreshments served throughout the day provide further opportunities to network with technology organisations and share your concerns with delivering safe, reliable IT solutions.

The event is free to attend for senior education professionals.

Event chair
Television, radio presenter, and writer, Angela Lamont will chair the event and give an opening address sharing her views on how technology is an enabler for better teaching and improved learning.

Known for quirky, science-with-a smile programmes, Angela presents complex subjects with a sense of humour and a down-to-earth style.

Graduating as a systems analyst, Angela entered industry and worked in IT. But her career path changed dramatically when she was selected to tour the country, presenting the prestigious Faraday Lecture. Her success resulted in her being offered a presenting job for the BBC.

Angela has gone on to make over a hundred appearances on television and radio. For the BBC she presented Science Fix, The Physical World and It’ll Never Work.

The latter won BAFTA and RTS Awards. For Channel Five, she presented The Fragile Planet. Her numerous radio credits include The Network, a series of techno-cultural programmes about how IT and the internet affect our culture. Ground Control, for Radio 4, follows large engineering projects from start to finish and The Fountain of Youth, for 5 Live, explored the lengths some will go to to delay the ageing process.

Presentation from Naace
Mark Chambers, CEO of Naace, will give a presentation on supporting schools in maximising the return on their investment in education technology.

This session will outline who Naace are and what they do. Specific detail will be shared of their collaboration with the Department for Education to support schools in procuring Technology.

Two tools have been developed, one which assesses risk, and the other which tracks provision and helps a school judge the impact of the use of technology on learning. The capability of these tools will be shared as will details of how schools can access them and how partnering with Naace can save schools money and provide a set of tools that support learning and teaching with education technology.

Mark Chambers has a wealth of experience from his time as a teacher, head teacher, a subject leader, an LA senior leader and a private sector ICT consultant.

In his current role, Mark is the CEO of Naace. The association’s common aim is to advance education through the appropriate use of technology as a core tool that needs to permeate the curriculum and spread into specialist provision for subject areas including, but not limited to, computing.

Naace as a community develops resources that support schools. The Self-review Framework and ICT Mark are significant tools that all schools should be aware of.

Most recently Mark and Naace have been working with the DfE to produce pre-procurement tools which can help schools maximise the return on their investment in education technology.

Parent contributions
Paul Finnis, CEO of the Learning Foundation will take a presentation on the parent pound. He will discuss how parental interest and engagement are widely recognised as major contributors to a child’s educational prospects. E-Learning programmes offer schools and parents a practical way to work together in the interests of furthering and deepening the education of their children. With school budgets under more pressure than ever, parental contributions are also becoming vital for schools towards the cost of providing technology for individual pupil use and making entire programmes possible. He will cover how best to capture both and what do parents think?

Paul has worked within the charity sector for 25 years. The last 10 years have seen a closer focus on education from helping to set up the British Council for School Environments to leading a British education organisation in Vietnam for seven years. Paul has seen first‑hand the power that the right intervention in education has to profoundly change lives.

His current role enables him to support schools, teachers and families in seeing just how life-changing learning can be when technology is introduced into the mix of tools in the hands of the teacher.

ICT dilemmas
RM Education will take a presentation on resolving common IT dilemmas. Most schools the company works with have at least one ongoing issues around ICT, whether that’s around reducing costs or keeping a tighter rein on the IT budget without any financial surprises, recruiting and retaining good technical staff, developing an effective strategy, or building trust in ICT with your teachers so they feel more empowered to use technology in the classroom.

This presentation will show you how all these questions can be answered.

Event venue
The event will be taking place at Emirates Stadium, one of the world’s most breathtaking sporting arenas; not only as a pioneering football stadium, but also as a groundbreaking meetings and events venue. Boasting an array of versatile, modern and luxurious suites, the WM Club incorporates two contemporary areas with adjoining bars, a lounge and reception.

Further information
www.ebtechsummit.co.uk