Case Study

Thriftwood School

Denise Crouch

Denise Crouch

Thriftwood School is situated in the village of Galleywood, two miles south of Chelmsford. It was first opened in November 1975 as purpose built provision for pupils with moderate learning difficulties and additional complex needs. Thriftwood School is a vibrant and outstanding school that provides a safe and stimulating environment, where the wellbeing and achievement of every pupil is their priority. The school has extensive school grounds and offers a wealth of opportunities for learning outside the classroom.

The school has a class set of iPads that they share between all 136 students throughout the weeks’ timetable. Managing and transporting the iPads was becoming difficult, and they ended up sitting in piles and lying around the office. When they were used they had to be carried from classroom to classroom. For a while they used a wooden trolley but this was not safe or secure and they had to count the iPads three times a day to make sure that they had not misplaced any of the devices. This became too much to handle for the teachers and students, so the school decided to call LapSafe® Products to find a solution to their problem.

LapSafe® Products have been the market leaders in managing storage and charging solutions for over a decade; specialising in safe power management solutions that allow charging and data transfer for laptops, netbooks, iPads and tablets in volume.

Vaughan Gregory, ICT Technician at Thriftwood School called LapSafe® and explained the situation to our Sales Team. They recommended a Traveller™ for iPads; however the current model would not accommodate the schools ruggedised cases that they used to protect their iPads from damage. LapSafe® is accustomed to designing and building bespoke products so were eager to take on the challenge. After the initial phone call in February, LapSafe® got to work and built the Traveller™ for iPads to accommodate ruggedised cases and delivered the unit to the school at the beginning of July.

Vaughan said, “We chose LapSafe® as they are the best name in the industry and we have used them before so know they are a trusted brand. We needed a secure and portable case to transport the iPads as we move the devices between classrooms; some of the classrooms are situated across the car park! We are so happy that LapSafe™ designed a bespoke product for us, it took a while but the communication was great and we didn’t mind waiting for such a fantastic product. Everyone at the school loves the Traveller™, it is easy for the students and staff to use the iPads, get them out, use them and then put them back on charge. The cable management is great!”

Vaughan concluded, “We are extremely pleased with LapSafe® Products, the staff have been brilliant. Being able to store, charge and sync the devices has enhanced the experience of using iPads within the classroom; the students can now use them to their full potential. We couldn’t have the iPads without the Traveller™ now; it is the best and only way to use them.

Since designing the Traveller™ for iPads which accommodates the iPads in their ruggedised cases, the product has become popular with other schools, colleges and universities and now forms part of the LapSafe® Traveller™ range. iPads in cases such as Gumdrop, Otterbox and the Survivor can be securely stored, charged and synchronised in the Traveller™ for iPads (Ruggedised).