Studywiz in Sheffield

Studywiz in Sheffield

Under the previous government The DCFS set a target that all pupils should have access to a Learning Platform by April 2008. BECTA produced a suppliers’ framework from which schools could select a Learning Platform relevant to their own needs. This framework put a comprehensive set of requirements in place that suppliers had to meet.

In 2007 the Sheffield Head Teachers ICT Strategy group asked the Local Authority Primary ICT Consultants to help Sheffield Primary Schools select a Learning Platform. The Local Authority team met with all suppliers that were listed on the BECTA framework[1]at that time and evaluated their products.

The core users of a Learning Platform are children and the LA therefore focussed on the systems which were most primary school child-friendly. In November 2007 all Sheffield Schools were invited to an evaluation day. Ninety staff from eight schools came to the day. They were encouraged to ask questions of the suppliers and fill in evaluation forms as they saw each product. After the evaluation day all the evaluation forms were analysed and this was presented to the Head Teachers Strategy Group. The Head Teachers Group asked that the two solutions which emerged best in the evaluations be invited back for further evaluation. All schools were invited to that meeting. The end result of the evaluation was that the Head Teachers ICT Strategy Group recommended that Sheffield Primary Schools buy Studywiz. The majority of schools decided to follow this recommendation and bought the product. The Local Authority did not spend any funds directly on Studywiz.

In February 2010 Etech (the producer of Studywiz) went into Administration. BECTA convened a meeting in London for all LA's who were Studywiz users. The net result of this meeting was that Studywiz would continue in the UK and that the newly formed company Studywiz UK would work with Hampshire LA to host and support Studywiz for schools and LA's who wished to continue using it.

Sheffield now has a Task and Finish Group for Learning Platforms. This group was formed by and reports to the RAG (Raising Achievement Group). RAG is a group of peer elected Head Teachers who steer the work Sheffield LA carries out with schools. In March 2010 the Task and Finish Group asked the LA to look at alternative to Studywiz to ensure that Studywiz was still the best product for the primary age children of Sheffield. The LA Curriculum ICT support team met with 10 companies and evaluated 13 products. The LA team again focussed on primary child-friendly solutions. Studywiz and the three best alternatives were invited to Sheffield to present to schools. All schools were invited to the evaluation. Sixty schools attended the evaluation meeting. Schools could ask any question they wanted of the supplier. Schools were asked whether they still wishes to 'stick together' and use the same system. Schools were also asked if they wished to stick with Studywiz or switch to an alternative system. Again these evaluations were fed back to the Head Teachers Task and Finish Group. The Head Teachers Group took a provisional and difficult decision to switch systems. The LA then took on a considerable amount of work to carry out financial checks, data security checks and work with legal services on the contract. The resulting output from all this work was then passed to the Task and Finish Group who then made the formal recommendation to all primary schools that they move to PurpleMash+ by 2Simple. Schools were informed that they could continue with Studywiz under their own arrangement if they wished.

Appendix: Extract from the BECTa website (please note that this website will be taken down on 31/1/2011 following the closure of BECTa)

Benefits of Becta's procurement frameworks

Becta’s EU-compliant procurement framework agreements offer the following benefits:
Local authorities and schools can purchase goods and services without having to conduct a full EU procurement process.
Local authorities can aggregate purchases from different schools to reduce costs and lessen the administrative burden on schools.
Purchasers can take advantage of the terms and levels of service defined for education and negotiated by Becta.
Schools can purchase products and services that meet the objectives of the national digital infrastructure and work together.
Purchasers can be confident that suppliers offer quality and reliability. Suppliers are monitored to ensure they continue to provide a high level of service.
Purchasers can plan their expenditure more easily.
Schools specify their requirements only once, as requests (e.g. for a new computer suite, technical training or a managed service) are sent to all suppliers on the framework agreement. A common set of conditions apply to all contracts placed under a framework agreement.
Purchasers save time when buying: the suppliers offering the best prices are listed in one place.
Purchasers can buy with confidence, making an informed choice supported by independent advice.

[1] The BECTa Framework was designed to provide benefits to schools and Local Authorities in procuring a range of ICT services for schools. The benefits, as described by BECTa, are aummarised in the Appendix