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Kingsmead is quickly developing a reputation for e-learning and is becoming a regional leader in this field. We believe that ICT has enormous potential to motivate and engage young people.
 At Kingsmead all staff use the internet and school network to create, share and store resources. Each teacher has a laptop that is used to plan lessons and record student assessment. A total of over 250 computers and other portable devices are used by students and staff across the school. The school operates a single domain network, and has recently implemented a whole school electronic reporting system. Kingsmead has made a considerable commitment to the use of ICT. A major aim has been to unite parents, students and teachers and school systems to further learning.
With such a prevailing culture of embracing ICT, we at Kingsmead believe in continuing to improve our ICT infrastructure. A critical objective has been to employ a better use of e-learning within the school and to streamline several of our ICT systems in order for staff to focus on teaching and learning.
  Students have access to a wide range of opportunities for using ICT to support their learning. For example a Year 11 science class currently use PocketPcs to support their studies, using them both in lessons and at home. All our classrooms have interactive whiteboards or an equivalent. Students can book out laptops for use in lessons, as well as a mobile video editing suite of laptops which can be used for video projects in curriculum subjects. Students took part in a very successful pilot ‘Podcasting’ project working with individuals in the wider community. Our students with special educational needs are also supported through the effective use of Alphasmart notebooks in their lessons.
 An exciting new development has been the re-development of the Learning Resource Centre (LRC). Kingsmead has put much of the curriculum online through a virtual learning environment (VLE). This means that when their teacher is absent, students simply log into the workstations in the Learning Resource Centre for immediate access to either their ongoing work or relevant exercises assigned by the absent teacher or department head. The VLE enables work to be tailored towards the individual needs of students and allows teachers to distribute the learning materials to their classes, and receive data on student performance. Much of the work completed by students is automatically marked by the software, giving both teachers and students immediate feedback. The Learning Resource Centre is supervised by two trained teaching assistants.
 A major drive in ICT has been to extend and personalise learning through the use of ICT. The development of an extranet and virtual learning environment (VLE), called the Learning Gateway, allows Kingsmead to operate as a 24hour school, opening up opportunities for learning beyond the school day. All students have access to their own personal online learning space where they can store their own course materials and assignments in digital form.
Our newly implemented VLE allows teachers to deliver personalised learning content to specific students. The VLE is a platform for delivering assignments and lessons over the Web. Learning resources are stored centrally, aligned to curriculum standards to ensure consistency. The Learning Gateway and VLE places students at the centre of the learning experience, strengthens communication between parents, teachers and students, frees teachers up to create more time for teaching and allows students to collaborate and express themselves in new ways.
At Kingsmead students have easier access to learning resources both inside and outside the school environment. Kingsmead’s innovative use of ICT also enables parents to support and become more involved in their children’s learning experience. It also frees teachers up to spend less time on paperwork and more energy in the classroom, and to do what they do best…teach.
At Kingsmead these benefits manifest themselves in a richer educational experience.
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