Trusted supporter

With IT provider XMA’s support, primary school Sherborne St John has transformed a small, aging ICT suite into a modern, flexible solution that can be accessed by children throughout the school.

ICT now plays a major part in a child’s education. For that reason, people in staff rooms across the country are now debating how their school can rise to the technology challenge.

For Sherborne St John, a small primary school in Hampshire, a key topic for recent debate was how to implement an up-to-date approach to computers and the Internet for their 4 to 11 year old pupils. Staff knew it was particularly important because their students belong to a generation born into a connected world.

Headteacher Tony Cox explains: “We did a survey and about 75 percent of pupils have access to the Internet. It’s not 100 percent but it is a big part of their lives and growing.”

“Our school has always tried to support a mix of the old and the new. We still enjoy traditions like a conkers tournament and Maypole dancing but we also look to have the most up-to-date technology so we can take advantage of today’s ICT opportunities.”

Until recently, the school had a small computer suite but wanted to implement a much more ambitious solution. Teachers and governors were keen to introduce laptops on a wireless network because of the flexibility it would offer the pupils. They also wanted to upgrade the existing PC suite so they retained some of their past infrastructure.

A complete solution

One of the most important steps for the school was to find a partner who could help with the entire solution.

Cox says: “We are not technology experts. We haven’t got the time or expertise to go to different companies for the different elements we needed. We wanted to have somebody we could trust just to get it all sorted. XMA said they could do it and they did.”

In fact, IT provider XMA sourced and implemented every aspect of the school’s eventual solution including two trolleys containing 20 laptops each, both networked using wireless technology. XMA also provided the supporting server infrastructure and upgraded the school’s wired desktops so that they were also linked into the system. Software was installed too, including a powerful tool called Ranger which enables teachers to link their machines to their student’s individual laptops and the interactive whiteboards.

Cox says: “It was a complete solution. XMA did everything and got it up and running.”

Wide-reaching advantages

Since then, the flexibility of a wireless solution has proved to be a huge success at the school. Cox says: “Before it was a bit cramped to get even half a class working on computers at any one time. Now we can take the laptops into the classrooms.”

“Rather than timetabling ICT we can include it more often and in many more subjects in the way the Government is asking schools to do."

“It gives us the option of including IT across the curriculum. Under supervision, pupils can use the laptops as research tools whatever the lesson and, essentially access the whole world from their usual classroom seat.”

Personal reassurance

XMA also provided a support service so the school could report any problems and receive help either remotely, via a phone call or through an onsite visit. However, before long, staff realised they needed a more permanent solution.

Cox says: ”We discovered there were small things that needed a technician on site. So we now have a dedicated XMA technician who visits on a set number of days each month to sort out all our problems and that works much better.”

“My teachers aren’t IT specialists as such and they don’t have time. Now we can save any issues up and Dan sorts them all out when he comes to see us. It’s so reassuring.”

Robust and reliable

Cox believes the school made the right choice of partner. He says: “XMA seems to be a company that knows what they are doing and where they are going.”

He believes the support has helped to make his school’s project a success. “They put it in very effectively and efficiently,” he says. “Our system has to be really robust because, in a school, lots of different people use it with different levels of skill and care. We have had a very good experience since putting our trust in XMA.”