Northern Ireland extends schools contract with Capita

The Northern Ireland Education Authority has extended its contract with Capita to provide ICT services for over 1,100 schools by two years in a deal worth more than £50m.

The original £170m five-year contract began in 2012.

The contract sees Capita provide a managed IT service to every primary, post-primary and special needs school in Northern Ireland, providing services to over 300,000 pupils and 50,000 teachers and support staff.

Capita supports schools in their use of ICT to support teaching and learning both within and beyond the classroom through a range of services and software. This includes the provision of the company's SIMS management software.

Chief executive Andy Parker said: “Over the past five years we’ve worked closely with schools across Northern Ireland to deliver a huge range of IT services, enabling them to introduce innovative technology solutions to improve teaching and learning.

"It is testament to the quality of the service provided by the Capita team that the Northern Ireland Education Authority has chosen to extend its contract for another two years.”

The contract is delivered by Capita Managed IT Solutions, which is based in Newtownabbey in Northern Ireland.

At 1124 GMT, Capita shares were up 0.7% to 552.50p.