Hoe Valley School is a brand new, 21st Century school which uses ICT to enhance and support students’ learning, streamline the business operations of the school and automate administration, assessment and reporting. As a new school in a new building, we have been able to implement a modern ICT infrastructure that supports our ICT strategy of making full use of currently available software and equipment to add real value to the experience of everyone associated with the School.
Hoe Valley School students will be technologically capable, confident and flexible to enable them to thrive in whatever direction their future careers take them.
Examples of our whole-school approach to ICT are:
- We are a Google School – all staff and students have access to the Google suite of applications, including Google Classroom, for class based and home learning. This allows students to interact with one another in a monitored and safe space, to share and collaborate with one another when producing documents and reduces all of those lost worksheets!
- Computer Science is taught as a discrete subject to all students in Year 7 & 8, as well as being offered at GCSE to students in Year 9-11.
- All students have a dedicated chromebook that they use in their lessons and their prep, and which also includes an electronic timetable
- We use a cloud-based Management Information System called SIMS to store student information, track progress and monitor attendance, behaviour and punctuality. This is all shared in an open and transparent manner with our families who have their own parent portal
- As a cashless School, we have appointed Parent Pay to ensure quick and safe financial transactions between home and School
We have implemented an ICT strategy that is education led not technology led and have identified those areas where ICT can enhance the curriculum and learning, promote enrichment, break down learning barriers, foster collaboration, support CPD for teachers and stimulate creativity and curiosity at all levels.
We believe ICT has a crucial role to play in delivering the learning experience we want for our students – not for its own sake, but because of the value it adds to our relevant and inspiring curriculum.