Business communications experts PBX Hosting has ‘revolutionised’ the way an Exeter-based school has operated during the pandemic following the installation of its cost-effective and seamless 3CX phone system
Exeter House School, a special school that is part of the Somerset Road Education Trust, tasked PBX Hosting with changing their old phone system make their staff more accessible throughout lockdown, during which time a significant proportion of the school was resigned to home learning.
Through their 3CX system, PBX Hosting gave Exeter House School the means to communicate with parents and staff with total ease – allowing staff to be responsive and accessible at all times and alleviating the difficulties of communicating with parents who were unable to attend the school due to the Covid-19 restrictions.
The system allowed for their staff to become totally accessible throughout the day, irrespective of where they were, which facilitated the means to work from home – a luxury that was not possible prior to the installation of 3CX.
By installing their cost-effective 3CX System, PBX Hosting was able to ensure significant savings for Exeter House School – saving them a total of £10,000 on other quotations received as well as offering a substantial reduction in phone bills.
Exeter House ordered 40 of PBX’s portable DECT phones and ten desk phones and had full access to the 3CX platform through their tablets, ensuring that each classroom had an extension and that all of their 140 staff, who were split between working from home or at school, were contactable anywhere at any given time.
The PBX conferencing system was also made available for free, which meant that the school was able to conduct their annual reviews with parents could be carried out securely using the 3CX free video conferencing facility.
Exeter House School now look to the future where they plan to continue using the 3CX System post-lockdown after a highly successful experience.
Jackie Lynam, Network Manager at Exeter House School commented: “The 3CX phone system has revolutionised the way we work and mitigated the inconvenience from the Covid-19 pandemic exponentially.
“Not only did they provide expert advice and offered bespoke solutions that tailored to the school’s direct needs, but also held our hand through the whole installation process to ensure the transition to the new phone system was straight forward and seamless.
“Staff are now contactable anytime, anywhere through portable devices which are kept on their person in class, the decked devices, as well as through their own phones and tablets.
“We were extremely lucky to have found a company that not only were heavily customer focused but were genuine experts in telecommunications. Being a special school with children who live with highly severe medical needs, Exeter House School needed a tailored made approach that fit in with our bespoke requirements.
“A number of companies came forward and approach us offering to build upon our current phone system or offer alternatives, however none were able to provide what was required to suit the specific needs of the school – until PBX Hosting came along.
“PBX Hosting made the challenges of the pandemic easier as it made communication seamless and allowed operations to continue as normal throughout the pandemic.
“The system was also extremely cost-effective. Not only was PBX Hosting highly competitive, the system has also allowed us to free up employee time, so staff could be utilised more efficiently. For instance, PBX helped set up a digital receptionist, which previously had to be manned at all times. Now we have an automated digital reception where calls can be diverted.
“Additionally our school needs a phone in every classroom so the teacher can call out in an emergency, but 90% of systems charge per extension – potentially an eye-watering expense if you have dozens of classrooms.
“3CX is unique because the licence model is based on concurrent calls, not the number of extensions. So, the phone system has effectively paid for itself.”
