Considerations
Planning for the development and management of ICT infrastructure should be undertaken with a clear understanding of:
- The school’s goals and needs, as set out in its overall strategic plan and ICT strategic plan
- The strategic priorities and policies of the school system or sector to which the school belongs
- The extent to which the current ICT infrastructure conforms to basic infrastructure management principles, such as those identified by Becta, by being reliable, coherent, affordable and sustainable.
- Its functional requirements
- The level of development of the school’s ICT practices, according to the relevant ICT planning framework
- The advice and services for technical support that are provided by the school system or sector to which the school belongs
- The extent of the current ICT infrastructure, generally documented through infrastructure plans and registers.
Individuals who coordinate ICT infrastructure planning need to involve the people who use the infrastructure. They also need to work within the school’s ICT governance arrangements, which may include ICT governance committees
Coordination of planning
ICT infrastructure is developed to meet broad school goals. The technical complexity of ICT infrastructure means ICT infrastructure planning needs to be coordinated by a technical expert.
A few large schools employ a technical manager who undertakes this role but many schools use external experts. Some school systems and sectors provide expert consultancy services. In other school systems and sectors, schools are advised to engage an external technical consultant.
When to plan
ICT infrastructure planning should be undertaken regularly and should be aligned with other school planning processes, including:
- Overall school strategic planning
- ICT strategic planning
- Curriculum planning
- Planning for professional learning
- Cchool budgeting
- Building and facilities planning
- Occupational health and safety planning
- Planning for environmental sustainability
The four considerations related to infrastructure planning are as follows:
- Access devices—the items of ICT equipment (including the associated operating software) that are directly used by students, teachers and school staff. Decisions about access devices, including the types to be acquired or replaced, the number and their placement, need to be driven by the teaching, learning and administrative practices that the school intends to support.
- network infrastructure—connects the different access devices throughout the school to the required tools, services and digital resources, many of which will be located outside the school. Decisions about the network infrastructure need to reflect the requirements for connecting the access devices to the necessary tools and services.
- Application software—provides specific functionality for teaching, learning or administration, including:
- Content management systems
- Learning systems
- Finance and assets systems
- Staff and student management systems
- Assessment and reporting systems\
Support resources—including people and skills, processes, externally provided services and financial resources
Documenting the plan
ICT infrastructure planning should provide schools with plans documenting:
- The deployment of access devices to learning and administrative spaces throughout the school
- The development of the school’s network infrastructure
- The use of new application software packages
- The provision of technical support
- Changes to key procedures, including security and cyber-safety procedures
- The procurement of required technical products and services
- The disposal of redundant components
- Changes to facilities, furniture and fixtures
- Expenditure, including budgets for current and future costs.
