Schools Connectivity Services
Updata is a leading provider of IT services, support and solutions for
schools; working in partnership with over 3000 schools, academies
and local authorities to support their IT strategies and plans.
It’s time to get better connected!
With over 30 years experience in the education sector, we
understand how to make IT work for schools.
Schools today are using increasing amounts of online resources and applications to support teaching and learning. With students and teachers using the internet on a daily basis and relying on it to support learning, it is vital that schools have access to a secure and reliable connectivity in order to meet their demands.
Our service will provide fast, secure and reliable broadband connectivity which will include your school’s WAN connection, Internet Access, DNS, Web Filtering and Firewall services. Email Filtering will continue to be provided by the Google Mail and Microsoft 365 platforms.
2 2
Following the recent procurement, Norfolk County Council has chosen Updata, part of Capita, to be the provider of telecommunications services to Norfolk Schools, working collectively with Capita Managed IT Solutions.
Schools in Norfolk will benefit from a brand new, secure and highly resilient authority Wide Area Network (WAN) which has been designed and built specifically for the region by an IT partner who is a specialist in the education sector.
Your new IT partner
Core Schools Connectivity Services:
WAN Connectivity Direct Network Internet Access
Service Web Filtering Firewall
24x7x365 network management and monitoring
Support service: Mon – Fri 8am - 5pm
WAN Connection
As a result of the significant BDUK Better Broadband for Norfolk Investment, schools will be provided with a Next Generation Access (NGA) FTTC connection, providing higher bandwidths. Schools will receive an 80Mbps connection.
A number of schools will be provided a higher bandwidth connection using fibre technology, providing bandwidth at 100Mbps and 1Gbps. Included within the WAN
connection, is access to the internet through the Updata network and a DNS hosting service.
Web Filtering
Schools need fast and safe access to educational resources, whilst preventing access to inappropriate content. The system offers flexibility by enabling internet access to be tailored by class, role and department or for specific periods of time. As new websites appear, the filtering service will automatically block sites that are inappropriate. Reports can be produced automatically based on filtering exceptions and user activity.
Firewall Service
The firewall service combines intrusion detection, antivirus and antimalware into a single system ensuring your school network is protected with updates taking place each hour making sure the school is protected against threats. The network will be monitored 24x7x365.
Email Filtering
Schools’ email filtering will continue to be provided by the Google Mail and Microsoft 365 platforms and will not change.
Schools that do not use Gmail or Microsoft 365 and have their own mail server will have optional access to Capita’s email, anti-spam and filtering platform, providing schools with anti-spam and malware
protection as well as managed attachments in line with the school policy. An administrative portal is provided for schools to control quarantined emails and provide reports.
Internet Access and Direct Network
Service
Included within the WAN connection is access to the internet through the Updata network. This will also provide a DNS hosting service where {schoolname. norfolk.sch.uk} domains will be migrated over to Updata’s DNS hosting service from the current supplier.
4
Why should you choose Updata as your Connectivity provider?
In a nutshell
By choosing to partner with Updata you will benefit from:
Cost effective and future proof
investment
Schools will benefit from economies of scale generated from the overall service encompassing the Norfolk region, with the vast majority of schools benefiting from an improved service at a reduced price. The investment in improvements by Norfolk County Council to the infrastructure across the region also futureproofs the technology and your investment.
Fast, secure and reliable service
The new service will provide a faster, more reliable connectivity service to support the increasing use of the internet for teaching and learning. With the web filtering, firewall services and industry standard solution and services in place you can have peace of mind that your school’s data and students’ e-safety is protected.
Proactive 24x7x365 network monitoring
Our school connectivity service also includes remote and onsite support should anything go wrong with your network or associated hardware.
The core network is proactively monitored 24x7x365 ensuring that any potential issues can be identified and often remotely fixed before they become a problem. This ensures that there is no disruption to teaching and learning. If an issue cannot be resolved remotely or hardware needs repairing, a local engineer is available to support your school onsite providing you with peace of mind that any issues will be resolved quickly and with minimal impact to the school.
Updata will work with you to ensure
that the transition from your previous
provider to our service is smooth.
Our education technical specialists will take care of all your installation requirements, ensuring existing connections to your school’s systems and applications are retained with no disruption to teaching and learning. Ongoing support will be provided, delivering a consistent and reliable broadband connection to your school.
Why Updata?
Being a part of Capita means we now have an extensive and growing partnership with Norfolk County Council. With our depth of knowledge and experience in delivering similar network solutions for local and regional governments, coupled with Capita Managed IT Solutions’ expertise in the education sector and the Capita SIMs School Management System, we are fully committed to working together with you to support transformational change to Norfolk schools and the Authority as a whole. This will also result in increased social value across the region.
At Updata
- We have extensive experience of design,
implementation and on-going management and support of education technology
- Our team of highly experienced education technology specialists build valuable partnerships with schools and are committed to deliver on the vision and potential that technology brings teachers, learners and support staff
- We understand the education environment and our approach is tailored to meet the needs of all educational establishments.
Our experience
- Support over 3,100 schools, academies, colleges and universities across the UK
- Provide the first private education school cloud in Europe for over 1100 schools in Northern Ireland
- Experience of delivering a large number of area wide Building School for the Future projects
- We work in active partnership with individual academies and academy trusts across the UK
- Provide on-going tailored IT support services for schools.
