Coping with Closure Problems

There are times when schools are forced to close, adversely affecting the business that takes place within them.

Currently (17/06/2009), schools around the country are being closed because of the effects of the H1N1 swine flu pandemic, leaving many healthy staff and children unable to attend school and causing disruption to the school's business.

I wish to assure customers that Broadband Sandwell has taken some small steps to provide continuity of the broadband service to schools, so that in the event that we are affected, the service will continue to operate.

These steps include:

• supplying our staff with adequate telephony so that they can continue to contact schools (they need their mobile phones to do their daily work anyway)

• ensuring that key members of our staff can remotely connect to ICT systems on the network to update them, from wherever they are.

• where appropriate, dispersing key Broadband Sandwell staff to different office bases so that an incident does not quarantine everyone.

We also wish to suggest the following services which may help your school to maintain its daily business during emergencies:

• the use of email as a communication system for staff and students. Broadband Sandwell has previously recommended student email systems (such as GridClub and GoldStar Cafe), we also recommend the use of the Learning Gateway as a communications tool.

• the use of our Click to Meet video conferencing system to set up conferences with staff or small group classes with students. Please note that there are a limited number of licenses available and that conferences may need to be "booked" with us if the system gets busy. You don't have to have a webcam to use Click to Meet, it allows "chat" facilities and will transmit audio only if you have no webcam.

• (Not ours but) speak to our colleagues in SMIS about the use of www.sandwellschools.org.uk to retain access to SIMS systems.

• remote access to CCTV systems across the broadband network have been made available to some schools. Contact Broadband Sandwell if this is required.

• we can supply 3g internet connections, either filtered using the Local Authority Internet filtering, or with standard 3g wireless connectivity to the Internet. These devices plug into a USB port on your PC, allowing internet connection over the mobile phone networks, and can be useful to connect key workers who have no fixed internet access at home. Contact us for more details.