This page is designed to afford other schools considering web sites information concerning our experiences.
Why a web site? Our school had a web site when I was appointed to this post but sadly it was out of date and no one in the school had any knowledge of how to maintain it. As it also involved hardware that the school was moving away from a decision was taken to withdraw the site. At the same point a commitment was made to create a new site as I believe it is a valuable resource and a great way of intersesting some pupils and parents. The decision was taken at this point to make the new site primarily an information service with the intention of adding a pupils section with items of greater interest to them as soon as possible.
What system do we use? Accepting the above a decision was then required on how to create the new site. Initially the cheapest option of working with interested parties was persued but after consideration and review of the content produced it was accepted that this was not an option. Further had that option been followed the site would have been too difficult for the school staff to maintain. I was fortunate enough to have worked in another school where the ICT Co-ordinator had created the site using Site Edit and therefore decided to follow that route in this school.
The ProCMS Platform Through contact with the LEA asking about what I knew of as Site Edit we bought into the above system. This involved us an initial outlay of £430. This gave us access to ProCMS and one days in school training from a member of the LEA staff. There is in addition a yearly fee, currently of approximately £50, to continue to use the system which also provides full online assistance. At first glance this would appear to be a significant outlay but having used the system for 6 months we are satisfied that value for money has been achieved.
Getting started In advance of the training we were to receive we decided it would be best to train Head and ICT Co-ordinator, particularly as both were keen to progress the initiative. These two personnel were to train the Administrator and Receptionist who could then upkeep the newsletters and office pages. It is hoped that in future various subject Co-ordinators will be trained in using the system so they can upkeep their particular areas of the site. To us the system is ideal in that it easily allows personnel to access their areas of the site and we have found in house training easy to accomplish. Also in advance of the training we formulated a clear idea of how we wanted the page design and colur scheme etc. to look. With this pre planned it made the input from the trainer, Jon Treby of the LEA, even more effective as time could be spent building the site instead of making decisions. After an initial input both the Co-ordinator and I spent at least half the training day actually building the site with support from Jon. By the end of the day we had several pages published for all to see. For most of the information pages the input already existed in school documentation so it was only a matter of cutting and pasting. I would not describe any of us as ICT experts; our working knowledge and interest has been enough to see us through with ease. If we can use the system we believe anyone can! As with most things, once the training ended, we found that returning to the site again brought up questions and matters we had forgotten. To date any questions have always been quickly resolved with great support from LEA or ProCMS.
Maintaining and adding to the site Updating the site and adding to it has become a routine matter for myself, ICT Co-ordinator and Administrator.To be honest there has been an increase in workload because of this but we consider that is out weighed by the advantage of having the site available for our parents and others. Feedback from the site, via a return button built into it, shows that it is appreciated. Some weeks are busier than others; for instance following educational visits and events this week, we try to update the relevant pages immediately so pupils and parents can see what has been happening. Other weeks on the other hand require little time; it takes but a few seconds to add the latest school newsletter, for instance, to the site.
Interested Parties? If any of the above has been of interest to you and you wish to talk to us about any aspect we will be happy to hear from you.
