Preparing school ICT for the new term - screens, servers, printers and more...

With the new autumn term just around the corner, now is a great time to check to see that everything is in place for your new students

Make the most of the remainder of the summer break!

This blog is designed to help you prepare your school ICT for September, considering the increased demand from new starters, whether this is whole cohort in a reception or nursery or the influx of all the year 7s starting their exciting journey into secondary education.

Give servers and printers some TLC

With schools currently closed to most students, there has never been a better time to ensure that all of your servers are fully updated and restarted in readiness for the coming onslaught at the beginning of September. Some data housekeeping on the servers too, will ensure that resources still stored onsite will be current, suitable and secure for the new term. Obviously, this needs to be carried out by a suitably qualified ICT professional.

With the servers reviewed and updated, then comes the next most important consideration for most teachers…Printing! A quick visit to every printer, making sure toners are all working and don’t need replacing and suitable paper is present in all trays is a great start, then just running a quick test print to ensure the printers will be ready and waiting.

Check classroom screens before lessons and assemblies start!

Next, I’d say take a look at all of your classroom interactive devices, touch screens or interactive whiteboards and projectors. Switch them all on, including whatever device the teacher uses to access, and check touch functionality on the board / screen. Generally, the WiFi and internet systems can be checked by using a WiFi device, such as a laptop, Chromebook, or iPad. See if you can access your usual content and systems and that a browser works as expected online.

Larger installations, such as school halls, typically have systems which will be central to the first week(s) back, so it’s a good idea to check that functionality to, again, just switch everything on and see if the image and sound are all working as expected for those first crucial introduction presentations.

Ensure all portable devices are charged!

Shared resources, such as iPads, Chromebooks, VR Headsets or Laptops in trolleys can be checked so that each trolley is populated as it should be with devices. All devices should be plugged in and charging, ready for the start of term, as they will have spent over a month in idleness over the summer and could be fully depleted by now. Also note that charging trolleys offer locking options for additional security.

And finally...

...if any works have taken place over the summer, then a quick check of anything ICT related in those areas is very important! Especially check to see that when power has been turned off in sections of the school, that it is now all switched on again and any key systems, such as servers and switch cabinets have power to them once more. A switch cabinet that is not powered will be a quiet, dark thing, quite unlike the flashing switch lights and cooling fan noise generally, as anyone who has worked in a classroom or server room with these cabinets will testify to. Ideally this is completed by a suitably qualified ICT professional.

Get in touch today

Please contact SBS if you would like any details of our Pre-Term Check Service, which includes all of the above on 0345 222 1551 • Option 1 or email ICTservicedesk@schoolbusinessservices.co.uk

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