Over the last couple of years, educational institutions have been under exceptional pressure. All schools and training institutions, no matter their background, have had to make the shift into a digital landscape, regardless of their background or situation. Even schools widely considered to be highly traditional have begun making the transition, committed to ensuring students could continue to thrive and learn from anywhere. St. Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School in the UK is one such example.
First established in 1860, this facility serves around 200 students from Reception to Year 6. When quarantines forced the highly reputable school to close its doors, it quickly turned to RingCentral’s powerful and agile environment for help.
Let’s look at how RingCentral supported St. Bartholomew’s digital transformation.
Adapting to a Digital Future in Education
Widely regarded as a high-achieving educational institution within the United Kingdom, St. Bartholomew has a sterling reputation among primary schools. Every year, the facility continues to outperform the UK national average on key stage assessment scores for all subjects, including maths, writing, and reading.
Though the school believes in empowering students to achieve their full academic potential, the facility is committed to more than just academic excellence. St. Bartholomew’s has a mission to develop the “whole child”, which means strengthening their emotional and cognitive performance in a range of different areas. A rich and variety curriculum helps to support this vision.
The learning paths offered by St Bartholomew’s encourage students to explore the world and cultivate a passion for lifelong learning. The aim is to create a well-rounded series of individuals capable of contributing something special to society. The praise the school receives from parents, combined with the fact the facility has operated well for more than a century of a half, are clear indicators St. Bartholomew is on the right path.
Of course, achieving goals of student development becomes far more challenging when a global pandemic changes the playing field. When COVID-19 hit, and the school was forced to close its doors, the team had to scramble to update its strategy immediately. Almost overnight, the entire team had to work together to transform a traditional environment into a virtual learning facility.
Discovering the Power of Cloud Communications
When St. Bartholomew’s discovered it would have to shut its doors for an indefinite period of time, the staff jumped to action. The team worked alongside publishers to purchase workbooks for their students. These were sent home to students, and lessons and educational activities were published on the website for school.
Thanks to a tech-savvy background, the team was also able to create Twitter accounts for each individual class. This allowed for the rapid sharing of information. However, the teachers also needed a more consistent way to maintain two-way conversations with their learners.
Headteacher Mark Johns said the team wanted to ensure their teachers could make regular check-up calls from home to students and their parents. At the same time, there were various changes which needed to be made to the internal communications of the team. Virtual staff meetings had to be introduced to keep educators connected and aligned. The focus of these virtual meetings wasn’t just for professional collaboration but to keep the morale of the staff consistent too.
Looking for a convenient, affordable, and effective solution, St. Bartholomew’s eventually discovered RingCentral. The all-in-one cloud communications solution seemed like the perfect solution for the school’s current problems. The solution offered a way to boost communications internally and externally in an easy-to-use and managed environment.
