London Grid for Learning - To Parent Directory - LGfL

IntroductionWhat is LGfL?The London Grid for Learning is a Consortium of the 33 London Local Authorities formed in2001 with the initial purpose of leveraging combined purchasing power in the procurement ofbroadband connectivity and associated services for London maintained schools.In April 2001, the Consortium incorporated a Special Purpose Vehicle, the ‘London Grid forLearning Trust’ to enable the authorities to act jointly in undertaking procurements and letting ofcontracts.The Trust is a company limited by guarantee, owned jointly by all London Councils, and is aregistered charity. The Executive Board of Trustees/Directors is made up of representativeDirectors of Children’s Services and LA officers with responsibility for strategic leadership of ICTin schools.The LAs engage closely in the work of the Trust through regular meetings of representatives fromall member LAs, and the activities and decisions of the Trust are guided and informed by the workof four representative ‘sector’ groups and five specialist groups:• the Editorial Board;• the MLE Implementation Group;• the Portal Development Group;• the Technical Steering Group;• the e-Safety GroupIn addition to these standing groups, groups for specific purposes are created from time to time,for example to oversee a regional procurement programme, as recently seen in:• the London Managed Learning Environment Procurement Group, and;• the Computers for Pupils Procurement Group.Every London LA is represented within these groups and involved in the governance of LGfL.It is estimated that through the aggregated procurement of infrastructure, security systems,learning platforms and digital learning content, London Local Authorities have by 2009 generatedsavings in excess of £120m compared to securing the same services for schools withoutaggregation.In addition to savings through aggregated procurement, LA collaboration also provides significantbenefits to Local Authorities and schools through shared expertise, experience and resources,and the avoidance of waste created by duplication of effort.In the last year, the LGfL has undertaken a major internal audit of the information securityarrangements across itself and its principal suppliers’ organisation in line with the HMG SecurityPolicy Framework. The recommendations from this audit will be reflected in a new informationsecurity policy to be implemented over the next six months. The services and products in thisservices guide will enable LAs and schools to meet the challenges of the Becta informationhandling guidelines and Ofsted’s new evaluation schedule of judgments for schools in meetingsafeguarding regulations.LGfL has collaborated with the twelve other regional grid bodies across the UK to create theNational Education Network, a community, a dedicated physical network infrastructure, and acontent repository at www.nen.gov.ukAlthough the Trust is essential to the proper and effective working of the Consortium, it is merelythe servant vehicle; and it should be understood that:The London Grid for Learning is the Consortium of London’s 33 LocalAuthorities working together to achieve outcomes which exceed (in qualityscope and value for money) what can be achieved by working individually.4