We are pleased to announce that our service provider Ark has been successfully selected as a supplier for the Department for Education (DfE) roll out programme for remote learning technology. This is a great accolade for Ark and the team to be added onto the selected supplier rollout plan.
Setup in 2001, Ark provide ICT support to both Education and Business. Based in Pinchbeck, Spalding, South Lincolnshire, their core focus is working with primary schools where they find a local service, complemented by regular visits by the same engineer has proved to be very successful. They have the platform to develop for the next 10 years, along with warehouse space and a purpose-built builds and repairs facility.
What is the program?
The program is to help and support remote learning allowing thousands of schools that need it most to gain access to education platforms to aid and support pupils, staff and parents.
The DfE have partnered with both Google and Microsoft to support schools and trusts to start using a free-to-use digital education platform, enabling children to be able to continue their studies whilst at home.
A digital education platform is used so pupils learning remotely/at home can continue to, as normal as possible with as little disruption to their daily school life as possible.
By utilising either a Google or Microsoft platform you will be able to:
- Assign and assess work, providing feedback remotely
- Communicate with staff, students and parents in real time
- Facilitate collaboration between different groups
It gives pupils and teachers alike to have that sense of ‘normality’, and to continue (to a point) the learning that pupils are used to. You can even hold virtual assemblies!
Although these platforms are free-to-use, the funding is to help you get the platform set up by an accredited partner and train you on how to use them.
Am I eligible?
The funded support is available to state funded primary, secondary, special schools and pupil referral units in England that:
- Do not currently have a digital platform
- Are using either Office 365 or G Suite but are not set up to assign work and communicate with pupils
*Please note that the funding only covers schools looking to set up on G Suite for Education and Office 365 Education
What do I need to do?
You will need to register to receive the funded support from an accredited partner to get set up on either G Suite for Education (Google) or Office 365 (Microsoft).
If you are unsure of which platform to apply for, the link shows a comparison table for both: Comparison Table
To apply for the support when you know which platform you would like, use the links below:
For Google: Google G Suite
For Microsoft: Microsoft Office 365
