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Caldecote Primary

Summary

Caldecote Primary are a 3-form entry school in the south west of Leicester.

Having opened in 1930 as a separate infants and juniors school they were amalgamated in 1997 to become one school which currently has 30 teachers, 50 support staff and some 600 pupils.

Given the size of user base for staff and pupils, IT is incredibly important for the not only the schools operation but also the responsibility to children and their parents, that technology is used in the best way.

As with any school there are safeguarding and child protection considerations and Caldecote operate a strict E-Safety policy. Digital monitoring, internet misuse and cyber bullying are all needs that must be met and the IT of course factors heavily in those areas.

Challenge

Katy Barnes, Caldecote Business Manager told us “Our systems needed updating and our previous support company just wasn’t adequate. We had our concerns in certain areas and because we take our responsibilities seriously, we knew that it was time to make changes”.

“The confidence of our staff and pupils was low and ICT was becoming a hindrance rather that something that should complement our teaching and our operation”

When lessons were being affected and processes returned to manual methods Caldecote knew that it was time to look around for an alternative supplier.

Katy added “When lessons are impacted to the level they were, it’s easy to lose the class and getting it back is tough. If the teacher is battling with a laptop or smart board not working then concentration wains and behavioural issues can occur which is unacceptable”

“A day didn’t go by where staff wouldn’t complain about IT problems, which takes a lot of management time by our support staff and that in turn impacts on all areas of the school support.”

Solution

Katy found Intalect by doing a search on Google. As a local ICT support provider, we were invited in to discuss the requirements.

A very structured approach was taken to look at the servers, the systems, the laptops and desktops, WIFI and software licensing.

A project plan was drawn up to attack everything in the correct priority order, utilising holiday time to make the large-scale changes to avoid downtime.

Regular site visits were carried out each week to ensure that we engaged with the staff and tackled the hands-on jobs in a comprehensive and planned way.

Since taking Caldecote Primary on as a customer we have consolidated their servers, put in strict policies on software and hardware and moved the school to Office 365 for their emails. All of this has achieved a level playing field for the systems making it easier to manage for both the staff and us as the support provider.

Outcome

Katy says “Both the staff and children are much happier. That’s been the biggest difference since iNTALECT took over. ICT is now less of a chore because things actually work. Confidence has been restored.

There is now a plan which everyone involved is signed up to. Whilst the restored faith is in part due to iNTALECT’s work, the main driver is down to Caldecote’s attitude and desire to want to improve things. This is across the board and really is needed when needing to make your systems work for you, rather than against you.

When asked what impact this new relationship has made Katy says “I have more time back in the working day as I am not being pulled in different directions. iNTALECT’s staff are knowledgeable and happy to answer any question we throw at them. It’s a breath of fresh air”