Welcome to the WAMIE (Windsor Ascot Maidenhead Intranet for Education) Website
FirstClass v11 Client Upgrade (26th April 2012)
The long awaited client upgrade for FirstClass v11 has now been released. Every user with sufficient local permissions is now offered this upgrade when they log onto FirstClass thus reducing the requirement for upgrades to be applied manually.
In order to inform all staff users about the enhanced functionality contained in the upgrade the following conference has been placed on the desktops of all staff members. So far the information in this conference includes what to do if you reject the upgrade and some information on the differences you will see in the client. Further information will be added to this conference when necessary.
Where manual upgrades are required we have made the FC11042 upgrade file available for both Windows and MAC under WAMIE Management. We will further be looking into providing a MSI for those that require it. In the meantime where upgrades are not possible using the automatic option users can continue to use the v10 client as has been the case since the server upgrade last August.
Changes to ICT Support Call Procedures
There are currently a number of different ways in which schools can electronically log calls for assistance from the ICT department. These ways will be rationalized from 1st April 2011. The mailboxes for schools.helpdesk and wamie.admin will no longer be available for schools to use and all calls will be received through itservicedesk@rbwm.gov.uk.
A number of schools are already using this facility very successfully and calls via this method have been steadily rising since we released it in the Autumn. Some schools have extended the number of staff able to access this mailbox by requesting additional mail accounts to be linked to our service desk. All schools have been e-mailed with details of the mail accounts that are currently linked to the service desk. From 1st April you will only be able to log calls by e-mail from these addresses.
In order to assist you in this process an icon will be made available on the First Class desktop of any account which can be used to log a call. Inside this icon you will find instructions on how to proceed.
We will be happy to make further accounts available.
Staff Leavers
Please note that with effect of Monday 1st November 2011 staff will be automatically unallocated from your school on the leaving date entered into SIMS Personnel. The account will then be deleted after a period of one month. Note that this will not occur when a contract end date is entered, only when a final date of leaving is entered in the Employment Details.
There will be instances where schools will require key staff to retain their First Class accounts linked to the current school e.g. where a Head Teacher is available for a protracted handover period. In these instances you should make us aware of this at least one week prior to the leaving date by submitting the Extend User Form. An extended period of three months will be available in these instances.
Please make all staff aware of this well in advance of their leaving date
20th March 2010 - FirstClass 10 has now been installed. 9.1 Clients can be upgraded using the appropriate msi which can be found on the right hand side of this page. N.B. Windows 2000 or before will use the 10.000 client and Windows XP or above can use the 10.009 client (which will be required for latest enhancements). The MAC OS X client is 10.009 but MAC OS 9 will need to remain on the 9.1 client.
If you are installing FirstClass Client for the first time on a Windows device, install the FirstClass 9.1 client and then run the appropriate FC10 upgrade msi
17th Jan 2010- We have been working on an upgrade to FirstClass to counter some intermittent issues we have had recently with:
• policy application
• websites not updating in a timely way
• outgoing external mail being delayed (we have been circumventing this problem)
• login failed/sessions halted due to reaching a server limit
The upgrade was implemented today. Please contact itservicedesk@rbwm.gov.ukif you get any further issues with the above items.
14th Jan 10 - The National Home Access Programme has now been launched; the number to ring for an application form is 0333 200 1004 - information about the scheme, a sample form and links to the websites can be found atHome Access - this link is also on the right hand side of this page. In Part 1 of the form there is a section on Group Ordering; the borough is NOT running a Group Ordering System so this section can be left blank.
14th Dec 09 -The National Home Access programme is about to be launched. Applications can be made to Capita, the managing agent, from 7th Jan 2010. The scheme is designed to encourage low-income families with children at Key Stages 2 and 3 to apply for a one-off grant to pay for a computer and a 12-month subscription to the internet. Families will have a choice of retailers and the programme will run until 31st March 2011
Becta have negotiated good prices and as Home Access packages are available for purchase by all families, they can benefit from this negotiation. The link on the right hand side of this page - Home Access for Children & Families, links to an area that contains the up to date information about the scheme, including the first 3 supplier websites; this area of the website will be updated regularly.
8th Dec 09 - Groundbreaking Internet Safety Strategy launched to keep children safe online - please see the following link for the DCSF press notice Groundbreaking Internet Safety Strategy A link to the UK Council for Child Internet Safety and it's 'Click Clever Click Safe' Internet Strategy can be found on our E-Safety page (which can be
found in the right hand column of this page)
20th Nov 09 - Have you seen the Family Friends site a charity providing short-term support to families with children aged 0-13 across the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead? Click on the logo to access the site
18th Nov 09 - E-Safety page updated with new links for children (e.g. online e-safety games), parents (link to the government announcement on Myguide), and Teachers (embedded links to e-safety videos from Teachers TV)
The iPhone & iTouch FirstClass Mobile client updated to 10.1 via App Store.
Users who are already using the FirstClass client can automatically upgrade the client on their iTouch/iPhone by going to the App store, and clicking upgrade.
For new installations seach for FirstClass in the itunes App store, and choose to install.
We have enabled ActiveSync(c) so that Windows Mobile & Apple iTouch/iPhones can connect to the FirstClass server for calendars and contact syncronisation.
** Note step 12 is different on version 2.x & 3.0 iTouch & iPhone Clients
Note: Support for any mobile clients will be limited, as different mobile network configurations/tarrifs can cause problems, but please report any issues to itservicedesk@rbwm.gov.uk and we will advise if possible.
Wamie Staff Newsletter 4 May 09 posted - see Latest Wamie Staff Newsletter link on right hand side of this page
The WAMIE Team have started to create training videos for WAMIE - the first 2 videos have been loaded. Please see the link at the top of this page. The staff videos will require a login to view them.
Changes to POP3 & IMAP configuration in FirstClass
Due to changes in the FirstClass infrastructure, changes are required to the URLs provided for users to collect mail in a 3rd party mail client i.e. Microsoft Outlook.
This only affects users who have configured POP3 or IMAP.
If you are using FirstClass to forward mail to another account, this will not be affected.
Due to changes in the FirstClass infrastructure, changes are required to the URLs provided for users to synchronise their calendars, tasks and contacts between FirstClass and a mobile device.
SyncML will continue to work, but the URL will change, as detailed in the link below.
- Page with links to National Education Network teaching and learning resources added - see Important Info section on the right
E-Safety Pages Created
- for young people, parents/carers and teachers/schools - see Important Info on the right of this page
Contact us news:
The WAMIE Team's fax number has changed to: 0871 236 0949
See Contact us section for full contact details.
Citrix GoToMeeting Purchase
- We have purchased Citrix GoToMeeting, to run training sessions and online meetings for schools.
- This will provide, catchup for meetings, where the video of training sessions/ meetings can be viewed after the event.
- Audio Conferencing is provided free via VOIP (requires a headset and microphone) or via pay per minute 0203 local rate phone number.
Network Upgrades
New internet bandwidth
- The upgrade to the internet connection had now taken place, and is now running at 60mb.
- A new WAN is being designed to allow more flexiblity, Disaster Recovery and Resilience for the Council and School Networks.
The current 100Mb fibre between Windsor & Maidenhead will be replaced for 2x 100Mb circuits, from different service providers.
- 12 schools are being upgraded to new LLU (Local Loop Unbundling) internet connections during the year, to provide greater bandwidth, resilience and flexibility.
Remote Backup for Schools
- All schools in the full Managed Broadband SLA are setup to backup SIMS.net & FMS (Where applicable) on a nightly basis.
- Schools are reminded to keep their SIMS.net servers on 24/7 so we can take the backups over night, and they MUST continue to do their local tape backups.
More info from RBWM to be provided in an ICT backup guide for schools shortly.
FirstClass Server Upgrade to version 10
- In May 2008, the live FirstClass server was upgraded from Version 8.3 to the current version 9.1, latest clients shown on the bottom right of this page.
- FirstClass 10 is due out in the Spring of 2009, and RBWM are on the list of priority customers for testing.
- More information to follow.
CitrixGoToAssist use grows from strength to strength.
- The WAMIE and Schools Support teams are now using GoToAssist to support schools with their web filtering, remote access, Firstclass and SIMS.net/ SIMS Learning Gateway related issues, thus reducing travelling time, costs and providing a faster resolution to issues.
- Pro-active support for schools servers such as tidying backups can now be done before problems occur.
-We are actively looking at other uses for the system, so watch this space.
-Citrix have asked RBWM to be a case study, so we may be in touch with schools to get some customer feedback.
SIMS Learning Gateway
- SIMS Learning Gateway is a product that allows parents to login to a secure portal and see live information about their Child(s) assessment, attainment and achievement, from any machine with internet access. The product runs on the Microsoft Sharepoint 2007 architecture; the extra functionality that this new architecture can provide is currently being reviewed.
- A pilot was conducted with Charters School earlier in the year.
- 11 Schools are currently setup on SIMS Learning Gateway.
- For more information please contact the WAMIE Team.
