"Mark Evans"
People actually working in schools often have little or no voice when it comes to LEAs and especially RBC.
Possibly true but that's not my experience. I felt I was heard. Our school was used as a testing ground by the LEA regarding access through their firewall for example. Groups of ICT teachers in our LEA are put
How do you expect *teachers* to know about things like firewall rules?
onto panells to work with the LEA ICT staff to discuss issues. Of course decisions are not made for the LEA by the teachers.
Unless this was a very unusual LEA there would have been several schools where network managemnt was the responsibility of non teaching staff. Were these people consulted?
Yes they certainly were, but as they bare so busy they often don't respond. Where the LEA are aware of expertise and understanding they do consult. Finding a way to make responding to consultation about changes easier is important. I am in the process of organising the school's ICT technical staff into a group that liaise, have a self-help website (which they have already organised themselves) and a mailing list that will be read by advisors as well as LEA technical staff. It needs someone from the LEA to keep it promoted and going as they tend to spring up have a flurry of activity and then die away again. -- Colin McQueen