Customer: Anglesey Primary School
Location: Lozells, Birmingham
Requirement: To install digital CCTV cameras and to provide ongoing support and maintenance
Solution: Avigilon digital CCTV cameras, Avigilon Control Center, Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) System
Services: Installation and ongoing support and maintenance
Customer’s View: “The new system has made a big difference. It is much easier to use – it takes us two minutes to find something rather than two hours. We can also store images for a lot longer, which makes life much easier and gives us an extra level of reassurance. But above all, we’ve got so much more coverage than we had before and we’ve made the school a much safer place to be for staff and pupils alike.” Alex Bradley, IT Manager, Anglesey Primary School
Digital CCTV cameras have made primary school a much safer place
Anglesey Primary School is a popular Local Authority school just outside the centre of the City of Birmingham and has over 760 pupils aged 4 – 11. The school values the contribution that each of its pupils brings and encourages them to develop as individuals within a strong community. It offers a broad, balanced curriculum delivered by a dedicated staff team who use innovative ideas to inspire the children’s learning.
Like many schools, Anglesey has grown over time and has a mixture of buildings on two sites that include Victorian buildings and 1970s additions.
The school had two separate analogue CCTV camera systems, each with around a dozen cameras, but they did not provide the coverage needed to ensure the safety of its pupils, staff and visitors. Furthermore, because footage from the cameras could only be stored for a couple of days, it was of limited use.
Anglesey’s IT Manager Alex Bradley was tasked with sourcing a suitable alternative. Research told him that digital CCTV cameras could provide the solution the school needed. Having established this, he asked three companies to tender for the contract to install and maintain the cameras.
Alex reports that Ecl-ips was the only company of the three invited to tender to offer a free trial of the cameras and it was a service the school valued. “It made it really easy to see how useful the new equipment would be and how it would integrate with current systems,” Alex says. It was a key factor in the school’s decision to award the contract to Ecl-ips, but it was far from the only reason. Alex explains, “The Ecl-ips price was very competitive, but more importantly than that, they were very supportive throughout the quoting process and we just got the sense they were experts in their field and were people we could trust.”
Ecl-ips recommended that Anglesey Primary School used Avigilon hardware, backed up with an Uninterruptable Power Supply System to guarantee coverage even during a power cut.
Avigilon is renowned for designing and manufacturing the world’s best high definition surveillance systems. Its megapixel cameras, recording hardware and video management software combine to create an end-to-end solution that delivers an image quality that is unmatched by any of its competitors. The equipment can also be integrated with existing analogue systems extremely cost-effectively, something that was particularly valuable for Anglesey because it meant they could continue to use the cameras they already had installed. Backed up with the reassurance of an Uninterruptable Power Supply System, it was a package that gave Anglesey everything it needed to ensure the safety of its staff and pupils.
The process of installing the CCTV equipment went very smoothly and Ecl-ips’s understanding of the particular requirements and constraints of school life was something that impressed Alex. He says, “All the cabling was installed during the school holidays so it didn’t cause any disruption to staff or pupils. The final parts of the installation happened during term time, but the Ecl-ips team worked very sensitively and the work didn’t affect the school day at all.”
The Anglesey team are delighted with the new cameras. “They have made a big difference,” Alex says. “The new equipment is much easier to use – it takes us two minutes to find something rather than two hours. We can also store images for a lot longer, which makes life much easier and gives us an extra level of reassurance. But above all, we’ve got so much more coverage than we had before and we’ve made the school a much safer place to be for staff and pupils alike.”
There have been very few technical queries so far, but Alex has been impressed with the way Ecl-ips has dealt with anything that has come up. “Everything has worked extremely well so far. We have had a couple of early problems with the software but Ecl-ips team have been very quick to investigate and fix the issues,” he says.
In conclusion, Alex says, “It was a pleasure to work with Ecl-ips. They did the job we asked them to do and they did it well. That’s all you can ask for really.”
Download the Anglesey Case Study PDF