Lady Eleanor Holles is a remarkable school, where girls successfully combine impressive intellectual endeavour with enthusiastic engagement well beyond academia. With a long history, stretching back over 300 years, they have also embraced today’s technology and its place in education, “The need to understand technology is far more important than it’s ever been,” (Head Mistress, Heather Hanbury).
The girls’ school, just ten miles from London, consists of the Junior School, Senior School and Sixth Form with extensive facilities across all disciplines. Director of Studies, Dave Piper, explained that the school see ‘digital literacy as incredibly important for the students’ futures”. Establishing a 1:1 mobile platform was a key part of their digital strategy.
“We wanted to work with a company with experience who had done this with a number of schools,” explained Heather, “The technical experts in the school were convinced that Western would be the best partner for us.” Working with the Western team, the school decided to adopt a “zero-touch provisioning solution.”
This complete 1:1 solution ensures that getting iPads into the hands of students is made as easy as possible. Everything is handled through the Western mobile learning portal. Students and parents choose their device; Western handles everything else - device enrolment, dispatch, configuration, insurance, repairs and returns: it’s a seamless process for school and students.
The student’s experience
The selected iPad is delivered directly to their home. Upon setting up the iPad, the pupil is prompted to enter their school username and password. Once entered, everything else is automatically configured, including all apps, settings and restrictions for their year and class. “We see students delighted by the whole experience and parents reassured with the ease of the process,” says Lee Ford, Western’s Technical Sales Director.
The school’s experience
“As far as the school is concerned the admin is sorted,” explains Heather. In addition to the seamless auto deployment for every student, Western’s mobile learning scheme helps the school by providing a positive cash flow solution, with device payment guaranteed.