On the day of the Evaluation
After your request for a validation has been received, a Digital Schools' Validator will contact your school in due course by telephone. As well as organising a suitable time for the visit, the validator will discuss an outline of the structure of the visit with you depending on the size and context of your school.
The visit should take no longer than a few hours depending on the size of the school. So that the validator can spend the maximuum amount of time talking with teachers and pupils in your school, they will request electronic copies of your school's ICT policies in advance of the visit. They may also ask for an outline schedule of class visits. Below is an outline of a typical Digital Schools' validation visit.
Pre-visit phone call
- Schedule date and time of visit
- Discuss outline structure of visit (e.g. number of class visits etc.)
- Request electronic copies of School ICT policies (if available)
Informal interview with some or all of the following:
- School Principal, ICT co-ordinating teacher, Class teacher, Resource teacher / Learning Support teacher
Class Visits
- The validator will visit approximately four classrooms, this may include a learning support or special educational needs teaching environment (in mainstream schools). In schools with less than four classromms, all classrooms will be visited. The structure of visits will vary depending on the size and context of the school and whether the school is a junior school, senior school, vertical school or special school. The validator will be interested in chatting with the pupils and seeing pupils engaging with ICT around the school.
Schools are notified of the outcome of their Digital Schools validation by e-mail initially with written confirmation. A local presentation ceremony will take place in the next school year. Each school will retain Digital School status for a period of two years. After this time has elapsed, your school will receive an e-mail inviting you to renew your Digital School status.
