Digital Education Benefits Learning Outcomes at Drybrook Primary School
With 200 pupils from reception to year 6, plus a pre-school class, Drybrook Primary School – part of the Forest of Dean Trust in Gloucestershire – sees its role in bringing technology into classrooms as vital in preparing students for their next steps in education. Although the school had worked on the essentials for a superior network, such as improving the internet coming into the building, building a solution that was both easy to manage and secure was a priority to ensure the benefits of foundational IT changes were felt at a classroom level – by both teachers and pupils.
The new cloud-networking solution has delivered:
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Superior Wi-Fi and switching have enhanced classroom connectivity for richer learning experiences
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Cloud-based management has improved efficiency of the IT function and reduced costs
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Smart CCTV has secured the school’s site without requiring additional storage or bandwidth
From a staff point of view, Meraki has improved productivity and from a student point of view enabled us to really explore how we work with educational technology.
Tom Henesey, Headteacher at Drybrook Primary School
The Challenge
As with thousands of schools across the country, the COVID-19 pandemic forced an influx of new teaching and learning techniques, underpinned by education embracing all things digital. In the years since, the school has been seeking to embed these methods into its daily practices and deliverables, and although it had addressed some of the foundational issues, the solution to fully support and deliver this richer learning experience was not there.
Find out how Drybrook Primary School transitioned to a cloud-managed network solution in our full case study.
Smart CCTV Brings a New Vision to Dene Magna & Drybrook Schools
Dene Magna Secondary School and Drybrook Primary School are part of the Forest of Dean Trust, and with over 1200 students and 100 staff across their campuses, keeping the sites secure is vital. Both schools had CCTV in place, but the technology was old, resulting in reduced safety and security due to poor quality imaging (especially at night), additional costs, cumbersome management, complex scaling and a lack of easy access to data for staff – all of which made the platform largely obsolete. Moving to a next-gen, cloud-based CCTV solution has transformed security at the schools, offering additional use-cases and more.
The new CCTV solution has delivered:
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Complete site visibility, bolstering physical safety, even at night-time and in poor visibility
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Cloud-based management has improved staff use of the platform, allowing remote access from anywhere, any time
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On-camera storage has saved data storage costs and minimised physical infrastructure
“Meraki MV has really bolstered us in the physical security game. Our staff love the fact that Meraki provides a watchful eye over our school site 24-7 . We have perimeter fencing but video security keeps everything safe. We have a large forest by our school area and having the CCTV means we can use it at the weekends which has given staff flexibility on how they work
Tom Henesey, Headteacher at Drybrook Primary School
The Challenge
The schools already had CCTV surveillance but it was outdated and the Trust were concerned that this lack of visibility would take a toll on school safety. The campuses had experienced a couple of incidents out of hours which the existing CCTV had not aided with, and so evidently, with student safety being a primary concern, finding a solution that both did the required job and made school security easier to manage was a priority for the Trust.
Find out how Dene Magna Secondary School and Drybrook Primary School transitioned to a cloud-based CCTV solution in our full case study.
Reedbut Group Improves Efficiency Across Nationwide Warehouses with Next-Gen Wi-Fi from Redway Networks
As one of the leading sheet plant manufacturers of eco-friendly packaging, Reedbut Group must respond to tight delivery demands across the UK, Europe and the wider world. This relies on seamless warehouse operations with increasing amounts of tech hardware and software, from devices to automation. The warehouse was experiencing dropouts and slow speeds due to an outdated Netgear wireless solution, impacting efficiency and restricting ROI, especially in regards to newer systems such as AI.
The new Wi-Fi solution has delivered:
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Complete network visibility and streamlined network management thanks to a single pane of glass dashboard in Cambium cnMaestro
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Improvement in warehouse productivity and efficiency by supporting successful automation, enhancing both distribution and customer service
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Seamless migration to cloud-managed WiFi-6, with no impact to business thanks to a fully pre-staged and tested solution
Our new Cambium wireless solution is delivering fast, reliable coverage which has streamlined operations and enabled us to support successful automated warehousing.
Trevor Green, Group Managing Director at Reedbut Group
The Challenge
Reedbut’s existing Netgear wireless solution was outdated and could no longer support the coverage and connectivity demands of Reedbut’s warehouses, including increasing amounts of automation and AI. Reedbut holds stock for several large retailers in their warehouses in Milton Keynes, Andover and Rochester, and products need to be shipped quickly to meet timescales, so warehouse productivity plays an important role in business operations.
Trevor Green, Group Managing Director for Reedbut Group knew that the wireless network was holding the company back, with warehouse dropouts occurring, harming efficiency and customer satisfaction. Find out how we future-proofed Reedbut’s warehouse productivity in the full case study.
The Forest of Dean Trust future-proofs its EdTech and delivers a safe learning environment with a full stack Cisco Meraki solution from Redway Networks
The Forest of Dean Multi-Academy Trust has moved to a full-stack Meraki solution, providing a next-gen IT infrastructure that will support the latest educational practices across it’s primary school, secondary school, and sixth-form campuses. The new network covers WiFi, switches, firewalls as well as physical security and sensors. The next-gen solution has already reduced network management time drastically, protected the schools from the rising number of cyber-threats, and has opened the Trust up to growth without compromised systems.
The new security solution has delivered:
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Network administration and management time has been reduced by 50% thanks to automated optimisation, problem solving and machine learning
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A 100% reduction in reported network issues from users, including engineers – any problems are resolved before they’re even reported
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Over 150 cyber-threats were blocked by the Trust’s next-gen Meraki firewall within the first 2 weeks of the solution’s deployment
Since installing Meraki we’ve improved efficiency as we’ve reduced the amount of time previously spent on network troubleshooting and performing software updates which has enabled us to focus on creating safe, flexible spaces where learning, teaching and collaboration can take place. Meraki has given us complete visibility from the edge of the network through to the core.
Emily Stigant, IT Manager, The Forest of Dean Trust
The Challenge
The Trust has expanded hugely in recent years, growing to incorporate a sixth-form in 2019. This considerably raised the demands placed on their IT network, which needed to swell to accommodate a larger, busier campus. In addition to performance being negatively impacted by the growth, network management rose sharply, so the Trust needed a new solution which would simultaneously support the Trust’s growth and also make network management easier despite the rising numbers of students and staff.
The Trust’s journey to a next-gen, future-ready IT infrastructure started back in 2019 when they replaced their Ruckus WiFi with a WiFi-6 Meraki network. Read how and why they progressively transitioned to a full-stack solution capable of supporting tomorrow’s learning in our full case study.
Horsham District Council improves network security and reduces network management costs with a next-gen Firewall from Redway Networks
Over 800 users connect to Horsham District Council’s network at any time, either on-site or remotely, via Microsoft Data Access. Not only was their legacy security architecture complex and clunky to manage, its depth of defence was no longer adequate to protect the Council from the elevated risk of cyber-attacks which have rocketed in recent years. With a rising number of end points, many accessing sensitive data from remote locations, Horsham District Council needed a solution that could simplify and strengthen network security.
The new security solution has delivered:
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Depth of defence has been significantly improved by a next-gen Meraki MX firewall, bringing intrusion prevention, content filtering, anti-malware, geo-based firewalling and remote access connectivity
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With its 5-year MX support licence, Meraki will save Horsham Council around £30,000 over the next five years in upgrade and support costs, standard with Meraki firewalls
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The shift to remote working has hugely increased the risk of cyberattacks due to a much higher number of connected, off-site devices, each a potential breach to security. The Council is now fully protected for today’s hybrid working
Our new Meraki firewall has not only improved our security infrastructure but will save the Council around £30,000 in upgrade and support costs over the next five years based on what we were spending in support costs with our previous security vendors.
Faz Sadough, Senior IT Engineer at Horsham District Council
The Challenge
The Council’s network security was inadequate protection against today’s threats, having reached the end of its life. Security was also difficult to manage, as they were running 2 firewalls from different vendors causing the network to be overly complicated and more time consuming to manage. With over 800 daily users, many connecting from remote locations, bulletproof security is essential to protect confidential and sensitive data.
Faz Sadough, Senior IT Engineer at Horsham District Council said, “with both [firewalls] coming to end of life we needed a new firewall that had the capabilities to improve our depth of defence and give us complete control over the network via the cloud. Find out how we secured their network in our full case study.
Wakefield Grammar School Foundation Supports 1:1 and Personalised Digital Learning Across its Schools with Next-Gen Wireless Networking from Redway Networks.
The Foundation’s campus of 3 schools has over 2,000 students, multiple buildings, and hundreds of connecting devices, all reliant on wireless networking. Their existing network was not able to provide the visibility or flexibility their IT teams required, to support personalised, digital, 1:1 learning, or ensuring secure, reliable connectivity. With our help, the Foundation has transitioned to a future-proofed network, able to support the schools’ ambitious plans and streamlining management.
The new solution has delivered:
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The potential to support personalised, 1:1 learning to over 2,000 students across 3 schools
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Low TCO future-proofed solution with promotional licence: 10 years for the price of 5
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Improved security with WiFi-6 technology including higher levels on encryption and auto updates
We’ve seen lots of IT benefits as all our information is now in one centralised cloud managed dashboard with click and point granularity, so searching for top applications, users or devices is easy. We now have a future-proofed network that is very capable from a capacity point of view and won’t ever hit a limit as we add new devices.
Simon Cunningham, Infrastructure & Security Manager, Wakefield Grammar School Foundation
The Challenge
The Foundation’s main goal was to support the future of learning, including 1:1, personalised learning for each student, reliable access to the digital curriculum and greater network control and security. Realising these goals was not possible with Wakefield Grammar School Foundation’s existing network. The network was also cumbersome to manage, requiring data exports into Excel before crunching numbers to find and fix problems manually.
The large campus, including both modern buildings, listed old ones with thick walls, and a high-capacity theatre, makes high-performance networking a challenge, so the Foundation required an expert in these environments. Read how we helped move the schools to a future-ready WiFi-6 solution in our case study.
Jarrow School has future proofed its network and improved bandwidth performance by 500% following a switching project from Redway Networks
Jarrow School’s exceptional facilities, including state-of-the-art classrooms, PC suites, and virtual learning environment, were being limited by connectivity issues that impacted 800 students and 100 staff. The school’s ageing Cisco network had reached the end of its life, and could no longer meet the bandwidth requirements for today’s teaching causing network issues from edge to core. Redway Networks conducted an audit of the existing infrastructure and designed, installed and configured new switches to future-proof Jarrow School’s classrooms for the next 10 years.
The new switching solution has delivered:
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500% improvement in bandwidth across the whole school site
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Speed improvement from 10GB 60GB to over 800 pupils and 100 staff
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Considerable time saved on network administration due to automated workflows
We’ve saved considerable administration time deploying Microsoft Windows operating systems and applications to new and existing devices. Before our new switching we had to perform software imaging during school holidays due to the lack of bandwidth but now we can update a whole suite of thirty PCs in around an hour.
Ian Brown, Leader of ICT Development, Jarrow School
The Challenge
Classrooms were seeing a poorer student and teacher experience due to poor connectivity, holding back learning, lesson planning and staff collaboration.
Ian Brown, Leader of ICT Development at the school said: “With no firmware updates available via Cisco, we couldn’t take advantage of new protocols, so we decided to upgrade our remaining network switches. We’d gone for Aruba’s 5400R core switch so we set out to find an expert network vendor who could work with us to design a future proofed solution for our whole network and switching configuration, successfully completing our Aruba deployment.” Read how we helped in our case study.
Brighton Hill Community School Supports Innovative Learning with a New Wireless Solution from Redway Networks
With pupil numbers doubling in the last three years and plans to reach full capacity in 2022, robust, scalable and secure connectivity ready to take on rising numbers of students, staff and devices was a priority for Brighton Hill Community School in Hampshire. Their 10 year old solution was struggling to offer the performance needed for students to thrive, with the IT department battling issues with both coverage and capacity.
A new wireless solution was needed to meet current connectivity requirements for existing EdTech, as well as future-proof classroom connectivity for additional students, devices, and learning platforms.
The new WiFi solution has delivered:
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A cloud-based Meraki solution with an intuitive, easy-to-manage network thanks to a superior single-pane dashboard
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Total classroom coverage and capacity for the next 10 years of developments in teaching and learning techniques
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10 year licence with automatic firmware updates with zero downtime and error free configuration
Meraki has given us a robust, future proofed wireless network that is really simple to use and with the cloud dashboard I can manage the network from anywhere, which gives me more network visibility. The whole experience with our new WiFi from Redway Networks was professional and the service we received was absolutely brilliant. The job was completed on time and the aftercare and support has been excellent.
Tony Eden, IT & Network Manager, Brighton Hill Community School
The Challenge
Classrooms were seeing a poorer student and teacher experience due to poor connectivity, holding back learning, lesson planning and staff collaboration.
Tony Eden, IT & Network Manager at Brighton Hill Community School says: “We were having coverage issues with our existing WiFi which had basically come to the end of its life. With our plans to increase student numbers and replace some of our IT computers with laptops and tablets, the first stage of the process was to upgrade the wireless network infrastructure.” Read how we helped in our case study.
Mowbray Education Trust benefits from WiFi fault-finding surveys from Redway Networks
With 400 teachers and 1,100 students spread across 7 schools, supporting connectivity that can support learning, teaching and monitoring at each site is a complex task for Mowbray Academy Trust’s IT department. Several schools were having trouble giving students access to digital learning material, so required a series of on-site troubleshooting WiFi surveys to get classrooms back on track.
The WiFi Surveys delivered:
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Insight into how and why the schools’ networks were not delivering adequate coverage and speeds
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A WiFi survey report, presented to the Trust, outlining corrective work needed including additional APs
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A ‘gold standard’ service from Redway Networks, re-establishing robust, high-performing wireless in all schools
Since the wireless remedial works were done, all 4 schools now have more reliable wireless network connectivity with better coverage and much faster WiFi which has improved the student experience. The service we received from Redway Networks was brilliant… faultless…and easy from top to bottom.
Bobby Wallace, Group IT Services Manager, Mowbray Education Trust
The Challenge
Four of Mowbray Academy Trust’s schools were seeing a poorer student and teacher experience due to poor connectivity, holding back learning, lesson planning and staff collaboration. Rectifying these issues required a specialised survey, tailored to the school’s environment and requirements so as to correctly diagnose the problem and make appropriate recommendations. Read how we helped in our case study.
Blackburn College selects Redway Networks for a WiFi Survey that paves the route to a new high-performance wireless network
As one of the largest colleges in the UK – with over 750 staff and 10,000 students – Blackburn College’s wireless network has to support an increasingly huge number of users, devices and applications. With the college’s existing Meru network holding learning back, an expert WiFi survey was vital for paving the way to a new, future-proofed wireless network. Find out how we helped below.
The WiFi Survey delivered:
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Insight into how and why the college’s aging Meru network wouldn’t be able to support its high-density needs for long
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A ‘right first time’ project plan that can be used to deliver a new, high-performance wireless solution now or in the future
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A list of ‘quick fix’ recommendations that have boosted wireless performance in the short term, such as moving APs
The service we received from Redway Networks during the on-site survey was exceptional and its engineers were very professional. We now have an excellent WiFi survey report that we can use in the future.
Imtiyaz Patel, IT Services Manager, Blackburn College
The Challenge
Blackburn College’s existing Meru solution is coming to the end of its life, with support ending within a year. The college needed to know how the network would begin to progressively hold back education in classrooms, so a WiFi survey needed to be done to ascertain future performance based on campus buildings, emerging EdTech, the future of wireless technology and the school’s objectives. Read how we helped in our case study.