How Do You Ensure That Your School’s WiFi Solution Provides Your Staff, Students and Guests With Uninterrupted Internet Access and Is Scalable for Any Future Initiatives?
As Wayfield Primary School introduced over 250 new iPads to their students, they found their current wireless solution struggling to deal with the additional load. Staff were experiencing performance problems, classes were unable to fully utilise the new equipment and their support contract had lapsed. Wayfield Primary contacted Cantium’s IT Solutions for the Education Sector team, who have introduced a future-proofed wireless solution that will support these devices, is scalable and ensures minimal interference across the entire school site, for all their users.
The Challenge
We visited Wayfield Primary School and carried out a detailed wireless survey of their network equipment, which revealed incomplete coverage across the school site. Cantium’s network engineers also discovered security vulnerabilities with the current wireless network, where guest users were able to access the school’s local network resources and data; this was unknown to the school and of obvious and immediate concern.
Cantium and EIS network engineers then attended the school to install the new system during the holiday period, to ensure minimal disruption to learning. Our wireless survey generated a heat map, specifying exactly where new access points were to be installed to provide complete, site-wide coverage, with minimal interference. The access points are also placed to ensure that staff can work flexibly and faster across the entire school site, with seamless transition between access points.
The Managed Wireless Service utilises Meraki wireless networking equipment, which includes many useful features for the school, including the ability to create guest accounts which expire and cannot access school data. The Meraki solution also has a cloud-based controller, meaning there is no need for additional hardware to be installed and managed in the school. All of the access points are monitored and managed remotely by Cantium, so that there is no need for onsite, technical support to manage their wireless network.
The Result
Wayfield’s new wireless system ensures that their lessons and wireless speeds stay optimal when apps are downloading for the pupils. With a recent IOS update, school staff were still able to access all the curriculum documents that they needed, and lessons were uninterrupted. The designated guest network and separation of student and staff data mean that their network is more secure, but also more reliable by controlling the use of network bandwidth for different user groups.
Cantium’s Managed Wireless Service means that the school spends less time configuring and managing its IT network. The school benefit from expert support via the ICT Service Desk and proactive monitoring of their system, ensuring problems are identified and rectified as soon as possible. Guest accounts are easy to set up and automatically expire, and all users can work flexibly and faster across the entire school site.
The solution that has been installed is scalable, meaning that it can be updated and improved if required, or if any new device initiatives are introduced. The future-proofing of this system means that the school can save money to help them become a hub of digital learning and continue supporting their students with new ways of learning.
Watch the video below, to see what Tim Williams, Headteacher at Wayfield Primary School had to say about the wireless solution that we installed.
"We chose Cantium as a supplier and partner for Managed Wireless because of value for money, which is something very important to us. We also wanted a system that was scalable."- Tim Williams, Headteacher, Wayfield Primary School
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