Education

The education sector is a key market for Future Voice and Data, and one with which we have a wealth of experience, thanks to the installation and support of telephony systems that we have provided to many schools. Our key advantages are our innovative bespoke applications that layer extra functionality on top of the telephone system and our in -house cabling expertise. Whether you need keenly priced cabling at short notice to any part of the grounds, or a bespoke application allowing teachers to take the register through the keys and screen of their handset, we can meet all of your telecoms related needs.

A typical solution we provide into the Education Sector incorporates the following:

• User Handsets - All handsets are display terminals. This makes the use of the phone system a lot easier for end users and provides easier access to all of the features. Staff will also know the name or number of the incoming caller before they answer. Display handsets are also covered by the service contract of the system, so are replaced free of charge if faulty. The handsets are also menu driven rather than feature driven making them easier to use (similar to a mobile phone).
• Reception Handset – The reception terminals we can supply have the unique ability to show all incoming calls including their name and telephone number at the same time. This allows reception staff to prioritise who they answer first, e.g. an important call for the head or Senior Leadership Team (SLT). This handset also supports Electronic Hook Switch so that if you provide a cordless headset, reception staff can answer, speak and drop calls whilst away from their desk.
• Intelligent Automated Attendant - We can set up the telephone system to help reception staff during busy times. E.g. reporting pupil absence. We can ensure that all relevant information is collected from the parent and then presented to the relevant admin person in the order they prefer. This allows staff to be productive and update SIMS (alternative registering system) at a planned time rather than throughout the morning.
• Messaging for Teaching Staff - When a message is received, it can automatically be forwarded to a teachers email inbox as an audio file, if required. This way staff and teachers can access their messages at their convenience from wherever they may be. We can also install displays in staff areas that provide staff with a visual indication that they have messages waiting – even for members of staff without dedicated extensions.
• Automatic Teacher Location Service - The System identifies to the caller that they have been transferred to your automated personal assistant. The caller is then given the option to leave a message or to press a single key to locate you. Once the caller presses the key the system dials a series of numbers in an attempt to contact you, giving you the option to accept or reject the call.
• Emergency Closure / Snow Line - This allows you to record a message, remotely or from on-site, notifying all incoming callers that the school / college is closed. This message can then be activated remotely (security enabled) so that all callers into the school/ college will be notified of the closure, even if a member of staff cannot get into the site due to the conditions.
• School Trips / Afterschool information mailboxes - It is very common that trips return to school / college a little later than originally planned. In these circumstances it is common that parents could be kept waiting for their child to return. We can set up a messaging system that parents can call into before they set off to collect their child which will advise them if the pupils will be returning to site on time or if they are running late, and if so, how late they will be. This provides parents with peace-of-mind, and avoids inconvenience.
• Shared Extension for teaching staff – Our solutions allow for multiple users to share a single telephone. Message notification, message waiting indicators, personal greetings and name confirmation are all supported for each mailbox user. After the greeting plays, the system announces the names of the users who share the extension and prompts the caller to select one. When a user has a new message, the system illuminates the message waiting indicator for the associated mailbox. When a user calls into Voice Mail, the system announces which users have new massages, e.g. “There are 4 new messages for Tom Shirley”. Teachers can be notified of new messages via email, mobile, etc., and can call into their mailbox from any telephone, on or off the school site.
• Centralised Dictation Service - The Senior Leadership Team (SLT) can dial into the system anytime, night or day, and record a message for transcription. They can pause, review, re-record, insert and save their recording, which will be automatically sent to an administrator for transcription. The administrator enters their mailbox and retrieves the message for transcription. During replay they can pause, skip forward 10 seconds, skip backwards 10 seconds, speed up/ slowdown playback or go back to the beginning or end.
• Take the class register on a handset - A small upgrade on our solution allows our SIP handsets to connect to SIMS or similar software, so that the register can be taken and updated from the keys and screen of a telephone handset. A demonstration of this functionality is highly recommended.
• Microsoft Exchange Integration - As our solution links to Microsoft Outlook/ Exchange, one of the many benefits is Presence Profiles. This turns calendar actions into telephony actions. For example, when teachers are in lessons, calls do not ring on their handset, and are instead diverted straight to the messaging system. This saves on interruption during lesson time.
• Reduced Call Spend to Mobiles (GSM) - We can install equipment to your telephone system that routes mobile calls over the mobile network, allowing us to drastically reduce your spend to mobiles. These devices also provide free and unlimited communication to the schools own mobiles. This is particularly useful for the site manager, IT staff and the head as calls to their mobiles are unlimited and free of charge allowing staff to contact them wherever they may be. This technology can eliminate the need for costly two way radios.
• “Homework Line” - At the end of a lesson a teacher is able to call into the system and leave one message that will be delivered to all of the students, providing a consistent and accurate outline of the homework for the day and also giving the nuances and intonation of any language skills being worked on. When distributing homework, sometimes text is insufficient, especially if the homework is language based. It can also be easily lost and parents may not know what homework has been scheduled. The system delivers the message to the students’ mobile phone or home phone to ensure that they and their parents are aware of the homework requirements. Questions can be sent back to the teacher with a simple key press ensuring that both teachers and parents can support the student.
• Course Information Mailbox - Announcement mailboxes allow for messages to be recorded and stored, perhaps providing information about courses etc. These informative messages can then be listened to by callers calling in to a pre-specified number.

Rugby Girls Grammar School Case Study Download