Information & Communication Technology (ICT)

Key Stage 3

In Key Stage 3 all students undertake work that is designed to not only teach them how to use common software packages but to use them effectively for a wide range of tasks.  They are expected to become increasingly confident and capable of working independently and to use ICT in the whole range of subjects they study.  All students have a 1 hour lesson each week in Key Stage 3. We base our teaching on the Key Stage 3 strategy units with an emphasis on Enterprising Activities.

Key Stage 4

We currently offer EDEXCEL’s DIDA courses as part of the KS4 options.  There are options  for AIDA (1 unit), CIDA (2 units). The students are entered at levels appropriate to their capability for each individual unit. Approximately 50% of our KS4 students are currently doing ICT exam courses.

Facilities

The school has invested extensively in ICT infrastructure over the past 3 years and have plans for further developments and investment.

The school is fully networked to a high standard, including our own Virtual Learning Environment which is accessible to staff and students both in and out of school. In the current academic we intend to make it possible for staff and students to access their work from home via the internet.

We have approximately 250 networked PC’s throughout the school.  We currently have 3 main ICT teaching rooms, each able to take a full class.  We have 7 PC’s in the Learning Resource Centre (LRC) and faculty based facilities in Humanities, Technology, Music, Science and SEN. These include 2 sets of wireless laptops and we plan to add more in the near future.

We currently have interactive whiteboards in all our main teaching rooms, we also have several portable projectors for use in communal areas. All teaching staff have a laptop for their own use.

Other Access

The facilities in the LRC classroom (ICT2) and the LRC itself are open for supervised student use on a rota basis during lunchtime and open to all after school for homework and research. We also run a Computer Club For Girls (CC4G) as part of a national project.

Website and Extranet

Watch this space!  Our website is being updated and new links are being added.  We are also developing our online curriculum on our VLE and aim to link it to a Kirklees wide VLE.  This will be an area all can see for resources, up-to-date news, etc. It will give all staff and students access to resources over the internet and intranet.

All our staff and students have access to our school based email system (for school use only), and this, the intranet and their user areas are accessible outside of  school as well as within.
Who to see if I want more information?

Mr G Quinn – Curriculum Leader of ICT