We find out how Chalk Nursery Group worked with managed technologies firm Active8 to make life easier for its nursery managers

In June last year, newly formed Chalk Nursery Group, acquired five boutique settings under the Katey’s Nursery and Pre-School brand. Chalk Nursery chief executive Sinead Johnson was keen to make life as easy as possible for the managers in the newly-acquired settings, so she turned to managed technologies company Active8 and its director Alex Patterson.

When office technology works smoothly it acts as the backbone of the nursery, but when it fails, managers can spend frustrating hours trying to sort things out – hours that could be spent supporting staff to deliver quality childcare and early education. Active8 provides the printers, photocopiers, telephone systems, internet connectivity and some IT services that form the foundation of nursery administration, as well as offering ongoing customer support.

“I had worked with Alex and his team in the past, and I knew that he was very good at listening to customers and understanding what they are looking for,” says Johnson. “I was impressed at how the company has made itself very aware of what is going on in the early years sector and is able to meet the requirements of the sector in a very measured way.”

One benefit to working with Active8 has been consolidation and consistency across the group. “When Chalk took over there were varying suppliers, but now we have one supplier, and one point of contact if there is a problem, and that is game-changing for nursery managers,” says Johnson.

The role of technology

Nurseries are becoming increasingly reliant on technology, whether that is maintaining a digital presence through social media, uploading observations, or dealing with finances. “If you think of some of the really onerous tasks at nursery level, such as managing the admin around funded places, the eligibility codes, parents’ information, that is where reliable internet connectivity and scanners play an important role” says Johnson.

Most of the information sent home to parents, such as children’s daily diaries, or accident forms, also require reliable internet connectivity. “These items are all sent through to the parents digitally, so the minute that doesn’t work you are relying on paper and telephone calls,” says Johnson. “Everyone in a nursery works so hard, and I want them to have as much time as possible concentrating on the children and the families, and less time on the phone trying to sort their technology out.”

Chalk’s new telephony system allows the nurseries to divert calls easily if required, due to being hosted from a single, secure and cloud-based web interface. “If we have some sort of emergency and have to evacuate the premises to a place of safety, we can instantly and seamlessly divert our telephone lines somewhere else, allowing us to contact parents and let them know,” says Johnson. “Traditional methods rely on printed sheets which you would have to take with you, getting out your mobile phone – we can do things in a much more efficient way now. In a situation like that where there is a problem you can concentrate on the children and your staff. The technology takes care of itself.

Staff have required some training when it comes to managing the new systems and devices, but any reluctance to engage with different processes is balanced by positive reactions to the equipment, says Johnson. “Never underestimate the value of a good printer,” she says. “Our printers are also scanners, a vital part of the kit in every nursery office. A reliable piece of equipment that works every time you use it can be transformational.

“The scanning element has been very popular in all of the settings,” agrees Patterson. “We have provided devices with office grade scanners – previously the devices were home office quality from PC World, not business-grade.”

Johnson says practitioners also value the fact that Active8 monitors the amount of ink in the printers, sending new stock when the printer runs low, so they never have the frustrating experience of being unable to print out an activity sheet or observation.

Greater choice for sustainability

“In modern nurseries, everything is underpinned by the internet, so the right connectivity is vital,” says Patterson. “As we are an independent vendor, we were able to source two different internet connections for Chalk that other suppliers were not able to offer. We can connect clients with a variety of different vendors and products so they can choose what is right for them, as opposed to shoehorning them into what one big company can supply.”

Active8 also offers a ‘heat free’ printer which uses less power, saving energy, and comes with 80% less packaging, generating less waste. “You are also reducing the amount of time the engineer needs to fix the machine because they have fewer moving parts,” says Patterson.

“As a company we want to reduce our carbon footprint even in the smallest way, such as reducing the amount of paper we use at nursery,” says Johnson. “With Active8 we have a ‘pay as you go’ print contract, which fits very nicely alongside our aspiration to use less paper.”

Consultancy for the future

Active8 acts as a technology partner, providing advice and expertise to help settings and groups plan their long-term use of IT and facilities. “In this sector a small operator is unlikely to have individual experts in-house dealing with IT or facilities,” says Patterson. “We can have that conversation about how technology can fit with your growth strategy and budgets, planning ahead, rather than taking an ‘install it and walk away’ approach.”

After assessing a group’s requirements, Active8’s advice might be “don’t do anything”. “We have assessed contracts that we have advised don’t need touching for another year or 18 months, contrary to what some sales people might be trying to do, which is push a product to a client that they are not ready to take,” says Patterson. “We take a long-term strategic view.”

“It is about finding the right tech partner to work with to really support all the different scenarios that happen on a nursery level,” says Johnson.

Chalk’s partnership with Active8 has clearly impacted the day-to-day operations of its settings. There has also been a positive impact on a strategic level, such as managing morale in nurseries which have been acquired and providing consistency across a growing group.

“When you take over a new nursery, you speak to the manager and the staff, and ask them what is important to them, and what you can do for them,” says Johnson. “Inevitably what you find is they just want their equipment to work, and we can do that, because we already have a supplier. We can say “this nursery is coming on board”, and we can make it happen in the next couple of weeks if needed.”

Active8 managed technologies

Active8 brings the latest telephone systems, Wi-Fi and connectivity, IT services and printers, to the workplace, backed by expertise and after-sales service.

Telephone systems Active8 offers the latest in hosted telephony solutions at a fixed cost. The Cloud-based phone system is always updated, monitored and maintained, and supported remotely by the managed services helpdesk underpinned by the right connectivity.

Printers, photocopiers and scanners Active8 offers bespoke hardware, software and service solutions designed to improve every aspect of the nursery’s printer needs, requiring minimum intervention.

IT services A full IT service provides unlimited helpdesk and on-site support. Active8 can act as a nursery’s IT manager or work with an existing IT team.

Contact details:
Website: a8mt.co.uk
Phone: 0333 999 7355
Email: [email protected]