national intranet for scottish schools

Please note that this is a working document and is still under development. It is provided in

this draft form for the information of potential bidders. Regularly updated versions of the

specification will apear on www.ssdn.org.uk

National Intranet

For Scottish Schools

Draft Statement of Requirements

October 2003

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http://www.ssdn.org.uk/

Contents

3 Introduction

4 Background

6 Project Scope

8 General Requirements for the Intranet

13 Structure of the Intranet

• Core Intranet

• Extended Services

Core Intranet 15 User Directory, Authentication and Remote Access

18 Social Software

25 Intranet Learner Environment

32 National Caching Service

33 Training

34 Help-Desk Facility

Extended Services 35 National ISP Service

36 Co-Location Service

37 Local and Establishment-Based Caching Service

39 Commercial Content Portal

40 Local Intranets

41 Intranet Accreditation

42 Local Help-desks

43 Advertising

44 Additional and Future Developments

Please note that a glossary of terms used in this Schedule is contained in Appendix X.

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INTRODUCTION The Scottish Schools’ Interconnect and Intranet Project (formally known as Spark) combines a broadband interconnect and national intranet for schools, education authorities and a specific range of national agencies. The interconnect, which delivers broadband connections to a point of presence (PoP) in each education authority and to national agencies such as Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS), the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) and the SEEMIS Group, has been procured separately and is described in more detail in Appendix X. This schedule sets out the detailed statement of requirements for the intranet component of the project. What is an intranet? An intranet is a private computer network based on the communication standards of the Internet. It is a smaller version of the Internet that only the members of an organisation can see. An organisation can create, within its virtual boundaries, a manageable, secure version of the World Wide Web which can be used to provide its users with access to a specified range of information and services. Certain agreed elements of an intranet can also be made available as appropriate to specific outside interests in the form of extranet facilities. The intranet will provide a range of services and facilities tailored to the varying needs of pupils, teachers, education managers and others within a secure online web-based environment. The overall project proposal is an ambitious one but one which, if successful, will place Scottish Education at the forefront internationally of developments in Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The intranet will serve a potential user base of some 800,000 individuals, almost 3000 schools, 32 local education authorities and a wide range of associated interests. It will give those 800,000 users access to an ever-expanding world of expertise, knowledge, interests and people.

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BACKGROUND The quality and penetration of ICT into schools has improved immensely since the National Grid for Learning Scotland (NGfL Scotland) project was launched in 1998. Teachers, pupils and education managers across Scotland are now benefiting from an enhanced baseline of ICT provision in our schools. With the additional input of ICT training for teachers through the New Opportunities Fund (NOF) and the Masterclass initiative, schools in Scotland are approaching a point where they are ready to move to the next stage of development in the use of ICT for teaching, learning and school management. Many education authorities in Scotland have established effective wide area networks (WANs) connecting schools with each other and with key authority nodes. Many of these WANs comprise narrowband connections ranging in capacities up to ISDN6, although an increasing number of schools now have broadband connections comprising bandwidths ranging from 2Mbps up to 100Mbps and more. Use of intra-authority networks for purposes related directly to teaching and learning is still at an early stage of development in many authorities, although some valuable and pioneering work is being carried out in this area in various parts of Scotland. With the advent of broadband, the means now exist to construct a high-speed, high capacity network that connects: schools within an authority; schools across the country; local authorities to each other and to their appropriate national partners; and the Scottish education community with networks elsewhere in the UK and across

the world. While the Scottish Executive’s support for broadband roll-out will, in time, help provide the necessary high-speed connections within each authority, it is the development of the national schools’ intranet (with its attendant national interconnect) that will provide the means for schools to connect reliably and at high speeds not only with schools elsewhere in the country, but, by means of a high-capacity break-out from the intranet to the Internet, to schools across the world. The intranet will be procured as a national asset by the Scottish Executive and rolled out to every Education Authority (EA) in Scotland. This will mean that authorities, through their EA hub, will be able to take advantage of broadband links to other authorities and to the Internet before all of them have acquired broadband networks within their own boundaries. Some of the features to be provided for schools by the intranet will only work effectively once schools are able to utilise high levels of bandwidth across the whole national network. It is therefore likely that schools in authorities without broadband WANs will only be able to make use of a subset of intranet features in the early stages. This situation will improve as broadband technologies become more prevalent over the next few years.

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Purpose of the Intranet The intranet will offer the means by which complex models of educational collaboration will be established across the myriad communities of interest that exist in Scottish education. It will also be a mechanism by which Scottish education can begin to transform itself in order to exploit the pedagogical riches that the new information and communication technologies will increasingly make available over the next few years. It will not be enough simply to extend broadband infrastructure to the door of every school, or indeed to every pupil’s desktop. The intranet will begin to offer pupils, teachers and others the tools and the resources necessary to find, isolate, synthesise and disseminate information from the vast stores of knowledge that will become ever more available to us all. The intranet will help to break down barriers to learning that exist and have always existed: • Geographical barriers will be minimised by the ability to communicate in real-

time with people across the country and across the globe; • Social barriers will be lowered by the facilities which bring young people together

from all walks of life; • Pedagogical barriers will be eased by the immense capacity that the intranet will

provide for the sharing of practice, ideas and experience, at the local, national and international levels;

• Professional barriers can be further tackled by providing the facility to share educational information with those in other professional domains such as health care, social work, children’s services, youth work and central government;

• Barriers to communication can be lowered by using the intranet to offer parents and other external partners access to information appropriate to their needs and responsibilities.

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PROJECT SCOPE This national project, combining intranet and interconnect, is an ambitious one whose scope encompasses pre-school, primary, special and secondary education, with linkages to higher and further education too. Discussions are also being held with relevant organisations about opening this national resource to the independent schools’ sector in Scotland. The project will therefore bring together:

• 32 local authorities • 3000 schools • 800,000 individual users • Learning & Teaching Scotland (LTS) • Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) • Her Majesties Inspectorate of Schools (HMIE) • Scottish Executive • Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs) • Other local and national partners

Each subset of partners will have a particular range of requirements to be met by the intranet. In very broad terms, bids will have to demonstrate how the intranet will meet the following set of needs:

IR 1. The needs of pupils to learn, to access information, to research projects, to link up with their peers across Scotland and across the world, and to access school and curricular resources.

IR 2. The needs of teachers to identify and collate content, courses and tools for their teaching, to share ideas and good practice with their colleagues elsewhere, to engage in online and connected communities of interest, to track and monitor their pupils’ progress, and to undertake necessary administrative functions.

IR 3. The needs of education authorities to perform their school administration functions, to give their schools secure, filtered and managed access to the intranet and Internet, to make policy and guideline documents available to schools, to work within the local council structure and in partnership with other local authorities, to exchange data as necessary with the Scottish Executive, SQA, commercial partners and agencies, and to establish online fora.

IR 4. The needs of the Scottish Executive to establish and maintain a comprehensive and resilient national management information system for education, to provide the infrastructure required to allow the national eProcurement Strategy to roll out successfully, to facilitate liaison and negotiation with local authorities on the operation of the School Improvement Framework, and to offer the Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED) in particular a delivery mechanism for ScotXEd and for policies, guidelines and circulars to education authorities, schools and individuals.

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IR 5. The needs of Learning and Teaching Scotland to manage and deliver curricular web content and web services to Scotland’s schools and education authorities, to manage the interface between the contractor running the national intranet and the various partners, to oversee Service Level Agreements (SLA) between the contractor and the local authorities and to continue to research and develop the use of ICT in Scottish education.

IR 6. The needs of the Scottish Qualifications Authority to exchange assessment data with schools and authorities, to deliver online assessment banks for schools, and to maintain necessary data links with commercial providers of pupil tracking and monitoring systems across Scotland.

IR 7. The needs of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education in Scotland to have access to the same data, resources, fora and communities of interest as teachers and education authorities.

IR 8. The needs of parents and guardians to access such information about pupils’ work, attendance and progress as EAs’ policies allow.

IR 9. The needs of the wider community, where appropriate and agreed, to access specified services and information on the intranet.

IR 10. The needs of public sector and commercial educational content providers for reliable and high-capacity mechanisms, including transactional mechanisms where appropriate, for the delivery of their products and services to teachers, pupils and others.

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GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR THE INTRANET The intranet will comprise a complete suite of platform-independent features (tools, services and content) that are based on open standards and will enhance collaboration, productivity and communication among its users. The procurement process for the intranet is concerned with the purchase of tools and services. Educational content will largely be provided by means of separate initiatives. These include the procurement of Scottish digital content by Learning and Teaching Scotland, the DfES National Curriculum Online project, BBC plans for the Digital Curriculum and ongoing work within other projects such as SCRAN and Scholar. Web links for all these initiatives can be found in Appendix X. The intranet will be delivered as two broad elements: A core set of features to be offered free at point of use to all education authorities

and other end-users; An extended set of services that the supplier will be able to offer on a commercial

basis to any approved end-user willing to enter into a contract for such services. The intranet supplier may also wish to offer, as a part of their bid, a bespoke range of online applications and educational content that would be useful to Scottish schools. However, this option is not a core requirement of this procurement. Outline of Features The following descriptions outline the key features which bidders are asked to provide. In each case, bids should: IR 11. describe how they will integrate the feature into an intranet environment

and under what arrangements links to the wider Internet will be permitted.

IR 12. describe the IP protocols the feature will use. IR 13. identify where features are dependent on additional hardware (such as

video and net conferencing and VoIP), especially at the local level, and specify the minimum hardware requirements (such as soundcards, webcams and other add-ons) for the proposed solution.

IR 14. describe the customisation options available and how this functionality

can be set, by whom and at what administrative level. The intranet should allow detailed customisation, allowing users to stamp their identity on any interface and to allow system administrators to configure tools to match individual users’ needs i.e. an email or file transfer client for a primary pupil will look different to one used by a teacher or an administrator.

Security and Authentication

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[NP] – mission critical feature!! A central requirement of the intranet is a true single log-on and authentication procedure for all users across the whole range of facilities and services that will be made available. This may include services in addition to those described in this document. All intranet services should be linked appropriately, therefore, to the User Directory. In addition, of course, keeping the intranet environment safe and secure is a major requirement. These requirements are set out in the sections on User Directory and Authentication and on Intranet Security. Intellectual Property Rights The Scottish Executive intends to establish a working group comprising national and local interests to discuss the issues relating to Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and the national intranet. Providers will be required to conform to the findings of this group which will inform the intranet procurement and implementation as it proceeds. Digital Rights Management (DRM) is the means by which the use and abuse of content and its attendant IPR across a network is controlled and tracked. DRM prevents online piracy and theft of copyright protected files, and also facilitates the tracking and monitoring of content to enable the commercial exploitation of the network by content providers.

IR 15. Bids should describe a transactional business solution to this requirement and provide details of a suitable IP-based DRM mechanism for the tracking of IPR and for facilitating secure financial transactions between content suppliers and suitable accredited user-organisations and individuals.

Platforms Scottish schools and education authorities utilise a range of hardware and OS platforms, with mixed platforms often being employed within a single authority and within a single school. Across the country, PCs using Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh computers using Mac OS are the major computer and OS platforms used, with an increasing number using the Linux environment for networking purposes in particular. IR 16. Bids should describe how the intranet will operate across the full range

of computer and OS platforms currently deployed in Scottish schools and education authorities. A solution that does not work equally well across at least the two main desktop platforms (PC and Mac) will not be considered.

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Users The intranet will require to serve the information, education and communication needs of the full range of potential users: pre-school, primary and secondary pupils, teachers, classroom assistants, senior school staff, the full range of education authority staff, Scottish Executive education officials, Teacher Education Institutions, Learning and Teaching Scotland, the Scottish Qualifications Authority and SEEMIS. IR 17. The presentation of features should be tailored to the specific needs of

each category of user. Bids should describe the differentiated approach to this requirement.

The Education (Disability Strategies and Pupils’ Educational Records) (Scotland) Act 2002 places an obligation on responsible bodies in Scottish school education to ensure that pupils with disabilities are able to participate fully in the curriculum. The intranet will be required to comply with this and other legislative requirements by ensuring that all pupils (and all stakeholders generally) will have reasonable access to all of its facilities. IR 18. Bids should describe how users with special needs, including those with

disabilities, will be able to access the full range of features available across Intranet. Reference should be made to specific support for adaptive technologies.

Customisation and Extensibility As described throughout this document, the intranet should offer a full range of customisation options, allowing the environment to be tailored to the needs of users. Ideally, this customisation should extend to the selection of features at an authority level as well as access to controls that can be implemented at an individual school level. The solution should allow for discrete features to be added and removed completely.

IR 19. Bids should describe how the above requirements for customisation and extensibility will be achieved at local authority and school levels.

Open Standards, Interoperability and Open-Source Software Unless there is a valid and specified reason for doing otherwise, all functions should be based on open standards which allow data structures and files to be read and applications to be developed and enhanced by a variety of means.

IR 20. Bids should describe how the supplier will meet the requirement for open standards across the full range of features offered by the intranet.

A number of levels of interoperability require to be met by the intranet supplier. The UK Government has set a mandatory requirement that all public sector information systems meet the demands of the e-GIF specification. The Government has taken a strategic decision to adopt XML and XSL as the core standards for data

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integration and management of presentational data. The e-GIF specification includes the definition and central provision of XML schemas for use throughout the public sector. These are pre-requisites for joined-up and web-enabled government. Link: http://www.e-envoy.gov.uk/Resources/FrameworksAndPolicy/fs/en Recently, the e-Government Metadata Framework (version 2 – published May 2003) has also been incorporated into the e-GIF specification and features within the intranet will have to comply fully with this standard. The same Metadata Framework will inform all on-going and future work in the area of learning object repositories in the UK. The following link also gives access to Government guidelines on XML, Improving Communications with Schools, Guidelines for UK Government Websites, Principles of e-policymaking and a range of other useful documents in this area. Link: http://www.e-envoy.gov.uk/Resources/Guidelines/fs/en However, at another, though related, level, the intranet will have to comply with the standards for learning technologies and learning systems set out in the developing IMS project. This aims to produce unified specifications covering metadata, content, administrative systems tied to learning environments and learner information. The intranet will require an open architecture that will enable users to find content easily, to incorporate all kinds of data into their courses, lessons and assignments, to import and export learning objects and other data as required, and to employ similarly-compliant in-house systems to gain full access to properly tagged content held within the intranet. Link: http://www.imsproject.org/ An online discussion on the various aspects of UK Government web standards and projects can be found at: http://www.govtalk.gov.uk/ IR 21. Bids should demonstrate how all of the above requirements for

interoperability in standards in data integration, metadata and e-Learning will be met.

Open Source Software (OSS) is software whose source code is made available and licensed to allow anyone to use or modify the code as they see fit. It is usually available at no charge, and is often developed by voluntary efforts.

IR 22. We will consider OSS solutions submitted as part of this procurement process. Where such a solution is proposed, bids should highlight this.

Browser Access Access to all areas of the intranet’s functionality should be through a web browser. However, users should not be restricted to a single browser product. IR 23. Bids should describe the minimum standard of web browser required to

access all the intranet features for all main platforms. Bids should

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http://www.e-envoy.gov.uk/Resources/FrameworksAndPolicy/fs/en

http://www.e-envoy.gov.uk/Resources/Guidelines/fs/en

http://www.imsproject.org/

http://www.govtalk.gov.uk/

highlight where a particular function or service is to be delivered by a method other than the standard web browser, and should offer a justification for non-browser access.

IR 24. Bids should provide details of the web browsers, plug-ins and other software which are required to deliver their proposed solution, including product names, version numbers and the operating systems they support.

IR 25. All content on the national intranet should meet the criteria, code of

conduct and ground rules established by the UK Government’s GridWatch scheme (established and maintained by BECTa).

Link: http://www.ngfl.gov.uk/about_ngfl.jsp?sec=20&cat=99&clear=y Monitoring of Quality Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS) will oversee all contracts related to this project and will require regular quality reports on all aspects of the operation of the intranet. IR 26. Bids should describe the system for continuous monitoring and

reporting on the quality and operation of intranet features. Reports should be provided to LTS at agreed intervals.

DNS Management and Hosting A domain name is a meaningful and easy-to-remember description for an Internet address. The domain name system (DNS) translates domain names into IP addresses. DNS for all intranet partners has been established as part of the interconnect procurement, and authorities and agencies are required to operate within the DNS ‘space’ provided by UKERNA. The intranet supplier will require to implement and manage appropriate elements of the national intranet within this same DNS space.

IR 27. Bids should specify how the intranet will operate within UKERNA’s DNS space.

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http://www.ngfl.gov.uk/about_ngfl.jsp?sec=20&cat=99&clear=y

STRUCTURE OF INTRANET: CORE SERVICES AND EXTENDED SERVICES The intranet supplier will be required to deliver a described set of core features, free at the point of use and on an equitable basis, to all education authorities and other partners across Scotland. The intranet supplier will also be required to offer stakeholders a defined set of extended services on a commercial basis. The supplier will offer stakeholders a stable and equitable national pricing structure for the purchase and delivery of these extended services. Stakeholders will be free to decide whether or not to enter into a contract with the intranet supplier for any of the extended services. Core Intranet Features The following broad features will form the core intranet, delivered free at the point of use and on an equitable basis to all stakeholders: User directory, authentication system and remote access facility Social software Learner environment National caching service Training National help-desk

Extended Services The following broad categories will form the extended services, offered on a commercial basis to all local authorities. Local authority and other partners will be free to decide whether or not to enter into a contract with the intranet supplier for these extended services: Management of the transactional mechanism for commercial content provision Co-location Service (in collaboration, potentially, with the interconnect provider) ISP Services (where these are not provided through the core intranet or

interconnect contracts) Local and establishment-based caching services Local Intranets Local help-desks Push technologies (e.g. news channels, controlled advertising, public sector

promotions, etc.) Additional Functionality Bidders will be able to offer additional features not covered explicitly by this statement of requirements, where the bidder feels that such additional functionality will benefit teaching, learning, communication and education management in Scotland.

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Such additional areas of functionality may be offered as part of the core intranet delivered free at the point of use to schools and authorities, or they may be offered on a commercial basis as part of the extended services.

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CORE INTRANET • User directory, authentication system and remote access facility • Social software • Learner environment • National caching service • Intranet training • Help-desk facility USER DIRECTORY, AUTHENTICATION AND REMOTE ACCESS The entire intranet environment will be built around a robust, dynamic and secure central directory service, enabling intranet and extranet applications to synchronise users and groups of users. Given the heterogeneous nature of the proposed system, the intranet will support a highly distributed and highly differentiated user base. Throughout the intranet there will be a need to authenticate users, give each category of user appropriate access to applications, sub-environments and content, and provide appropriate levels of security without restricting flexibility. A true single log-on and authentication procedure for users across the whole range of features is a central requirement of the intranet. The user directory and its associated authentication and security processes will form the central core of the intranet and is likely to extend to extranet applications (such as ScotXed, SCRAN, SEEMIS and other such services). The arrangements for establishing, maintaining and operating a comprehensive user directory and authentication procedure will require sufficient flexibility to allow individual education authorities to vary access controls at the local level. The user directory and authentication procedure will also permit the establishment of a secure remote access service for users of the intranet, with access to services dependent upon user-category. There may be a requirement to provide two-part authentication for certain categories of user requiring access to sensitive areas of the intranet. An outline of the range of users is available in Appendix X. The system should support authentication by user ID and password. The system should also allow for authentication by user ID alone for access to a restricted set of resources by young children. IR 28. Bids should describe how an effective national user directory will be

established within the parameters set out in Appendix X. IR 29. Bids should describe the tools to allow the delegation of account

maintenance to local levels.

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IR 30. Bids should describe the facilities to allow users to change their own

passwords. IR 31. Bids should describe the facilities to manage security policies to ensure

that obvious passwords are not used, passwords are changed on a regular basis and users have automated tools to help recover forgotten passwords.

IR 32. Bids should describe, if appropriate, how data will migrate from existing education authority and other user directories to populate the national directory.

IR 33. Bids should describe how the user directory will be continually updated to reflect movement in the user base, either as it occurs or at specified and realistic intervals. The implications of a dynamic national user directory should be set out clearly for education authorities and existing local user directories.

IR 34. Bids should describe the means by which a true single log-on procedure will be enabled across the whole intranet environment, allowing each user access to their permitted range of features without the need to continually log in and out of each discrete feature. For security purposes, a true single log-on procedure will be preferred to one based on password synchronisation.

IR 35. Bids should describe how the user directory and authentication procedures adhere to standard authentication protocols.

IR 36. Bidders should submit proposals indicating how secure external (including home) access to the intranet can be provided, via the Internet, for all categories of users, and how security and authentication issues would be addressed for this facility. Certain categories of stakeholder (e.g. parents) would have access via this feature to specific and appropriate sectors of the intranet only.

IR 37. Bids should describe how a higher-than-normal level of secure access can be provided to those categories of user requiring access to sensitive data or secure areas and applications on the intranet, including system administration.

A directory is an approach to organising information about users and services. We envisage a fully searchable directory, where any user can easily find the details of another user and the search result is readily available to other applications within the intranet environment, ensuring efficient communication between all users of the intranet. However, the feature itself requires to be customisable to such an extent that it is able to reflect current and future policy on access to intranet users, both at national and local levels.

IR 38. Bids should describe how the intranet solution will deliver this service, both at a local and national level, and how the service integrates with other intranet applications taking flexible account of user authentication

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and policy on access issues. Current policy in this area is contained in Appendix X.

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SOCIAL SOFTWARE The core intranet will offer all users a range of features designed to maximise collaboration and access to services and to other users. Some of these core intranet features will coincide with the Learning Environment features to be described later. Safety Features Users of the intranet will interact through a range of applications, including email, web browsing, newsgroups, chat-rooms, conferencing tools and others. There will be a requirement for features that will enable variable levels of filtering to be applied to the full range of applications for different categories of user. IR 39. Bidders should detail features for differentiated content filtering, usage-

tracking, moderation and other methods designed to increase personal safety on the internet.

IR 40. Control of such features should be capable of being configured at national, local authority and establishment level.

IR 41. Bids should describe how security policy will be applied both at national level and at local level (where local authorities are often using their own filtering policies). Solutions should therefore allow multi-level controls and multi-level access.

Web Authoring and Hosting The intranet will provide the vehicle for a range of information services (such as curriculum advice and guidance on Continuous Professional Development). This information will take many digital forms, but is likely to comprise mostly HTML-authored documents. The intranet must provide appropriate authoring and hosting facilities, allowing users to create and share such information in a variety of formats. This facility will also be available to teachers and pupils to enable the publishing of materials on school or authority websites, including personal webspaces provided as part of the intranet. Such websites may be inward or outward facing. IR 42. Bids should describe the network arrangements for hosting this content

and the features which will be made available to authors for composing, validating and publishing such content.

IR 43. Bids should describe either how the composition and publishing features

can be tailored to the skill-levels of a wide variety of users, or describe a range of features to meet the varying needs.

Internal and external web content will make use of proprietary plug-in technologies and these should be seamlessly integrated into the intranet environment.

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IR 44. Bids should describe the mechanism for disseminating plug-in updates to users.

HTML authoring, by its very nature, encourages links to intranet services and documents. These links can be other web pages, documents, embedded applets, e-mail addresses, newsgroups, etc. There is an expectation that selecting a recognisable link or object will result in an intelligent response from the intranet, such as launching the appropriate application for that file type or automatically updating the browsers plug-in directory. IR 45. Bids should describe how such functionality will operate in their

proposed solution. Additionally, users will require specific tools to create and modify their personal homepage and areas of intranet content for which they have been allocated responsibility. IR 46. Bids should describe how personal webspace will be provided to

intranet users, the amount of web space to be made available to each user and the means to publish pages

IR 47. Bids should specify how this process will be moderated and should also

address options for version control. IR 48. Bids should describe how pages published on the intranet can be

accessed from the Internet where desired by the page creator. Conferencing and Communication Facilities Net Conferencing Net conferencing allows face-to-face (one to one and one to many) conversations between users across the intranet. This is normally achieved via an inexpensive webcam and appropriate software. Net conferencing normally offers additional features (collaborative tools) which prove extremely useful within a teaching and learning environment. For example, text based messaging, online whiteboard facilities, file sharing and remote desktop control of applications. IR 49. Bids should describe how net conferencing features will be integrated

into the intranet and the full range of additional features suppliers are able to offer.

There will be an expectation that other applications (e.g. word processor, spreadsheet, database, presentation graphics, etc) should be able to launch in parallel with the net conferencing feature and controlled on a group basis if necessary to aid teaching, learning and other presentations. IR 50. Bids should describe the features that will allow this requirement to be

implemented.

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Chat Rooms Chat rooms are a system of connecting users across an IP platform, such that everyone on the network can engage in real-time text conversations. IR 51. Bids should describe how they intend to implement an IP-based chat

room facility within the intranet. Users of the chat channels should be easily identified by other users and their details should be available for scrutiny and should be easily added to a personal address book. IR 52. Bids should describe how this requirement will be implemented. Bids

should also describe the features that will allow for the ready identification of users across the system.

Chat rooms will require regular moderation. In addition, while the majority of chat-room sessions will involve intranet users only, there will be a requirement to permit approved participants from outwith the intranet to join in a chat-room discussion (for instance, where pupils wish to involve students or experts from another country in a chat on a specific topic). IR 53. Bids should describe how this moderation can be achieved, by whom

and at what administrative level. IR 54. The supplier must describe which functions will be undertaken by the

supplier and which functions will require to be undertaken by another party, for instance, Learning and Teaching Scotland.

IR 55. The network should enable intranet-only chat in a way that will allow

external and approved ‘visitors’ to the system to participate in internal Intranet chat sessions.

Newsgroups and Discussion Groups A newsgroup or a discussion group is a conversation or dialogue about a particular subject consisting of notes written to a central intranet site and redistributed through a network of news and discussion groups. Newsgroups and discussion groups are normally organised into subject hierarchies, with subjects having multiple levels of subtopics. Users can post to existing newsgroups, respond to previous posts, and create new newsgroups. IR 56. Bids should describe the tools that will enable the newsgroup and

discussion group feature to be implemented. Newsgroups and discussion groups will vary in terms of their ‘visibility’ and their duration. Some groups will have a national profile, visible to all intranet users, and intended to exist for an extended period of time. Other groups may be created at a local level only (school or authority) and for a specific period of time for a specific

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and short-term purpose. A range of possibilities will exist between these two extremes, including a requirement to limit the visibility of a particular group to a specified range of users. IR 57. Bids should describe the features that will enable this requirement to be

implemented. Newsgroups and discussion groups will require regular moderation of their content within the intranet environment. IR 58. Bids should describe the features that will allow the required levels of

moderation of content to be achieved, by whom and at what administrative level.

Users of the newsgroups should be easily identified by other users and their profile (such as email address and similar information) should be available for scrutiny and should be easily added to a personal address book. IR 59. Bids should describe the features that will enable user-identification to

be implemented. Email Service Email is a service that includes receiving and sending of text messages, with the additional provision of a facility to attach other file-types (text, graphic, spreadsheet, etc) to the email. There is an expectation that the email feature can also be launched by selecting a user link from within the chat room environment, newsgroup environment or directory environment. This action will automatically configure the email feature with the send details of the person selected. Bespoke mail arrangements exist within many local authorities and it is possible that users will wish to migrate to the intranet service over a period of time. Within schools, domain names are managed by the British Educational Communications and Technology agency (BECTa) and apply the following naming structure: <school name>.<geographical area>.sch.uk All domain names are currently registered with Nominet UK, who are responsible for managing the database of UK domain names. IR 60. Bids should describe how they might integrate a scalable email solution

into the intranet architecture. Interoperability issues with propriety/legacy systems will need to be considered. Many authorities already have email provision and will wish to retain their existing

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service. In addition, schools have a particular need to ensure high levels of protection for email users. IR 61. Bids should describe how the intranet service will run alongside these

existing services. IR 62. Bids should describe how email addressing conventions will tackle child

protection issues. IR 63. All sent and received mail should clearly identify the sender, recipient

and copy recipient(s). IR 64. All incoming and outgoing mail should be automatically virus checked

and scanned for inappropriate attachments (both physical size and file extension).

IR 65. Bids should describe the filtering and management systems that will be

included and how these will allow interoperability with existing systems when required. They should also describe the options for storage and archiving of email, and how this can be configured at local authority level or how proposed solutions can ensure compatibility with existing provision and policy in this area.

Instant Messaging Instant messaging differs from email primarily in that its focus is immediate end-user delivery. To operate successfully, a messaging system requires a presence awareness and notification procedure that indicates when the intended recipient of an instant message is available for delivery of that message. In the Internet environment, it is also usually combined with a one-to-one or one-to-many chat system. IR 66. Bids should describe how an instant messaging system will be

implemented within the intranet, and will specify extensions for authentication, message integrity and privacy.

Mailing List Facilities A mailing list server provides a method of automatically redistributing email to names on a mailing list. Users subscribe to the service (normally by sending an email to a mailing list they learn about). The mailing list application then adds their name to that list and future postings are send to them automatically as they occur or are scheduled. IR 67. Bids should describe how mailing list services will be provided within

the intranet environment. It is a requirement that users should be restricted to mailing list groups appropriate to their age and educational needs i.e. each list service should be able to distinguish the level of the user.

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IR 68. Bids should therefore describe how mailing lists will be moderated. Controlled access to mailing lists should also be possible from the Internet, and any access should include a facility to moderate the list being used. IR 69. Bids should describe how this feature will be implemented. Video Over IP Video Conferencing Video conferencing is the transmission of image (video) and speech (audio) back and forth between two or more physically separate locations, using intranet protocols and an intranet as the transmission base. This is normally achieved via more expensive hardware and use of a dedicated video conferencing facility. IR 70. Bids should describe how a video conferencing over IP feature will be

delivered over the intranet. IR 71. Bids should describe how video conferencing will be made directly

available from chat and other related facilities within the intranet environment.

IR 72. Bids should also describe how video conferencing over the Internet will

be offered. Learning and Teaching Scotland currently operate a video-conferencing bridge (in their Glasgow office). A technical description of the LTS bridge is contained in Appendix X. IR 73. Bids should describe how the solution offered ensures full compatibility

with the LTS video conferencing bridge. Video Distribution Video data can be distributed across a network by unicast, multicast or broadcast. Unicast connects point to point.

Multicast connects one location to many, sharing traffic over each part of the route

that leads to more than one destination. Broadcast sends to all and can be received by any.

IR 74. Bids should describe how a video distribution facility will be delivered

over the intranet, offering unicast, multicast and broadcast as appropriate.

IR 75. Bids should describe the technology that will deliver effective video

delivery to the desktop in a way that is highly bandwidth-efficient.

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Video on Demand Video on demand (VoD) allows for independent access to stored video resources with delivery of those resources to a single desktop or a series of specified individual desktops. IR 76. Bids should describe how a VoD service will be delivered over the

intranet and the range of value-added functionality it will offer. IR 77. Bids should describe the technology that will deliver effective VoD to

the desktop. Virtual Whiteboard Facilities An online virtual whiteboard facility allows a group of collaborators to collectively create a document (such as a list of priority items, a plan of action or a diagram). The document is edited using mouse or keyboard. Locally the whiteboard program looks like a simple drawing package, but in a live session, changes made to it by any participant appear on every participant's machine. Participants can also be identified (for example, by the colour of their mouse pointer). IR 78. Bids should describe their proposals for integrated virtual whiteboard

facilities across the intranet. Voice over IP VoIP is voice (or voiceband) communications between two or more parties over a partial/ complete intranet-based connection. Ideally, the VoIP client can be launched from a link within the directory environment or from a link within the user’s own address book. IR 79. Bids should identify scaleable solutions for the provision of VoIP to the

desktop and describe the technologies required to implement it.

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LEARNER ENVIRONMENT The tools and services provided by the intranet will allow education authorities to present an environment to their users which supports learning and teaching in schools. The intranet Learner Environment (LE), when combined with a school’s or an authority’s virtual learning systems and other management applications, will provide the basis for a managed learning environment. Components required to support learning and teaching The LE will be accessible via standard web browsers. It will comprise components which, when populated with curricular content and user-data, will be used to support current classroom practices, new flexible classroom-based approaches and distance learning, including self-directed learning. Curricular content will come from centrally commissioned resources, local authorities, teachers and negotiated access to other collections, including commercial content. LE components, when combined with existing user data in authorities’ Management Information Systems (MIS) will enable the establishment of Managed Learning Environments. A national Data Interchange Agreement (DIA) specifies how data is to be exchanged between the various partners, and the SLE will require to comply with these data standards. See appendix X for a full description of the ScotXed standards. In addition, see appendix X for a description of the principal MIS systems in use. The main functions that the LE will facilitate and deliver are:

• Controlled access to learning and assessment resources that can be mapped to elements of the curriculum, and each of which can be separately assessed and recorded;

• Tracking of learner activity and achievement against the curriculum;

• Processes for teaching and learning, and for course administration, that make it possible for teachers to define and set up learning structures (e.g. lessons, tutorial groups etc) with associated learning resources and activities, including assessment;

• Support of computer-assisted assessment and guidance materials in relation to their secure storage, description and delivery;

• Creation and customisation (through disaggregation, aggregation and contextualisation) of learning resources;

• Communication between the learner, the teacher and other learning support staff to enable direct support and feedback for learners, as well as peer-to-peer collaboration that engender a sense of group identity and a community of interest;

• Links to other administrative systems required to share or exchange data;

• Offline access to learning resources and information about learners.

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The LE will function equally for teachers undertaking continuous professional development (CPD) or any other intranet user involved in learning of any kind and is therefore not limited to school pupils. Controlled access and tracking Secure and controlled access to learning and assessment resources that can be mapped to elements of the curriculum, and each of which can be separately assessed and recorded. The LE will allow the organisation of learners into classes groups that mirror those already set up in the school system, for example classes or year groups. Users will be able to create ad-hoc groups e.g. for tutorials, remediation or consortia teaching, with individual, secure log-ons. In certain controlled situations e.g. for the use of trusted resources or for pre-school and lower primary learners, it will be helpful for a teacher to log-on a whole group to a single or group of workstations. With a group log-on there will be no requirement to track individuals. Learners access their groups and learning resources via their own individual, customised workspaces. The LE should automatically record individual students' log-on time and dates, length of access time, what content has been read, which learning resources have been accessed and the assessment results achieved. Patterns of access should also be recorded.

IR 80. Bids should describe approaches to the management of individual learners and groups of learners.

IR 81. Bids should describe how a user can create new groupings of learners to control access to learning resources and activities.

IR 82. Bids should describe how the intranet user directory and authentication system will relate to the operation of the LE. The user authentication system used to provide a true single log-in facility for all users will, by implication, permit access to the LSE and other national intranet functions.

IR 83. Bids should describe how learners will be able to customise their learning environment, with reference to IR 17, IR 18 and IR 1.

IR 84. Bids should fully describe the comprehensive tracking, monitoring and recording facilities available in the LE.

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Resource Sharing Learning Objects Repositories (LOR) It is envisaged that the intranet will offer all users access to stores of ‘learning objects’ distributed across the network (and elsewhere in the world). The supplier will be expected to deploy an open architecture that recognises the potential for development in this area and that is fully compliant with UK Government agreed standards for data interoperability, including metadata and learning technology standards. IR 85. Bids should describe the mechanisms by which suppliers of LOR

facilities will be able to link up any additional systems with the existing intranet architecture and functions.

File Transfer The intranet should feature a simple method or methods of exchanging files between computers and will include an interface that can be used as intuitively as possible by the full range of intranet users. For example, authors will wish to transfer web page files to the computer that acts as the server. Users will also wish to download programs and other files to a computer from a server. This facility should also enable the bulk distribution of software to end users. IR 86. Bids should describe how file transfer services will be integrated into

the intranet environment. Secure Data Transfer All networks require some level of security for the transport of sensitive data. This is normally achieved through encryption.

IR 87. Bids should describe how secure data transfer arrangements will be delivered on the intranet.

Course and Lesson Administration Processes for course administration that make it possible for teachers to define and set up learning structures (e.g. lessons, tutorial groups etc) with associated learning resources and activities. The LE will need to obtain learner and curricular information from existing management information systems. Information will include but not be limited to registration details, course details, course prerequisites, qualification aims and (notional) study time.

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The LE will need to report back to management information systems relevant information on learner progress.

IR 88. Bids should describe the features available in the LE to allow the exchange of information between the LE and existing management information systems.

IR 89. Bids should describe the features available to teachers in order to allow them the ability to associate learning resources to the curriculum and to learners and groups of learners.

Computer Aided Assessment The use of the LE for the storage, presentation and recording of assessment activities. The LE is required to handle a variety of assessment instruments, including but not limited to types supported by the IMS Question and Test Interoperability specification.

Link: http://www.imsglobal.org/question/qtbest01.html

Assessment data should be automatically graded or presented to a teacher for manual marking where appropriate. A teacher must be given the opportunity to verify and/or approve assessment results before they are accepted as accurate. Customisable reporting (both hardcopy and electronic) facilities will allow assessment results to be provided to staff, learners and other appropriate stakeholders. The LE should be able to control the sequence of learning resource presentation based on a learner’s assessment test results. Assessment capabilities must be compatible with current and planned standards developments in assessment in Scottish education. A flexible approach must be taken to key national requirements. Stakeholders include but are not limited to the SQA, LTS and City and Guilds. Assessment capabilities must also be compatible with recent national developments such as Chartered Teacher Status and the Scottish Qualification for Headteachers. Further information about work going on in the field of assessment can be found at http://www.ltscotland.com/assess/index.asp

IR 90. Bids should describe the assessment instruments supported by their proposed solution and give details of features for creating and editing these.

IR 91. Bids should describe recording and marking capabilities.

IR 92. Bids should describe how the results of assessment can be used to control a learner’s path through the LE’s learning resources.

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http://www.imsglobal.org/question/qtbest01.html

http://www.ltscotland.com/assess/index.asp

IR 93. Bids should describe the features for creating and editing reports of assessment results on an individual basis and on a group basis.

Pupil Tracking & Monitoring Maximising the performance of individual pupils and educational institutions is the aim of all those who work in schools, and is a major Scottish Executive priority. Monitoring and review processes are integral to improving performance, and these processes require the systematic collection and analysis of data. A pupil tracking system enables staff to record, monitor and manage the progress of individual pupils and groups of pupils. It stores and analyses data relating to performance indicators like attainment and attendance. The Executive recognises that many education authorities in Scotland have invested in commercial and other pupil tracking and monitoring systems, and it is not intended that the national intranet will in any way attempt to supplant these local systems. The aim of the national intranet will be to complement such systems and, indeed, to enhance the functionality of such systems by establishing direct connections to the Scottish Executive itself, to SQA, to SEEMIS (for appropriate authorities) and to HMIE. This data would require secure transmission mechanisms.

IR 94. Bids should describe how the learning environment will be able to produce management information that is compatible with ScotXed standards.

IR 95. Bids should describe the range of tools that will allow local authorities and schools to manage this process.

Learning Resource Management The creation and customisation (through disaggregation, aggregation and contextualisation) of learning resources. The LE should support the learning object concept. A learning object is defined as any entity, digital or non-digital, that may be used for learning, education or training. Aggregations of learning resources can include content acquired from multiple sources, including self-developed, professionally authored and purchased materials. Core learning resources will be available to all intranet users. However, not all intranet users will have access to all resources. The LE should provide the capability to manage access on a permission and licence basis to individuals and local authorities. The Scottish Executive and national agencies will work with education authorities to agree a national policy in this area.

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The LE will provide access to learning resources via a searchable catalogue. Access to resources will be dependent on permission policies determined locally and nationally. The LE will present packaged learning resources offering appropriate navigational mechanisms to learners and allow access to pertinent course and performance information.

IR 96. Bids should describe the support for online learning, including tools giving access to learning resources, assessment and guidance.

IR 97. Bids should describe the facilities available to allow content to be structured and sequenced, in particular the features that will allow teachers to break content down into constituent elements (disaggregate), assemble content into new structures (aggregate) and add contextualisation to suit particular individual or groups of learners.

IR 98. Bids should describe how resources will be discovered and accessed from a repository.

IR 99. Bids should describe the features available to allow teachers to associate learning resources with the curriculum and learner groups.

IR 100. Bids should describe the features available to allow teachers to associate learning resources with the curriculum and with learning groups.

IR 101. Bids should describe how the LE will provide the means to tailor access to reflect national and local permission needs.

Communications Communication between the learner, the teacher and other learning support staff to enable direct support and feedback for learners, as well as peer-to-peer collaboration that engenders a sense of group identity and a community of interest. Synchronous and asynchronous communication features are required to support these interactions. The nature of these features is described elsewhere in the specification.

IR 102. Bids will describe how interactions facilitated by communication features can be captured and saved as transcripts for the purposes of portfolio building and assessment.

Links Links to other administrative systems required to share or exchange data, including dynamic links where required.

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The LE should be capable of exchanging both learner and resource information with other systems. Learner information will include but not be limited to the Personal Learning Plan (PLP). The LE should enable a two-way data exchange with core administrative or management systems in an open and interoperable way, and such exchange should be dynamic where required. Example systems include, but are not limited to, internal school MIS and library systems, local authority systems (including established school administration systems), qualification awarding bodies, the Scottish Executive Education Department (including ScotXEd and e-Procurement systems) and tertiary education institutions.

IR 103. Bids should describe the features available to allow information to be exported and imported for exchange with other systems.

Offline access Offline access is desirable not only for learning resources but also for management information from the LE. It would be helpful for teachers and learners to be able to synchronise aspects of the LE with laptops or PDAs for offline working.

IR 104. Bids should describe the features available to allow synchronisation of LE information with portable devices.

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NATIONAL CACHING SERVICE Although the interconnect will offer a very high capacity backbone network to authorities and agencies across Scotland, it will be some time before all local networks are able to claim similar levels of service to schools and other end-users. Even when Scottish schools have access to universal broadband, it will still be desirable to maximise the efficiency of the core system and subsidiary systems. One method of achieving greater network efficiency is through caching. A web cache retains copies of popular web locations and is located close to the users who most frequently request access to these locations. A cache is updated dynamically and regularly to ensure that only the most recent manifestations of cached sites are retained. The most efficient use of caching can be achieved through the establishment of a hierarchy of caches at national, local and establishment levels. It will remain the responsibility of education authorities and agencies to establish web caches at local level, although the intranet supplier will be able to offer a service to authorities for the establishment of local caches on a commercial basis. A national caching service will be offered as part of the core intranet services, free at the point of use. This may be established independently by the supplier or the supplier may choose to use an existing national caching service such as that operated by UKERNA for the higher and further education communities. IR 105. Bids should describe how a national web caching service will be

established and maintained.

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INTRANET TRAINING The provision of a comprehensive programme of training both in the initial roll-out period and thereafter will be a compulsory element of the intranet roll-out. A variety of training methods will be required to operate the intranet successfully. IR 106. Bids should describe solutions to the delivery of initial and on-going

training and how the delivery might be tailored to the range of end-users described in Appendix X.

IR 107. Bids should also describe how the intranet will provide the vehicle for

on-going training as and when required for new users during the duration of the contract.

IR 108. Bids should describe how the intranet supplier will work with authorities

to deliver training to end users.

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HELP-DESK FACILITY The national help-desk facility will be the principal interface between the intranet supplier and the users of the intranet. The intranet will require a national help-desk facility delivered as part of the intranet package, either on a 24/7 basis or at least available during the defined core hours of intranet usage. The help-desk should have sufficient capacity to cope with the massive user base of the intranet, especially at estimated peak times. Education authorities will be encouraged to offer support at the local level where possible to minimise calls to the national help-desk. The Scottish Executive will work with authorities to agree a national policy on the establishment and utilisation of a hierarchy of support at local and national levels. The national help-desk must be scoped to cope with the full range of applications and services offered across the intranet, and should be able to act as a broker for support calls related to interconnect problems (passing such problems where identified to the UKERNA help-desk one behalf of the user) or problems related to specified content packages offered at a national level across the intranet.

IR 109. Bids should describe the arrangements offered to meet the specification outlined above, including the hours of availability.

IR 110. Bid should describe how the full help-desk cycle will be implemented.

IR 111. Bids should describe the arrangements that will be put in place to act as a support broker in relation to interconnect and appropriate content-related problems.

IR 112. Bids should describe how the supplier will assist education authorities and agencies to establish local help-desk facilities able to deal with Intranet issues and therefore minimise calls to the national help-desk.

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EXTENDED SERVICES • ISP service • Co-location service • Local and establishment-based caching service • Transactional content portal • Local intranets • Local help-desks • Intranet Accreditation • Advertising These services will be offered by the intranet provider to all end-users on a commercial basis – end-users will be free to purchase these services or not. INTRANET NATIONAL ISP SPECIFICATION While the interconnect provides Scottish education authorities with a physical IP broadband connection to the Internet via the JANET network, the intranet provider will be required to offer a comprehensive ISP service to those education authorities that wish to make use of it. Suppliers should be able to offer ISP services across a continuum from fully-managed to fully-self-managed. A number of authorities may wish to continue to deploy other ISP solutions, including relationships with other commercial suppliers or by means of various self-implemented and self-managed arrangements. However, the Scottish Executive, through this intranet development, will wish to offer the option of a robust, cost-effective, national ISP solution across the JANET infrastructure. Economies of scale should enable the delivery of a low-cost ISP service to authorities. With 32 local authorities and a number of national agencies involved in the intranet, the solution offered will require to be flexible enough to meet the wide range of needs likely to be generated by this group. DNS arrangements have been implemented as part of the interconnect development through the JANET network. Bidders must therefore be able to offer ISP services within an already-established DNS structure. The intranet ISP Service should offer at least the following elements (although the Scottish Executive will welcome any additional elements that bidders might wish to include in their offerings):

• Email (with the email interface differentiated for certain categories of user, such as young children and users with special needs).

• Email filtering

• Internet filtering

• Web servers

35

• Proxy servers

• Firewall and other security facilities

• Web hosting

• Local authentication

• Local directory services

• Technical support

The interconnect consists of a national broadband network, residing on SuperJANET4, with a single gateway out to the Internet. The Scottish Executive has established a national security policy working group which has agreed a core national security policy to be implemented at the JANET gateway: this security policy is described in Appendix X.

However, each individual education authority will also wish to set its own security policies, and the Intranet ISP service must allow for this level of flexibility. The supplier may wish to offer education authorities an off-the-shelf security package as a value-added adjunct to the intranet.

IR 113. Bids should describe how all the above requirements for a Intranet ISP service will be met.

Intranet Schedule 4: vers 7. 36

CO-LOCATION FACILITY Co-location enables servers and other appropriate equipment to be hosted directly on the interconnect backbone, thereby providing the most efficient distribution of content and applications to end-users. The intranet supplier may choose to offer potential content providers (e.g. BBC, SCRAN, Scholar, commercial content suppliers) a co-location facility so that their content can be made available in the most efficient way possible to end-users. The interconnect, managed by UKERNA on behalf of the Scottish Executive, will provide the means for the physical co-location of servers on the interconnect. The intranet supplier will require to set up the intranet server structure to work seamlessly with this arrangement. The supplier will therefore require to work closely with UKERNA in the provision of this facility. IR 114. Bids should describe in detail the proposed server structure for the intranet and

how the design of the intranet supports content located directly on the interconnect.

IR 115. Bids should describe how the proposed server structure will harmonise with the co-location arrangements established as a function of the interconnect.


LOCAL AND ESTABLISHMENT-BASED CACHING SERVICE In order to maximise the efficient use of bandwidth, a hierarchy of web caches at national, local and establishment level is desirable. A national caching service will be part of the core intranet. The intranet supplier will be able to offer a commercial service to end-users for the installation and maintenance of local caches and establishment-based caches. IR 116. Bids should describe how a commercial service will be established to enable the

implementation and maintenance of local and establishment-based web caches to those end-users who require such a service.


TRANSACTIONAL CONTENT PORTAL The intranet will incorporate a portal that will provide a ‘shop window’ and e-commerce facility for commercial and other suppliers of online educational content so that they can present their products for purchase/download/licensing by schools and/or education authorities. Suppliers will gain access to the portal under terms and conditions established by LTS and agreed with the Scottish Executive, education authorities and the intranet supplier. The Scottish Executive will wish to discuss with authorities appropriate and practical funding mechanisms to enable schools to access and exploit the products and services presented via the portal. IR 117. Bids should describe how this requirement will be delivered. IR 118. Bids are encouraged to offer innovative solutions to meet this requirement, for

instance by allowing schools or authorities to purchase or license the use of a particular product or service for immediate use within variable time periods and for variable numbers of users.


LOCAL INTRANETS A number of education authorities in Scotland have already specified and procured local intranet services for delivery of a range of services to their schools. There may be scope for the supplier of the national intranet to offer local intranet products to those authorities that do not yet have such facilities in place. As current contracts come to an end for those authorities that do already have local intranets, the intranet supplier may be able to offer replacement solutions to them.

IR 119. Bids should describe how this service will be delivered.


INTRANET ACCREDITATION The Scottish Executive is determined to operate an ‘open-door’ policy for suppliers of educational content to Scottish schools whether via the transactional portal described above, or by co-located servers situated on the interconnect, or by other means. However, although schools and authorities will be free to go to any supplier they wish for services, software or content, they are likely to prefer to deal with suppliers whose products are known to be compliant with intranet standards. In liaison with LTS, the intranet supplier will be able to offer to any potential supplier of services, software or content, on a commercial basis, a test for compliance with standards. All suppliers who successfully meet this standard will be permitted to advertise themselves as ‘Fully Intranet Compliant”.



LOCAL HELP-DESKS Education authorities currently operate a wide range of local technical support structures for their schools. Many smaller authorities, in particular, find it difficult to sustain a comprehensive and effective support service across a wide range of hardware, operating systems, network systems and applications. The intranet supplier will be able to offer such a service to any authority seeking to out-source their technical support and/or help-desk facilities.



ADVERTISING The intranet will offer high levels of personalisation to a user-group of approximately 800,000. All users entering the intranet are likely to have their own home-page, from which they will be able to gain access to the particular range of facilities open to them. The intranet supplier, within policy parameters deemed acceptable by the Scottish Executive, local authorities and schools, will be able to offer advertising space to any outside body, public or private. Such advertising will be able to be aimed at particular groups or demographics within the intranet community where required. LTS will work with the Scottish Executive and local authorities to draw up acceptable standards within which such an advertising scheme would operate – this will include reference to policies on healthy living, child protection, network security and any others deemed significant by the principal stakeholders. Prospects for open commercial advertising may be limited, but the intranet would certainly offer a fruitful route for public service notices of many kinds, especially those requiring direct access to Scottish children.




ADDITIONAL AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS The Scottish Executive recognises that it is unlikely that this Statement of Requirements can cover all possible areas of functionality appropriate to a national schools’ intranet. The Executive will therefore welcome the inclusion of additional features and applications not covered explicitly by this Statement of Requirements, where the bidder feels that such additional facilities will benefit teaching, learning, communication and education management in Scotland. Such additional areas of functionality may be offered as part of the core intranet delivered free at the point of use to schools and authorities, or they may be offered on a commercial basis to intranet users. There will also be an on-going need to introduce new features (services, tools and content) to the intranet, during the term of the contract, either from the intranet supplier or from other suppliers. IR 123. Bidders are encouraged to present additional functionality in their bids where

they feel they have a value-added feature which might enhance the communication, learning, teaching or management environments of the intranet.

IR 124. Bids should include facilities to allow future IP services, provided by a range of

suppliers, to be integrated easily into the intranet architecture.

national intranet for scottish schools

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