Dudley Contract Award

RNS Number : 7573W

RM PLC

25 November 2010

 



RM chosen as school ICT provider by Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council

RM has been selected as preferred bidder for DGfL 3, the next stage of the Dudley Grid for Learning project. RM was originally awarded a contract to deliver DGfL in 1999 and has provided managed ICT services to schools in Dudley since. The new contract is expected to be worth up to £30m over ten years to RM's Learning Technologies business, and was awarded following the completion of a comprehensive competitive procurement process.

DGfL3 will provide and manage sophisticated ICT infrastructure, software and services for primary, secondary, special schools and Pupil Referral Units in Dudley. It will build on the reputation and achievements of the existing DGfL, providing both continuity of service and a new level of innovation. The overall value to RM will depend on the exact combination of services individual schools select.

Terry Sweeney, Chief Executive of RM, said:

"Dudley has been a key strategic partner of RM since we were chosen to provide the Dudley Grid for Learning in 1999. We are proud to have been involved in the success of DGfL which currently provides services to nearly all of the schools in Dudley. It is great news that we have been given the opportunity to provide services for DGfL3, and we are excited at the prospect of delivering new levels of service excellence and choice for schools based on best of breed technologies."

Councillor Liz Walker, cabinet member for children's services, said:

 "DGfL3 will support Dudley's 'Vision 2025', which is intended to provide a step change in the nature of provision and in outcomes for children and young people. We are putting education at the heart of our thinking, with the aim that by 2025 all learners in the Borough will be ambitious, confident and committed to learning. Providing them with great learning facilities - including new technology - is fundamental to our plans."

For further information, please contact:

Iain McIntosh/Phil Hemmings, RM plc	08450 700300
Juliet Clarke/James Macey White, Financial Dynamics	020 7831 3113

Notes:

1.   The RM Group is a leading provider of educational solutions that help teachers to teach and learners to learn. RM works closely with educationalists to create new products, processes and technology which improve education. RM is listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange under the symbol RM.L, ISIN GB0002870417. Further details are available at ww.rm.com/investors and through the Group's investor blog at rminvestors.wordpress.com

2.   RM was selected to provide the Dudley Grid for Learning (DGfL) in January 1999 in a project valued at £43m. DGfL was an innovative PFI programme intended to deliver a complete managed ICT service for schools across the Borough. It was the first UK educational ICT project to include payments based on educational impact and its success has influenced many subsequent educational ICT initiatives.

 

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