Hamilton Community College

Head of Faculty ~ Mr J Mack.

The ICT department consists of Nine fully equipped ICT suites. IT1 was opened in September 2003 by the Rt. Hon Charles Clarke MP, Secretary of State for Education and Skills, and is an example of how the school is investing in improving the learning environment. 

All teaching suites have sufficient computers for each student to have their own, each class has a laser printer networked to their work station. The teachers have their own laptop computers for lesson preparation, which together with interactive whiteboards and ceiling mounted projectors, provides a stimulating and highly motivating environment within which the students can learn. 

More about ICT 

The school network consists of a gigabit fibre backbone and a leased-line Internet supply from the East Midlands Broadband Consortium. This provides each student with fast access to the Internet and e-mail, with the added security of general filtering controls from EMBC and more specific controls monitored by our own technical department, which comprises three Qualified IT Technicians and a Network Manager. 

Our ICT suites are located throughout the College ensuring that ICT facilities are available to all departments at all times, not just when students have ICT lessons. It is a whole school approach which is co-ordinated byMr D Maguire. Most classrooms have wireless 'wifi' network connections, which enables teachers to take electronic registers of every lesson, thus reducing absenteeism. 

Each ICT room has software which can view the students screen and allows direct communication from the teacher's desk to make suggestions, correct and improve work, as well as monitoring the tasks the students are performing to ensure they are in line with their instructions. We teach ICT and we also use ICT to show the students what is possible. 

Students are banded by ability in Year 7 and Year 8, and broadly set in year halves by ability in Year 9, Year 10 and Year 11. We find this allows us to use our resources effectively and target work to stretch students' abilities. It also enables us to target support where it is needed most. 

Lessons 

We believe lessons should be student centered, with the emphasis on learning by doing and with extension and enrichment of the curriculum. As a Technology College we are making increased use of the many ICT developments. 

Homework and assessment 

Homework is set regularly. At Key Stage 3 students should get approximately three-quarters of an hour per week, with extra homework in the run up to exams. At Key Skills 4 students should get one to one-and-a-half hours per week, again with extra homework before exams. Students' progress is assessed every 4-6 weeks, so an accurate level can be applied to their work at any time. 

Extra curricular activities 

Revision classes are run at Key Skills 3 and Key Skills 4. Informal study areas are provided at break and lunch times for students who wish to do extra work. We have an Able and Talented Club which will be doing project work this year for a National Competition. 

ICT Curriculum

The following courses are offered at Key Skills 4 (Year 10 and Year 11): 

General National Vocational Qualification (GNVQ) Information Communication Technology (ICT) - worth 4 GCSE's (A-C grades). 
General National Vocational Qualification (GNVQ) BUSINESS STUDIES worth 4 GCSE's (A-C grades). 
Diploma in Digital Applications (DIDA) - worth between 1 and 4 GCSE's (A-G grades) 
CCEA GCSE in ICT (Short and Full Course) 

In Key Skills 3 we follow the National ICT Strategy which caters for pupils in Year 7, Year 8 & Year 9. 

How do we help your child? 

The latest textbooks and PowerPoint lesson presentations, with current data sources from the Internet, making the lessons as topical and accurate as possible. 
We offer additional learning support both in class, as provided by our IT trained Teaching Assistants and after school on a one to one basis. More able students are also encouraged to attend the after school sessions where extra and more challenging work can be discussed in a relaxed environment. 
Our system of marking and monitoring is integrated into a whole year database, where other IT specialists have access to student files for moderation purposes. Teachers share the burden of lesson preparation, which ensures each student receives the best advice from the subject specialist, be that Programming, Planning and Systems Design, Modeling or Business Application and Integration. 
We set homework which does not require a computer, and tries to develop individual and independent research and development skills. 
How can you help your child? 

Encourage your child to do their homework on a computer and to develop skills using the application packages. 
Try to deter the use of a computer as merely a games machine. It is much more than that! 
Support your child's teacher by encouraging their use of Internet Search Engines and by quoting the source of their information if it is 'cut & pasted'. 
Encourage your child to use Spreadsheets to manage their money, word processing to write reports and Desk Top Publishing for leaflets. Slide presentation software can be great fun and can also help in a job interviews. 
Faculty staff