Digital Education Inclusion Consultancy

Tender description

Moray Council (MC)is publishing this Prior Information Notice (PIN) to ascertain if there are ICT consultancy firms who would have the skills and experience to help support this Authority to further develop its digital approach to raising attainment and to improving access to digital technology for all of our learners. Our key considerations in making an appointment will be around the development of an inclusive strategic approach that delivers educational results and correspondingly, while our preference would be to engage with a single consultancy firm who would be able to provide devices, as well as providing digital consultancy, this would not be a critical selection criteria for the successful appointment of a consultancy firm. The wide ranging scope outlined in this PIN may mean that the Authority could consider engaging with more than one supplier in relation to different elements of our strategy where there is a commitment from the providers to work jointly on an agreed approach. To this end, we are looking for a consultancy:- - who can demonstrate a creative and innovation approach throughout the process of developing the Council’s Digital Inclusion Strategy; - that is outcomes driven and places educational attainment at the centre of this project; - that can meaningfully engage with all stakeholders and, most importantly, our learners in Moray in developing our strategy; - that we can work with as a trusted expert and who shares our aims and values - who will embrace a project management approach; and - with a track record of success in this area This will mean that the consultancy we are looking for can work at pace, has appropriate experience (at scale and size) and can deliver tangible project outputs within a short lead in time from the acceptance of any contract. There are 4 key work activity areas which we would like to develop. 1 Strategic Definition Acknowledging the rapidly changing landscape of the use of digital technology in the education sector in recently, MC is looking for support in developing our vision for the deployment of digital technology throughout our learning estate. This will be articulated in the development of a high level strategy which will focus on how digital technology can support learners to realise their learning outcomes from the early learning childcare (3yrs) through to secondary school (18yrs). The key output would be a 4 Year Digital Inclusion Strategy for Moray Learners that articulates our vision & outcomes that is aligned to our education priorities. This will need to be sensitive to the rurality of Moray, challenges with broadband capacity & will inform the development of underpinning project business cases. 2 Roll out of 1:1 Devices MC has previously allocated in the region of 12,000 devices to primary & secondary school pupils as part of our response to the COVID pandemic, this is a significant transformational investment for our learning estate. In the developing of our approach, we can see that there will be learning we gain from other organisations & we would like to secure specialist support in undertaking our options appraisal & the development of our business case. MC has access to a limited number of ICT platforms & we would require support in being able to access a wide range of platforms as part of the options appraisal or test of change. The key output for this work would be supporting the 1:1 options appraisal process (including the use of platforms not currently accessed by the Council), supporting a test of change/proof of concept & supporting the development of a business case. 3 Infrastructure Advice In relation to the options appraisal leading to the rollout of 1:1 devices, expert advice on ICT connectivity & infrastructure issues in terms of supporting the Council’s learning estate will also be a key output. ICT infrastructure issues are stressed by the geography of many of Moray’s rural schools. 4 Mentoring The last work activity area would be to providing ongoing mentoring & support to Council Officers. In relation to advising Council Officers in relation to the development of ICT Policy, Procedures, Practices & Plans. The key output in relation to this work activity would be able to advise Council Officers on the resolution of issues & to offer workable solutions on a broad range of ICT & education related challenges. Digital Inclusion is part of the Council’s Improvement & Modernisation Programme. This Council wide transformational change programme is underpinned by a strong project management approach & the expectation is that the supplier that we engage with would also share & work to a project management methodology. Our way of working is based on co-production & inclusion. In order to maximise the use of the technology for educational benefits & to support a positive learning environment, the direct involvement of learners & teachers is paramount. The development of digital solutions needs to be inclusive to ensure fitness for purpose now & in the future. This will mean supporting teachers to maximise the use of digital connectivity & to make this their preferred way of working. Engaging with staff & helping them to upskill so that they can take full advantage of innovations in digital technology is an important part of the culture change we wish to develop. The consultancy selected will therefore be working with Officers & education staff but will also engage with parents, primary & secondary pupils. A co-productive approach will be especially important in terms of the options appraisal & proof of concept stages of our strategy development. We will therefore seek to work with a consultancy that shares our commitment of adopting an inclusive partnership based approach; working co-productively with staff, parents & learners.