City Learning Centre
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A City Learning Centre is a facility which provides state-of-the art ICT-based learning opportunities for the pupils at the host school, for pupils at a network of surrounding schools and for the wider community. Their emphasis is on aiming to enhance learning across the whole curriculum by providing courses and opportunities for individual pupils from schools around the area in the United Kingdom. The multimedia establishments cater for any age and level of ICT understanding, and some offer conferencing facilities which are pre-bookable by local businesses. Many City Learning Centres are established on the same ground as an existing school (for example, South Sefton City Learning Centre was established on the grounds of Savio High School).
The amount of established City Learning Centres in England has exceeded 100, and is still growing. For a list of operational City Learning Centres in England, see List of City Learning Centres in England.
[edit] Funding
City Learning Centres are heavily funded by the British Government to ensure they are able to cater for the requirements of local schools and businesses within the area, with emphasis on enhancing opportunities in disadvantaged areas. Up to £1.2 million of Revenue Funding per CLC is available for capital and initial start-up costs plus recurring funding of £220,000 per annum.
After their first year of operation, an additional £150,000 is available for Capital Redevelopment Funding to ensure their technology remains at the forefront. However, unlike revenue funding, it is only released from the first full financial year that a CLC is fully operational, requiring that a Centre must be open before 31 March in order to trigger funding in the following financial year. This however is limited to building & structure work, hardware & software, but not the funding required for subscriptions for such software. It should not be used to pay for consumable, staffing or other non-CLC purposes. In addition, this money must be spent on the Centre and not simply shared out amongst it's partner schools, unless it is to improve connectivity between a Centre and partner schools.
