Improving educational outcomes with technology

Successfully delivering a long-term strategic development plan, IT support and IT services for an award-winning school.

Home » Case Studies » Alwoodley Primary

Customer: Alwoodley Primary
Locations: Leeds
Solution: Primary School ICT Support, Managed Wi-Fi, iPad Deployment

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Overview

Alwoodley Primary is a two-form entry Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ primary school on the outskirts of Leeds.  

The Senior Leadership Team pursue excellence in all areas of the school, and in particular ICT, putting the learning and well-being of its pupils at the heart of all its thinking and planning. This constant drive to continuously improve is an exceptional example of their high quality of teaching and learning. 

Alwoodley Primary have achieved national awards, accreditations and kite marks seeking new awards and revalidation at the highest level, whilst receiving recognitions for the coveted ICT Excellence Award – Best school in Great Britain for ICT learning experience.  

Key outcomes

  • Comprehensive ICT auditing
  • Strategic Development Plan
  • Online reporting tools
  • Infrastructure improvements with secure, managed Wi-Fi network
  • Increased Wi-Fi uptime, capacity and coverage
  • Mobile Device Management (MDM)
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The challenge 

Throughout the school, there were issues of poor Wi-Fi connectivity, network issues and in general a large amount of technology that was not being used effectively, or required investment.

School leaders were keenly aware that technology was moving fast, and that a solution was needed to address the issues, which would allow teachers to deliver interactive and engaging content to pupils.

Listening to what school leaders wanted to achieve, Primary Technology were commissioned as their new IT Support provider to perform a comprehensive technical audit and create a development plan, to help identify issues and provide solutions to reinvigorate the use if ICT in school.

The development plan would be fully discussed with school leaders, so that decisions could be made about prioritising any required investment over a three-year period.

The solution

The development plan identified the stages and priority of ICT in school that needed to be addressed, including nurturing any legacy hardware.

The first stage was to resolve any outstanding and ongoing issues within school. Staff had previously used a paper-based ticketing system with their outgoing provider. Our Service Desk promptly deployed our online ticketing system, to improve internal communication once an issue is resolved. The system allows staff to prioritise issues effecting the teaching and learning in their classrooms.

The second stage was to address shortfalls in Wi-Fi coverage across school. With planned investment in additional mobile devices, a scalable and managed wireless solution providing site-wide coverage with a robust warranty was needed. Our infrastructure team completed a network design and full Ruckus deployment which included a 5 year warranty, futureproofed for any expansion or increase in devices.

Following the wireless network improvements, the school were in a position to invest in new technologies and add to their mobile device fleet, as part of the final stage. After consultation with our technical consultants, school leaders chose to add a number of Apple MacBook’s and iPads that would be cloud-managed using Mobile Device Management (MDM), to deploy and protect their Apple devices.

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Testimonial

  • Staff confidence has increased in technology across the school. We used to have major issues with our wireless and getting devices on the network, with the help of Primary Technology we now have no problem getting new devices on our network. Thanks to the support and planning we have received, our only struggle now is finding time to keep up with best practices.

    Mel Denham, ICT Leader

The outcome

Alwoodley Primary now has a variety of ICT equipment that is managed correctly, reducing technical issues, improving pupil engagement and increasing staff confidence when using technology. Staff continue to log issues that are dealt with immediately, and are emailed automatically once a job is complete.

Primary Technology continue to provide managed IT support to the school, with regular engagement meetings and advice to school leaders.

Having a managed wireless system covered by a robust warranty, school leaders can continue to focus on teaching and learning objectives.

Apple devices are manage using a single MDM platform, allowing the administrators to easily manage and deploy applications remotely, without compromising on usability.

Partnerships & accreditations

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