School uses Technology to Enrich the Curriculum and Save Money and Time

Crownfield Junior School in the London Borough of Havering has saved £3500 in just 5 months in school visit costs (travel and supply cover) by using video conferencing technology.  The calculation (see table 1) is based on 5 virtual visits from November 2010 to March 2011 to meet experts based at museums in Richmond and Exeter.
Crownfield Junior has been using VC technology for over 2 years and it is clear that it has made huge savings for the school  already, including saving over 600 travel miles and 22 hours of teaching time saved for the staff members in just 5 months.

The teachers are thrilled to have the hassle of organising a visit taken away from them.   Via VC, time is saved doing site visits and risk assessments. It only takes teachers 10 minutes to book a session online followed by a10 minute test call. 

Gary Nott, Head teacher at Crownfield Juniors says “The school was initially part of the North Romford VC Consortium and the VC equipment was provided to us by our LA .  The use of this technology means my staff can be in school with their pupils more as it saves them precious teaching and preparation time. It is not only the financial benefits of VC that make this technology value for money;  the pupils are able to meet experts in fields they would never have had the opportunity to, for example the Met Office scientists, and the historians, at the National Archives.  Video conferencing has enriched our curriculum and saved us money at the same time”.

The school will still continue to have trips to local attractions, where possible, since this is something the pupils can experience face to face.  The virtual visits via VC have added  a time saving and cost effective opportunity for the school.

Table 1 – Showing cost saving calculation for Crownfield Junior School (Nov 2010 – March 2011)

	Museum	Return mileage	Coach hire For 30 pupils	Return Travel time	*Teacher admin cost Pre visit	Teacher cost due to wasted  travel time @£180 per day
1	The Met Office Exeter	420	£740	10 hours	£180	£180
2	The National Archives Richmond	62	£330	4 hours	£180	£90
3	The National Archives Richmond	62	£300	4 hours	£180	£90
4	The National Archives Richmond	62	£330	4 hours	£180	£90
5	The National Archives Richmond	62	£330	4 hours	£180	£90
		668 miles	£2060	22 hours	£900	£540

Total savings (coach, teacher pre -visit cost, teacher travel cost) = £3500.00

*Teacher admin cost = ½ day prep – site visit, pre visit prep for pupils
                                    ½ day team meeting – risk assessment, planning meeting

1.     11th November -  MET Office Education Dept - 'Climate Change' -  Year 6  (24 pupils)

2.     8th March - National Archives - 'Tudors - Portrait of a King' - Year 4  (26 pupils)

3.     9^th February - National Archives - Victorians - 'Victorian Child  - Year 5(25 pupils)

4.     9^th February – National Archives - Criminals'- Year 5 (25 pupils) 

5.     18th March - National Archives - What is History? - Year 5 (30 pupils)

For more information about national and regional museums, galleries, archives and distance learning providers (Content Providers) registered with the JANET Videoconferencing Service click here