Y8 boys TES website competition

I.C.T. Department

At NPS, our objective is to provide the boys with the optimum in the use of Information Communication Technology.

In our new purpose built ICT Suite in the Sir Christopher Harding Building, we have a Local Area Network servicing twenty multimedia workstations. These facilities are further augmented by twenty three workstations in our Learning Resource Centre, where boys may extend their independent learning. There is also a network running into each classroom of the school where each member of staff can access the internet and use information to teach the boys via the 23 interactive white boards.

Digital imaging facilities are available in the form of scanner and digital cameras as well as video conferencing. Our network fileserver allows boys to save their documents to their own personal account and print to our networked colour laser printer. All workstations have high-speed ADSL internet connection which is strictly filtered. All internet usage is thoroughly monitored and our Sophos anti-virus software is updated on a daily basis.

All boys in the school have access to these resources during timetabled lessons, pre-school and after school maths booster clubs, ICT Club and Life Skills.

A full-time technician is available for support in and out of lesson time.

Our aims are:

• To develop, maintain and stimulate boys' curiosity, interest and enjoyment in ICT;
• To develop boys with appropriate IT skills, concepts, principles, methods and vocabulary;
• To convey upon boys a wide and flexible capability in the use of ICT;
• To develop progression in the acquisition of ICT skills;
• To encourage boys to develop personal qualities such as politeness, perseverance, initiative, empathy, self confidence, independence and an ability to work effectively in a group;
• To enable all boys to have equal access to ICT and to experience success in their work;
• To allow boys to develop transferable skills and informed opinions about their ICT and to be able to support them by reasonable arguments.

The boys gain experience in the following areas of ICT:

• Communicating and handling information using a computer text, graphics, displays, charts, music, databases (small to large), spreadsheets and CD-Roms.
• Controlling, measuring and modelling CAD, Screen robots, sensors. Critical awareness of ICT within society is encouraged to support the development of the above skills.

From Reception to Year 4, ICT is taught by Form Teachers, whilst from Year 5 to Year 8 lessons are taught by a specialist teacher. The boys will also use ICT in a cross curricular approach during their studies in other subjects.

A full range of software is available for the boys' use including: Office applications, database, image manipulation utilities, simulations, multimedia compilers, web design, data logging, robotics and encyclopaedia.

At Terry's, Information Communication Technology is recognised as a very important and integral component of our teaching; to challenge, motivate and extend the boys, and to prepare them for the digital future.