Grange Primary School

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The Customer

The Grange Primary School is based in Surrey. It has 2 main buildings on the site, one for the Infant School and the other for the Poplars Children's Centre.

Britannic Technologies have worked with the staff of Grange Primary School since 2005, to develop their communications in line with their working requirements, increasing contact ability and supporting the growth of the school.

Requirements & Objectives

The Grange Primary School was looking to upgrade its existing analogue Panasonic phone system to a more reliable and flexible platform, with the option to divert its number if needed.

The Grange Primary School sought to introduce a solution which would free up the receptionist's time, through inbound call handling and message options. A feature of the solution would allow recorded messages to be created remotely, for example, in the event of school closures or other special announcements.

A key requirement was to introduce cordless phones for use by members of staff and the maintenance team, enabling them to walk around the premises and still remain in contact anywhere on site.

The school was joining up with the Poplars Children's Centre and required a solution that would allow them to use the same system, but be billed separately for outbound calls.

Solution

A thorough audit of the evnrionemt and working practices was carried out, and the solution provided was an Avaya IP 500.

The solution Britannic provided was an Avaya IP 500, which also enabled the school to  move from analogue to digital ISDN lines and DDIs, helping them update and move forward with their communications.

The solution included a  twin cordless phone, allowing the teachers and maintenance team to move around the school premises and still have contact with colleagues. This improved efficiency and mobility as calls could be seamlessly transferred from the static phones to the cordless phones. This also provided cost savings related to using a landline rather than a mobile phone.

A new auto attendant (automated reception options) was implemented within the solution, allowing The Grange Primary School to introduce caller message options. This gives inbound callers the ability to leave a message or be connected to the receptionist, appropriate department or teacher.

This has freed up the time of the receptionist as rather than answering each call directly, a caller is able to leave a message, for example if a pupil is absent. The value of this feature was recognised when adverse weather prevented teachers getting into school. A pre-recorded message was made remotely to say that the school would be closed for the day. The message could be changed as needed from home, rather than needing to travel to the school.

By simply logging onto Britannic's online Customer Zone (CZONE), calls can be diverted to a new destination, should a problem occur. Call reporting and statistics can also be viewed on the CZONE, delivering working efficiencies.

The Grange School has the Poplars Children's Centre based in a separate building on its premises. The new telephone solution allowed the centre to have its own separate PSTN2 line, enabling use of the new digital telephone system with separate bills for outbound calls.

The Grange Primary School has also introduced a phone fax machine, this is connected directly on an analogue line, but separate from the main system. Therefore if there is a power cut the main line can be diverted to this and still have contact with the outside world, still receive incoming calls.

This feature, along with the versatility of the auto attendant, contributes towards business continuity and disaster recovery plan, ensuring reliability and security to the school's communications.

Benefits

Enhanced teacher contact ability:

The Grange Primary School has seen a number of benefits from the new solution provided by Britannic. Improvements in contact with staff have generated efficiency savings as members of staff and the maintenance team are now able to move around the school premises using the new cordless phones.

Improved Productivity and Efficiency:

The new auto attendant has contributed to an improved business continuity plan. The auto attendant has also helped free up the receptionist's time, by reducing the need to answering each inbound call.

Reporting and analytical tools:

The Poplars Children's Centre can be billed separately from the Grange Primary School even though they are based on the same site, providing accurate visibility of outbound call spend for each building.  This aids forecasting of communication budgets and where cost savings can be made.

Scalable communication solution:

The Avaya IP 500 platform allows The Grange Primary School's communications to grow with their needs, giving a secure, scalable solution, supported and managed by Britannic Technologies.