Guidance on what to expect from your broadband and email providers and the school internal network.
The largest provider in this area is London Grid for Learning (LGFL). Schools go direct to LGFL for broadband (provided by Virgin media) and for email.
Look beyond the price for broadband as there are many free or discounted services for the education sector that can help in both infrastructure and in curriculum.
Whether you use LFGL or another provider you should expect the following to be included in the cost:
Broadband speeds do vary and are increasingly fast, which is good news, however if your internal network cannot handle to fast external speeds then you will not gain all of the benefits.
The school network is crucial to the school and so keeping it running and working smoothly is down to the schools technical support.
Schools should have a well-defined improvement plan for the network that matches the use of IT across all aspects of the school, as defined in the School plans.
Points to note:
1. Mobile computing needs good Wi-Fi: If computers are fixed to a desk you do not need Wi-Fi. Your school may have a blend of both, if so work out where you need Wi-Fi.
2. Network speed: The speed of your network is important. It is determined by the components on the network e.g. routers and by the volume of traffic. As you increase the usage of IT in school you will need to review the internal network and maintain it.