£1,895.00 for a fully installed 65" BENQ interactive LED screen ! 

that's right, we're continuing our Bett Show offer... same price, same fully installed package.

email info@nsoptimum.co.uk or call 01926 745608 for a quotation and to discuss your project.

just £1,895.00 to buy outright or choose lease finance option to spread the payments. Details here

offer includes:

·         65” Benq RP653k 4k interactive LED screen with Oktopus classroom software

·         Wall mount, 3m cable kit with faceplate and full installation service

·         5 year onsite hardware warranty & lifetime technical support service

perfect for any school or academy classroom

Lease finance is available if required, on our schools approved operating lease

£633.25 per year per fully installed screen (no limit to how many screens per school / academy).

email info@nsoptimum.co.uk or call 01926 745608 for a quotation and to discuss your project.

Windows 10 / Server 2016 & Microsoft SCCM for Schools

 are you looking to upgrade your schools IT network ?

Microsoft Windows 10

Microsoft Server 2016

Is it time to upgrade to Windows 10 for your school?

Yes absolutely. all NS Optimum school networks run a templated Microsoft schools network configuration. This template can be easily adjusted and is constantly adapted for changes within Microsoft software and schools ever changing requirements.

Since Windows 10 first arrived in the UK, NS Optimums technical team delved in to see what had changed, what issues they could foresee in a schools environment and set about making changes to our schools installation template to see if Windows 10 was a viable & reliable operating system for schools to use.

The main hurdles to overcome over and above the work we had already done with Windows 8 (!!) were some inherent printing issues and a way of removing and/or replacing tiles on the start screen so that irrelevant programs (such as xbox & news feeds) or inappropriate content were not shown on startup.

Our new schools template overcomes all of these issues and we started rolling out our first Windows 10 networks into UK schools in August 2016.


What network management is included?

NS Optimum has been supplying installing and supporting IT networks in schools since 1995. Over this time we have developed a set of configurations and management tools to suit every school from small primary to large secondary and multi-site academy or college environments. These, combined with Microsoft SCCM (System Centre Configuration Manager) or by using just some of the elements within SCCM, we create the perfect vanilla network management tool set for each school we work with depending on their preferences and technical capability. NS Optimum schools network management tools include:

• NS User Manager - an easy to use system that links with active directory to import users and setout naming policies for network users.
• Secure Desktop - a configuration to prevents users accessing desktop or network settings. This can be opened up on staff laptops if required.
• Remote Network Access - a combination of licensing and configuration that allows authorised network users or groups of users to securely access the schools network from home or anywhere via an internet connection.
• setup can offer access to full network software and files or just selected areas.
• users can access this from any device (iPad, Windows, Android, Chrome)
• Device Image Deployment - for primary schools we recommend a basic setup of WDS with MIS scripting tool for deploying Windows and other software to devices across the schools network. This makes the system much easier to manage for schools with less IT technical support. However secondary schools may wish to consider a full SCCM deployment.

• Microsoft SCCM Services -  this is a full set of management tools designed by Microsoft to assist with all areas of network management. NS Optimum are seeing SCCM being rolled out into secondary schools and colleges mainly and often to schools moving away from RM CC4 networks to offer a full range of network management to dedicated onsite technician teams. SCCM services include:  
• Policy Infrastructure
• Service Window Manager
• CCM Scheduler
• State System
• CCM CI SDK
• DCM Agent
• DCM Reporting
• CI Agent
• MTC
• CI Store
• CI Downloader
• CI Task Manager
• CI State Store
• Content Infrastructure
• Software Distribution
• Reporting
• File Quota - this is to put a cap on storage capacity of user accounts to stop unnecessary build up of data. Whilst some schools have a specific need for this, we are finding that with hard drive capacity increasing and at a very low cost, file quota is much less of a requirement now.
• Print Quota & Print Release - these can be incorporated into your network so that users do not print excessive amounts. a lot of schools are now moving over to managed print solutions with print release (which NS Optimum also provide) as this makes it much easier for the school and users to take control of their printing whether just one sheet or a large batch. Schools are making huge financial savings with NS Optimum managed print.
• Data & Network Backup + Disaster Recovery - included in our services are tools for taking network and data backup. The exact solution depends on the schools backup policies and requirements from cloud backup, DPM server based backup, local backup with removable tape or full off-site disaster recovery solutions.

With an NS Optimum schools network upgrade, you can take advantage of as much or as little as you like, everything is vanilla meaning it is not locked down or bespoke software so can be configured and upgraded by any competent technician.

An NS Optimum Windows 10 network is a flexible IT network that will grow and adapt with your school, academy or multi-academy trust.

Please call 01926 745608 to discuss your schools Windows 10 network upgrade or email sales@nsoptimum.co.uk and take advantage of our free advice, free onsite surveys and free quotations.

We look forward to hearing from you.

The Best Interactive LED Screens

What is the best interactive LED screen for your school?

Over the past 10-15 years most schools have bought into interactive technologies for their classrooms which usually consists of an interactive whiteboard, projector, audio system and software to help annotate and present lessons. Decisions on which product to buy used to be fairly simple as the vast majority of schools either purchase SMARTBOARDS or PROMETHEAN ACTIVBOARDS albeit for a small number of schools that opted for cheaper or lesser known solutions from the likes of Hitachi, MIMIO, e-beam and CleverBoards.

Key Benefits of Interactive LED Screens:

As always, technology moves on and for the past 2-3 years this change has seen schools rapidly swapping out their old interactive whiteboards for new interactive LED screen technologies and there are a number of reasons for this:

• LED screens are brighter and clearer to see - keeping pupils engaged with the lesson.
• Additional features on some interactive LED screens such as built in devices with access to thousands of education apps means that lessons can be delivered in different ways again helping to engage pupils with lessons (whatever their VAKT learning style).
• Additional software and resources are provided free of charge with most interactive screens that help teachers to incorporate their existing pupil devices (iPads, laptops, Android & Windows tablets) into lessons by delivering content directly to them via the interactive screen and retrieving worksheets or answers back that can then be saved for pupil assessment purposes.
• There are no ongoing maintenance costs for LED screens, whereas projectors required servicing, filter changes and costly replacement lamps. 

Prices have dramatically reduced on interactive LED screen technology over the past 12 months as manufacturers battle it out to offer the best technology at the most reasonable cost - making the swap to the new technology affordable for most schools.

Which Interactive LED Screen?

So, your school has decided to replace your old systems with interactive LED screens, but now which ones do you choose?

Unlike in the past 10-15 years where you had two clear manufacturers to choose from, there are now dozens of manufacturers all claiming to offer the best technology, best software and best all round value for your school.... manufacturers have been popping up left, right and centre with products to offer and whilst Promethean and Smart also have interactive LED screens, there are now also screens from Clevertouch, BenQ, Genee, VividTouch, Philips, Iiyama, Samsung, CTouch, Prowise and many more. They all have different features, different built in devices and different software,

but which screen is best for your school?

NS Optimum have partnered with almost all interactive LED screen manufacturers throughout the past few years as the market has been emerging, developing and changing so that we can offer impartial advice:

• which screen will be best for your school? NS Optimum can help you choose.
• which software will best suit your teachers and their teaching style?
• will the school benefit from any of the additional features or software or is this an unnecessary cost?
• which installation options will suit each individual classroom and the pupils in that class?

A pedagogical consideration for most of these decisions is paramount as there is little point in installing new technology if it's not going to enhance learning. NS Optimum review each schools requirements on a case by case basis to offer impartial advice and quotations to suit the decisions made.

NS Optimum in partnership with Tablet Academy, also offer ongoing CPD for the new technology as an option so that schools really get to know the new technology, how it can be best used to deliver more engaging lessons and to really help bring IT to life in the classrooms by integrating the schools previous investments in IT technologies such as iPads, tablets and laptops in with the new technology such as the interactive LED screen, coding robots such as Dot & Dash and Lego WeDo.

Please contact NS Optimum on 01926 745608 or email info@nsoptimum.co.uk to take advantage of our impartial advice and free school surveys.

Safeguarding IT in UK Schools

Safeguarding your pupils has always been a priority for schools but more recently there is a focus on safeguarding measures to incorporate the schools fast evolving IT / ICT systems covering both external internet usage and internal network use.

How information is accessed:

school devices / BYOD / static or mobile devices

What content is accessible:

block everything? or allow access but track activity so that appropriate action can be taken (disciplinary or educational).

Prevent Duty compliant broadband:

Schools Broadband with built-in Prevent-Duty compliant filtering & reporting.

Monitor & report user activity:

not just online but off-line across the network. Cyberbullying, self-harm & radicalisation isn’t just an internet problem so web filtering may NOT pick up on it - that is where internal network monitoring and reporting (products such as Impero and Policy Central) come in to play to offer reports and instant alerts to your safeguarding officer on unusual activity.

Physical safeguarding mechanisms:

door access security, intercom entry, visitor management & CCTV IP Surveillance.

To discuss your schools IT safeguarding concerns, call NS optimum on 01926 745608 or email info@nsoptimum.co.uk

Computers for Schools

ROBUST, RELIABLE & FLEXIBLE COMPUTERS FOR SCHOOLS

NS Optimums range of PC’s are robust, reliable and come in a range of different styles from ultra-small NUC PC's to all-in-one computers, SFF desktops and everything in between.

As part of NS Optimums ongoing commitment to schools & colleges we’ve expanded our range, lowered prices and increased specifications across the board to meet current requirements. NS Optimum computers have recommended specifications for primary schools, secondary schools and for curriculum, staff or admin usage, however all PC's are built to specification so we can provide exactly the specification that you require if you let us know.  

Value for money – As with all NS Optimum school IT solutions, we always aim to offer all-round value for money. for PC hardware these considerations include:

• lower pricing - our PC range is aimed to suit almost every budget whilst not compromising quality.
• long lasting - all NS Optimum PC's are robust to withstand the day to day use and abuse experienced in schools.
• Well supported - NS Optimum computers come with a flexible collect and return warranty. This means that we pay all postage costs for collecting and returning faulty hardware as well as all parts and labour. Our flexible approach also means we can send replacement parts to the school for the technicians to swap if preferred as this increases the turnaround for faulty hardware ensuring the schools always have minimal hardware downtime.

Please click here to view our latest offers and call 01926 745608 or email me to place your order or for a full quotation.

NS Optimum and Bugle School, Cornwall

NS Optimum Review

Bugle School - Cornwall - Headteacher Tim Wherry

Having searched around for the best price Clevertouch interactive LED screens, Bugle School chose NS Optimum as the supplier and installer for their new classroom interactive LED screens. 

NS Optimum advised the school on various options that were available for such a project, then provided very competitive pricing for an all round fully installed solution. Once the final solution was decided upon for the classrooms,Bugle School searched for the best pricing and for IT / AV suppliers that came highly recommended from other local Cornwall schools. NS Optimum were awarded the contract following a review of the quotations and the new screens were installed a week later.

The school commented:

"We are delighted with the service received by NS Optimum. They have been very helpful and professional from ordering to delivery and installation."

"Excellent products and excellent service. Our favourite IT company to use. Would highly recommend."
Mr T Wherry - Headteacher, Bugle School