With over 1000 pupils and staff, Inspire Multi Academy Trust is located in Sunderland, serving local communities with high levels of deprivation, where children and families face social and economic barriers, which pose significant challenge to their life chances.

Background

The trust’s five schools are committed to raising aspirations and ensuring pupils achieve progress; working closely with families to give pupils the best start in life.

In 2014, Advantex took over outsourced responsibility for the trust’s IT provision from the local council, providing a range of corporate level managed services in the process that have led to improvements across the board and paved the way to enhanced eLearning experiences for all involved.

Solution

Inheriting an array of hardware and assortment of online software platforms, Advantex, drawing on its extensive experience in the education sector, worked closely with trust’s senior leadership team to develop a holistic IT solution based on long‐term strategic needs.

Completion of a deep‐dive audit and a far‐reaching re‐evaluation of the technology infrastructure to assess if they were fit for purpose heralded the migration to a more corporate‐style IT service for the trust, providing both students and staff with far greater efficiencies.

New investment in state‐of‐the‐art enterprise grade broadband connectivity across the schools, cyber security, a network refresh and a technical support package were also completed as part of a far‐reaching IT refresh.

Benefits

Network security has been significantly improved across the trust while a more future proof infrastructure provides students with safe and secure access to the best technology available and corporate style eLearning tools and experiences during their time at school.

From a business perspective, Inspire Multi Academy Trust’s investment in Advantex has paid dividends in terms of noticeable cost savings, a far more responsive and effective IT service and technology that meets current and future requirements.

Schools are continuing to take advantage of the Department for Education’s ‘Connect the Classroom’ initiative. This has already delivered millions of pounds of funding to upgrade education networks and provide improved access to eLearning resources, faster connection times and greater reliability as the scheme continues to be rolled out across the North East.

Background

Belmont Community School in Durham, one of the main secondary schools in the county catering for students aged 11 16, has taken advantage of ‘Connect the Classroom’ to improve Wi‐Fi capability across its campus. This is part of an initiative specifically crafted to support a suite of advanced technologies to keep more than 800 students, teachers and support staff safely online when they work either onsite or remotely.

Solution

The Belmont School ‘Connect the Classroom’ funded initiative is one of the largest of its type in County Durham. Engineered, driven and directed by Advantex, the work has seen a team of education IT specialists working in partnership with the school’s senior leadership team to design and commission a new state‐of‐the‐art Wi‐Fi system alongside new network switching technology running through fibre optic cabling. This is all supported with a 24/7 maintenance and management package.

Specifically, the solution has seen a new cloud managed Cisco Meraki network at the heart of the solution, engineered specifically to improve access for students and teachers to safe and secure technology and resources ‐ powered by superfast broadband connectivity, extended coverage and greater reliability.

Benefits

The digital revolution ‐ and the technology, data and infrastructure powering it ‐ is changing the way our community schools live and work. Through the delivery of superfast connectivity using advanced wireless and switching capabilities, Advantex has put the power of eLearning in the hands of all at Belmont Community School. What’s more, with a robust, scalable infrastructure in place and the latest edtech to nurture and stimulate young minds, the school’s investment ensures that it is well‐placed for a bright, shining future, where connectivity lies at the heart of an enriching, dynamic and, ultimately, rewarding learning and development experience well into the future.

Customer needs:

• Wireless infrastructure
• Internet access
• Managed Services

Components

• Meraki MS425 Core Switches
• Meraki MS350 Edge Switches
• Meraki MR44 Access Points
• Category 6a data cabling
• OM4 Fibre Optic Cabling

Advance Learning Partnership (ALP) aims to give children and young people from all walks of life an outstanding education – giving them the ultimate headstart on their journey to success.

The Challenge

Advance Learning Partnership (ALP) was already a valued customer of Advantex, having previously installed numerous triple-figure summed projects for their managed sites, including WiFi, Network and server refreshes.

In 2018, ALP moved its entire operation a new state-of-the-art headquarters on Whitworth Lane, Spennymoor.

Whilst the new HQ upon completion was innovative and state-of-the-art, they wanted the building and its technology to remain at the forefront for years to come.

ALP once again approached Advantex to design, implement and manage solutions that were not only the best on the market, but able to meet the scalable demands that would align with the growth plans of the business.

The Solution

The backbone of every network project is the cabling, and by using only the best quality cabling solutions on the market, the perfect foundation for a new and scalable network was laid.

Plugged into Dell PowerEdge M640 Servers and HP Procurve Switches, the new network allows for safe, secure and reliable connectivity via Cisco Meraki’s state-of-the-art routers.

Should things go wrong, Advantex introduced Acronis Backup to the project for added peace of mind.

The Results

Advance Learning Partnership now benefits from a swift, secure and scalable network, maximising efficiency throughout its Spennymoor Headquarters.

With the new state-of-the-art network worthy of top marks in place, ALP can now focus on what matters, providing children and young people with an impeccable education.

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As education landscape continues to shift, those in the vanguard of delivering tomorrow’s new schools – the UK’s leading regeneration and construction groups – see the value of working in partnership with adept IT partners to ensure teachers, support staff and pupils have access to, and benefit from the very latest in safe, secure and highly flexible e-Learning classroom technologies and solutions.

Across the country, a host of new primary and secondary schools are being either re-developed or newly constructed under the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s (ESFA) school building framework.  Within this framework sits the Priority School Building Programme, an initiative that offers a procurement route for those at the forefront of education provision to build a new generation of schools, academies and university technical colleges. The framework is set to run until 2021, and work is underway on a mix of projects throughout England, worth up to £3.1 billion.

The Challenge

Under the PSBP programme, 12 schools across the North East, including The Duchess’s Community High School in Alnwick, Bedlingtonshire Community High School and Seaham School of Technology, are being re-developed with new resources, buildings and infrastructures set to improve and extend their functional lives. These sites have suffered from poor investment, infrastructure neglect and a chronic lack of strategic vision and planning regarding their IT provision and support. Ageing equipment is coming to the end of its natural working life, while traditional channels of support and maintenance services are no longer viable options or cost effective.

The specific challenge was for the redevelopment specialist Galliford Try to secure an IT partner with the experience and expertise to work together on the design to fulfil the requirements of the ESFA’s Contract Particulars (CP). This provides a prescriptive approach, describing what the technology must achieve to future proof the schools as they move forward, and covered blanket wireless to the latest ratified standard, high-speed data transmission and an infrastructure that could support the school for 15 years plus among other critical aspects.

The Solution

Working in strategic partnership with Galliford Try under PSBP, Advantex tapped into its extensive education experience and expertise to design and deliver a cost effective, future proof IT solution, which will deliver far ranging benefits for users and lay the foundations for e-Learning success for years to come.

This was built around a seven-figure investment programme that involved the design and supply of a package of IT product and services from many leading technology suppliers to the education sector. It also saw the relocation of existing services and IT provision across myriad sites as work on the building programme progressed over the project’s duration.

Key to Advantex’s solution, which included a test plan and User Acceptance Testing (UAT), was its capacity to draw on its track record, together with its existing and extensive knowledge and experience in working alongside the ESFA, to design and supply the elements within a comprehensive ICT package. This included infrastructure (switches, wireless and cabling), UPS systems, new telephony solutions and lines as well as the relocation of the schools’ existing equipment. Extensive next generation audio-visual capabilities have also been built-in as part of an overall holistic approach.

The Results

Advantex, working closely with the ESFA throughout the tender and delivery process, has built cost effective, advanced solutions that will provide safer and more secure digital online services and faster server links – IT provision and performance has been improved for years to come. Teachers and support staff stand to benefit long term from enriched, added value and exciting new e-Learning experiences and opportunities, with safe access to emails, smart devices, files and PCs guaranteed, whether in school or working off-site.

Investment in smart technologies will ensure that the new systems and infrastructures can be easily, quickly and cost effectively upgraded or extended, to meet changing future needs at a time of funding restraint across the education landscape. This will all be amplified by a five-year service package of support that will see all the schools able to enjoy and benefit from Advantex’s excellent technical and hardware back up and expertise.

Summary

Customer needs:

• Cost effective, future proof requirements exceeding the ESFA requirements and the CPs
• Hardware supplied to meet the latest ratified standards
• Relocation of legacy ICT equipment including Audio Visual
• Project management across 12 sites over a nine-month period
• Comprehensive support and defects liability period

Components

• HPE Aruba switching
• HPE Aruba, Maraki and Ruckus wireless
• Excel and Connectix data cabling
• Mitel MiVoice 250 telephony
• Eaton UPS

Gateshead College is the North East’s top performing FE college when it comes to student retention rates while it is in the top 10% of apprenticeship providers in England.

Operating across five major campuses across Tyne and Wear, the college provides a wide range of 16 – 19 year old training including A Levels and NVQ qualifications.It also delivers apprenticeship training and adult skills, helping to lift people out of unemployment and provide interview opportunities through partnerships with regional employers and JobCentre Plus.

The Challenge

The college needed to improve on-site IP (CCTV) Surveillance, security and access control across a number of modern but sprawling campuses strategically located across Gateshead and Wearside.

These are used by hundreds of people on a daily basis so it was critical to ensure easy access to facilities while providing the benefits of a safe and secure environment 24/7.

The advent of the college’s main Baltic campus – a state-of-the-art learning facility opened in 2008 – heralded a requirement for a new network to connect IT equipment and systems together via a new high performance and superfast cable infrastructure. This then had to be rolled out to provide reliable connectivity to the other campuses to provide Secure WAN connectivity.

The Solution

A high performance, high definition solution has been designed and installed at the college which draws on Advantex’s expertise in IP-based technologies, system integration and management expertise.

This has been built around 250 Axis IP cameras spread across five sites and Milestone VMS (Advantex are Platinum Partners) to connect together all the elements of the new CCTV via the internet and enabling remote monitoring from a single site.

The need for a secure WAN has been met with a high performance Cat 5e cable installation that connects all the college’s systems onto one network for fast, reliable and easy access via data ports throughout classrooms, offices, reception and library areas.

A support package that includes repair and maintenance call-out is in place, while inspections and health checks of all hardware and software (including software upgrades) are completed on a regular basis.

The Results

Gateshead College now benefits from a high level of security across all of its sites – a flexible system linked to a central facility via the internet for superior command and control of the cameras, site entry/exit and CCTV video images.

In-built scalability has also been included as part of the Advantex solution to deliver long term versatility– this enables the system to be expanded or upgraded as future monitoring and security needs change in line with other college facilities coming on-line.

Providing early stage education to 600 pupils from the Acklam and Linthorpe areas of Middlesbrough, Green Lane Primary School places IT at the heart of the teaching curriculum to enhance the learning environment. ‘The quality of care at Green Lane is excellent and not only guarantees pupil well-being and safety, but also establishes an atmosphere of tolerance and empathy between staff and pupils.’ Ofsted, 2008

The Challenge

Green Lane Primary School’s technology was outdated – some of the computers were more than 10 years old. Moreover, the IT infrastructure was virtually unusable, with students and staff facing a wait of up to 10 minutes simply to log onto the network while data was unstructured and unnecessarily duplicated, wasting valuable storage space.

IT support times were poor; the school could be waiting several days – even weeks – before someone would be able to repair computer faults. There was no effective system to back-up data while pupils were unable to use their laptops in several areas of the school because of a lack of accessible Wi-Fi coverage and most of the network points were faulty, rendering them unusable.

The Solution

Advantex designed and delivered a new network built around fast, modern servers and an IT suite featuring fully networked PCs that provides pupils with improved access to the latest Microsoft computer software and email services, as well as the internet. New switch technology enables computers and IT systems to interconnect better.

New laptops, with easy access plug-in docking stations in each classroom, make it easier for teachers to move around the school using their own portable devices. Software has been upgraded and standardised to Windows 7 – some machines also received additional memory capacity.

Two new servers replaced ageing equipment and numerous USB hard disks while the utilisation of scalable virtualisation technology has maximised value-for-money and reduced further power costs.

The Results

Green Lane offers a blue print for how other similar schools can develop and improve IT provision both practically and cost effectively. Advantex’s flexible package of equipment and support ensures the school’s needs will be accommodated well into the future.

Access to the latest Microsoft software and computers allows pupils to gain the important IT skills, across the whole curriculum, they need to progress through their school career and beyond into the working world.

Overall network performance has vastly improved thanks to the latest switching technology and fast server up-links, whereas the introduction of superfast broadband, in addition to Northern Grid, has improved connectivity and reliability.

Gateshead’s Parkhead Community Primary School caters for more than 380 3 – 11 year-old children and 40 staff on a site built in the early 1960s. As a ‘Community Primary School’, the children are given every opportunity to be fully prepared for their secondary school and adult life. Parkhead delivers a well-researched, inspiring curriculum with staff trained to a high level. In addition to gaining language, mathematical and computer skills, children are able to build their self-confidence, develop emotional control and learn to articulate feelings and ideas in a nurturing and secure environment.

The Challenge

Aging technology was holding back the school’s IT development. The infrastructure was virtually unusable and waiting times for students and teachers to log-on to the network and online services could be up to 10 minutes.

The situation was exacerbated by poor IT response times – it could be several days before support was available – while computer faults could be left for weeks before being looked at and resolved. Areas of the school were not covered by wireless network technology, making use of mobile devices for pupils very difficult.

School data was also unstructured and unnecessarily duplicated wasting valuable storage space.

The Solution

Advantex’s education experience came to the fore as the company supplied a versatile school-wide solution built upon new high performance IT software and hardware technology. New servers provided the power to replace the existing servers and numerous USB disks, while the latest scalable virtualisation technology provided value for money and a reduction in power costs.

Teachers were equipped with new Windows 8 tablets that could be plugged into newly installed classroom docking stations to enable them to quickly and conveniently access online resources wherever they were in the school.

A Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 was specified to meet the school’s usage requirements while a Microsoft System Centre Data Protection Manager ensured that going forward all important data would be properly and securely stored.

The Results

New investment in IT is allowing Parkhead Community Primary School to move forward with renewed confidence, providing the learning and teaching environment the children and teachers deserve to succeed and thrive.

School data is now properly secured and organised whilst network performance has been improved to provide safe and secure superfast broadband connectivity – not only in the school but also for teachers who want to access emails, files and teaching resources at home using a single secure log-in code.

Future enhancements and upgrades can be easily accommodated to ensure the changing needs of the school are met. This includes supporting future projects such as fully supported personal Windows 8 tablets for pupils that can be used at home but with the assurance that they are protected with the same security technology at school.

Located in the West End of Newcastle, The Beacon is one of the most eco-friendly buildings in the North East of England. They deliver high quality commercial office space for newly formed and micro start-up businesses, which is affordable, flexible and sustainable.

This is also a convenient space for several artisan workshops and offers a convivial bistro-type environment to meet, eat, network and do business.

The Challenge

This new build, which is operated by Centre West and Groundworks South Tyneside & Newcastle, required a purpose-built and robust IT and Communications infrastructure across their training rooms, offices and function suites to meet the existing and future needs of tenants – whilst also supporting future superfast broadband services.

The system throughout the whole building needed to be reliable, with easy to access connectivity, on a budget that suited the pockets of a charity-run business.

The Solution

Advantex secured the project because of their experience in designing and delivering solutions to the charity sector. They harnessed in-house expertise and skills to meet The Beacon’s brief for a flexible and cost effective network infrastructure.

Mitel 3300 Mxe system and phone technology was specified for the project alongside a fully integrated Audio Visual package, that would support three large projection systems for conference and auditorium facilities. Advantex designed and installed all of the necessary data, IT and telecoms cabling and infrastructure whilst also providing training and after sales support on completion.

The Results

A high performance IT infrastructure lies at the heart of Tyneside wide initiatives that will inspire a new generation of entrepreneurial North East talent.

This in turn is releasing huge potential for businesses at The Beacon, helping dozens of people to unlock their potential, reach out to new markets and realise their expansion plans through the provision of safe and secure, super-fast internet.

Based in South Shields, Holy Trinity Church of England School is a small primary school (185 pupils) formed from two predecessor schools: St Mary’s CE VA Primary School and All Saints CE VC Primary School. Both schools were previously in Ofsted categories of concern. Holy Trinity opened as a Fresh Start school in September 2008 and there has been extensive refurbishment to the school building.

The Challenge

The school, like many others, had accumulated a disparate array of PCs, software and peripherals over many years. It had also inherited a lot of older policies from the LEA that saw teachers severely restricted from accessing local equipment– teaching PCs were not properly connected and with the school lacking an on-site technician, the network was simply ineffective and often inaccessible.

Software licensing was also an issue, often undertaken on an individual basis which made it difficult to manage and very inefficient. Against this backdrop, Advantex reacted at short notice to design and supply new technology and provide the expertise of an on-site technician.

The Solution

Advantex’s solution revolved around scalable virtualisation technology to deliver a fast, effective system that will deliver outstanding performance, long term benefits and significant cost savings over the coming years.

Across the school, new wireless access points were installed while teachers’ laptops were properly connected to a new secure network for faster, reliable and easier file sharing and online access. Microsoft Windows Server 2012 with Office 365 for Education Integration was specified and configured to meet the school’s usage and data requirements.

Superfast broadband services have improved download speed and capacity levels, while a Sonicwall Firewall Solution enables pupils to access safely YouTube videos and Facebook via a school account that will block inappropriate web content and track site visits.

The Results

The school’s IT is now properly configured and managed, with a fast and secure infrastructure that will enable future requirements and upgrades to be easily accommodated. Data is now protected using Microsoft System Centre Data Protection Manager.

Computers are controlled using a Group Policy that ensures users do not have access to inappropriate or restricted software and Windows’ features, while Microsoft updates are now completed properly and on time for additional security.

Teachers and support staff can now access their PCs and online services securely at home or in the school via a secure website as part of the online solution using Microsoft Office 365 for Education.

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