Emmaus Catholic Trust Simplifies Device Management
Standardising charging, reducing IT workload and improving the user experience across six schools
As Cluster IT Engineer at Emmaus Catholic Trust, Liam Morris supports six schools, managing an estate of approximately 500 to 600 devices, including iPads, laptops and staff devices. His role spans everything from day-to-day IT support and classroom support requests to large-scale device refresh projects and technology planning.
With USB-C becoming the standard across an increasing number of educational devices, the trust needed a charging solution that could support a wide range of technology while making device management easier for both IT staff and teaching teams. The challenge was finding a solution that would simplify charging, improve visibility, reduce maintenance time and provide the flexibility to support a mixed device estate both now and in the future.
Following a successful proof of concept at St Francis RC Primary School, the trust selected LapSafe®’s ChargeLite™ USB-C trolley. Here, Liam Morris explains how the ChargeLite™ USB-C is helping schools save time, improve organisation and ensure devices are ready whenever they are needed in the classroom.
The Challenge
With hundreds of devices in daily use across multiple schools, ensuring devices are charged, secure and ready for learning is essential.
The trust had previously used charging trolleys that relied on individual laptop chargers, creating cable congestion and making troubleshooting difficult when a charging issue occurred.
“Sometimes you’ve got 32 sets of laptop chargers in quite a small and compact space. It’s not ideal trying to find one that’s failed.”
The lack of visibility around charging status also created additional work for IT teams.
“Sometimes we are getting callbacks to say that devices aren’t charging, or maybe when the trolley has been used in a classroom, 20% of the devices have an inadequate charge percentage. Again, that might be because students haven’t plugged them in correctly, or it might be that the power cable has failed. So, it’s quite hard to investigate.”
When devices were unavailable or undercharged, the impact extended directly into the classroom.
“Either students end up sharing devices, or they might miss out on being able to complete a task by themselves.”
The trust was also looking for a solution that would support a diverse and evolving device estate.
“We’re starting to see the same way with laptops. Originally, they would have their own power cables, but now a lot of devices have moved to USB-C.”
The Solution
Introduced to LapSafe® through partner DMS Group, the trust trialled a ChargeLite™ USB-C trolley through a proof of concept programme at St Francis RC Primary School. Following a successful evaluation, the school proceeded with a full purchase, with additional schools within Liam’s group also exploring the solution.
From the outset, the ChargeLite™ USB-C design delivered immediate benefits.
“The design of it and the USB-C hub in the back office is so much more convenient than trying to cable in individual power cables and plugs. So that’s a massive time saver there.”
The move to USB-C charging also aligned perfectly with the trust’s wider technology strategy.
“With a lot of devices that have moved to USB-C, it allows quite a lot of flexibility for us in terms of trolleys being wired up for USB-C. They might be used for iPads or laptops and, if they can accept USB-C charging, then they can fit in the trolley as well.”
“It covers pretty much all devices in most schools now.”
Greater Visibility and Easier Troubleshooting
The ChargeLite™ USB-C trolley’s LED charging indicators and USB-C cables provide instant feedback that devices are connected correctly and charging as expected.
For staff and pupils, this removes uncertainty and makes it much easier to identify potential issues before lessons begin.
“They get the confirmation as well. They know what they’re looking for. They know they’ve successfully put the device in, and it is charging.”
This improved visibility helps reduce support requests while ensuring devices remain available for teaching and learning.
Designed for Everyday School Use
Feedback from staff at St Francis RC Primary School has been overwhelmingly positive.
“The feedback we’ve had is positive, and they’ve liked the use of the trolley.”
The physical design of the ChargeLite™ USB-C trolley has also proved advantageous within the school environment.
“The LapSafe® one is taller. I think that’s quite an easy point to navigate around the school. It just fits straight through rather than trying to angle a slightly longer trolley.”
Integrated cable management has further simplified day-to-day use.
“With the LapSafe® trolley, you can just wind the cable up and away it goes.”
The result is a cleaner, more organised charging setup that is easier for both staff and pupils to manage.
Improved Security with PIN Lock Access
After trialling the trolley with a keyed lock, the school opted to upgrade to a PIN lock configuration.
For the trust, this removed a common source of frustration while improving accessibility for staff.
“For our scenario, I think the PIN lock is much better.”
“It just means that there’s less time for the students to go to the office and collect the key.”
The trust had previously experienced issues with lost keys causing disruption to lessons and IT operations.
“I’ve seen it sometimes in schools where the key was taken home. All the laptops were locked in the trolley. That was a nightmare for me.”
PIN access provides a secure and practical alternative, allowing authorised staff to access devices without the administrative burden of managing physical keys.
Future Ready
As the trust continues to modernise its technology estate, USB-C standardisation is becoming increasingly important. The ChargeLite USB-C trolley has provided a future-ready solution capable of supporting a wide range of devices while reducing complexity for IT teams.
Looking ahead, Liam also sees opportunities to make greater use of the digital timer supplied with each trolley to support holiday charging schedules and device updates while reducing energy consumption.