Spetisbury CE Primary (Hall & Slopers) situated in a rural location, with over 150 pupils, was originally part of the Dorset schools private network. This network provided an up to 4Mb symmetric connection. This limited the school in their ability to use existing ICT equipment. Learners had to share devices, completing group work, and interactive sessions were severely impacted. When Dorset County Council decided to remove the schools private network Spetisbury went to tender for an alternative Internet Service provider.
Unfortunately, Spetisbury’s options were very limited. There was no access to superfast broadband and dedicated fibre was significantly beyond the schools budget and the only affordable solution was predicted to perform at less than 1mb downstream.
Having won the tender; SWGfL worked closely with the school to assess all available options and the school opted for an interim solution which would suit their budget and enable the school to upgrade to a superfast solution as soon as the infrastructure became available. Because SWGfL work proactively to review availability they were able to deliver the upgrade to superfast broadband within days of it becoming available. The school is now paying even less for a solution that provides over 4 x the bandwidth, allowing the purchase of new equipment.
Duncan Baxter, Headteacher, ”the team at SWGfL worked really hard to support the school at every stage, we had very limited options, but the team helped us to make the right decision . A great customer service and proactive approach meant we switched to Superfast Broadband with minimal disruption”.
The move to superfast broadband has transformed teaching and learning, allowing whole class learning, rather than group sessions. After school coding clubs are now able to run online, and the school have recently invested in more ICT devices.
If you would like to know whether your school can upgrade to Superfast Broadband or wish to discuss your packages and what options are available to you, please get in touch with our friendly team.
