A BASINGSTOKE primary school has been shortlisted for an award for its innovative use of information and communication technology (ICT), which included a project to help keep pupils safe online.

St John’s Church of England Primary School, in Kingsmill Road, is in the running for an Education Business Award in the ICT Innovation category.

The awards, which will be held at the Leonardo Royal London Hotel in London on June 14, recognise excellence in the education sector.

St John’s was shortlisted for developing both its infrastructure and curriculum for computing.

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This year, schools and educational establishments across the United Kingdom have been recognised in 21 categories.

Former top athlete and four-time Olympian Donna Fraser OBE will present the awards at the ceremony on Wednesday when representatives from St John’s will find out if they have won the category against five other shortlisted schools.

The ICT Innovation Award recognises educational establishments that can demonstrate innovation in their approach to teaching and deploying ICT to further the learning experience for students.

St John’s was shortlisted for its “huge ICT ambitions” including a project aimed at keeping children safe online.

The school, which was declared School of the Year at the Pride of Table Tennis Awards in March, has embraced Google Classrooms since pre-Covid and also has around 80 Apple iPads for both staff and students to use.

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Children are taught to learn coding across the school using Beebots in the early years and progressing to use Bluebots, Innobots and Spheros, giving them the opportunity to develop their skills as they move through the school.

Last year, St John’s was a ‘Google Internet Legends School’ when it had a visit from Google to help key stage two children learn about staying safe online.

The children helped the Google team solve clues that led to five things to remember to stay safe online, including thinking before sharing; checking if something is real; and looking out for each other online.

The primary school has also improved its ICT infrastructure and communication with the introduction of a VOIP phone system in each class, office space and shared areas, and through the use of Microsoft Teams for inter-staff communication and collaboration.

Neil Tunnicliffe, deputy headteacher at St John’s, said: “It is really pleasing that the hard work that has gone into developing both the infrastructure and curriculum for computing at St John's has been recognised.

“It has involved a lot of hard work but has resulted in a really exciting computing experience for the children at the school.”