EAST Lancashire schools will undergo a giant leap in technology, thanks to a constant connection with their local education authority.

Schools under Lancashire County Council control are now electronically linked to the Schools Portal system.

It means they will have constant access to information, including a calendar of key dates and term times, on-line personnel forms, links to DfES and National Grid for Learning home pages and a Who's Who chart of people within the authority.

The system will eventually be accessible from home for headteachers, which will help them to do more work from home instead of having to stay at school in the evenings or in the holidays.

Lancashire County Council's Cabinet Member for Communication, Information and Lifelong Learning County Councillor Marcus Johnstone, said: "The Schools Portal is an excellent example of ICT being used to save schools both time and money.

"It will transform the way schools communicate with each other and with the LEA.

"As the system has been designed to be so flexible, it can be developed in the future to include even more information."

The move comes as part of the Government's target of 100 per cent of council services working electronically by 2005 and helps to create a more paper-free office, as well as being environmentally friendly.

It is hoped that the site will be developed in the future to include even more information, such as links to other education websites and will eventually be accessible to school governors, the public and all LEA staff.

E-government Project Manager Janet Wilkinson, said: "The Schools Portal is another excellent example of the LEA working closely with schools and internal ICT resources to create a strong product which is beneficial to all and another e-solution that Lancashire can be proud of."