“Open Sesame” for Chichester College!

As 2023 draws to a close, Chichester College have had a brand new idXtra access control system installed throughout their campus. 

We have replaced their existing system across their campus, so that the premises are much more secure and receiving visitors is more efficient.

The installation was of a Paxton Net2 access control system, linked to the college MIS system in real-time. This means that new learners are added when their card is printed, and any learner that is not currently enrolled in a course within MIS is automatically invalidated and cannot enter the college.

Intrinsic to the system are its links to PaperCut (photocopier and print control system) and to VisiTapp, our flexible visitor management system.  This ensures that learners that wish to enrol onto the new access control system can do so in a self-service manner at the main reception desk. 

All users that had previously enrolled their cards in PaperCut are automatically brought through to the access control system and placed in the appropriate access group.

Thanks Chichester College, we’re glad we could help.

Safeguarding has never been easier with idXtra!

London Met Get Upgraded!

Over the summer, the London Metropolitan University chose to upgrade their student card printing system so that it would be more efficient ahead of the new academic year.

We upgraded their student card printing system with middleware processes, so that their card activation is now streamlined to their SALTO Access Control system.

This effective solution saves hours of staff administration time and also improves the safeguarding of their students, as their ID card printing now works seamlessly with their Access Control, i.e door entry and exit!

Thank you London Metropolitan University, we look forward to hearing how you get on with your new streamlined system!

The Team at idXtra

If you’d like to find out more about idXtra’s Access Control systems, please click here.

To find out more about idXtra’s fully integrated solutions, please click here.

Access Granted at Cranford Community College!

This month, a long-standing customer in the idXtra family, Cranford Community College, chose to have a big upgrade!

After 20 years of using their previous Access Control system, difficulties in maintaining support for the system lead CCC to decide to get a brand new system.

They entrusted idXtra with this large task, and now they have a brand new ACT IP-based Access Control system. This will be sure to improve throughput around the college, as well as the safeguarding of students.

Thank you, Cranford Community College, we hope you love your new Access Control System!

The Team at idXtra

Welcome on board the United Colleges Group!

As it begins to feel like summer at last, we welcome on board a new customer to the idXtra family- the United Colleges Group! We are thrilled to welcome them and we look forward to working closely with them.

We have been chosen by the United Colleges Group to supply their new cashless catering and visitor management systems, alongside some streamlining of ID card issuance and population of the access control system.

We are installing our cashless catering system, EventPOS, at 22 locations across all of the United Colleges Group’s campuses (City of Westminster College and College of North West London). Their upgrade to EventPOS will simplify the issuing of discreet free school meals and bring several disparate systems together as one system, on a single network linked to MIS. 

Our visitor management system, VisiTapp, will enhance the security and safety of their staff, students and visitors, whilst improving their front of house image. Our VMS comes in various forms and it can be customised precisely to suit their specific requirements.

Thank you United Colleges Group, we can’t wait to upgrade you!

To find out more about our systems and services, check out the links below:

ID card printing galore for the Trafford College group!

We were delighted to be chosen as the supplier to the Trafford College group to upgrade their ID card printing systems across their five campuses! 

The formation of the Trafford College group meant that there were disparate systems across the four colleges (Trafford College, Stockport College, The Cheadle College and Marple Sixth Form College), and the aim was to bring everything together with one system.

We supplied twelve new ID card printers and updated and extended their ID card printing software, and we wrote integration pieces in order to push records into three different access control systems.  

The result is a smoother, simplified operation that is easier to support and to extend further.  

Thank you to the Trafford College group, we hope you love your new card printing system!

Please click the following links to find out more information about our products and services relevant to this post:

idXtra To Feature in New Magazine, ‘The Headteacher’!

We are thrilled to announce that idXtra will be featured in the upcoming inaugural issue of the new education publication, ‘The Headteacher‘ magazine.

February’s issue marks the launch of the magazine and will bring the very best in financial and leadership expertise to headteachers and school business managers across the country.

Our latest advert, featured in the publication, demonstrates how you can achieve the highest level of safeguarding within your establishment, through the use of our ID cards and Visitor Management, Access Control and Cashless Catering systems.

We wish the team at ‘The Headteacher’ the best of luck with their new venture. The inaugural issue of the magazine will be sent out on February 26th… if you want to get your hands on a copy, click here!

Read on for more info about how our systems can help you to improve the security and safeguarding of your students and staff!

VisiTapp, our Visitor Management system:

  • Gives 100% accurate management information of who is on the premises at any time
  • Records late students and those leaving site early (option of saving to MIS)
  • Has a strong safeguarding strategy including ‘roll call’ and ‘person search’ functions
  • Has an optional evacuation app for mobile phones and tablets

Our Access Control systems:

  • Allow you to manage access to your premises through our range of networked and stand-alone systems
  • Give enhanced security and peace of mind, knowing that only authorised personnel can gain access to certain parts of the building
  • Ensure that buildings, rooms and the valuable equipment contained within remain secure until an authorised individual wishes to gain access

Our ID cards:

  • Are versatile and can have whatever technology you choose; they can be encoded and integrated to work with your existing or new systems
  • Can be designed by us according to your specific requirements, incorporating your organisation’s logo and staff and student photos
  • Can include any information provided within your database, for example student numbers, form details and dates of issue and expiry

EventPOS, our Cashless Catering system:

  • Has a built-in functionality which stores data of students’ allergies and dietary requirements
  • Thereby automatically prohibits the sale of any harmful products to students, such as a milkshake to someone who is lactose-intolerant
  • Ensures no allergens go unnoticed, thus assuring the safeguarding of your students and compliance with ‘Natasha’s Law’, which comes into effect in October 2021

idXtra’s latest customer… welcome Eastleigh College!

As we move through these uncertain times, we are thrilled to welcome on-board Eastleigh College to the idXtra family.

The College wanted to manage access to their premises in a more secure way and improve the safeguarding of their pupils and staff, whilst modernising their reception image.

In December 2020, we undertook the access control installation process in their front-of-house areas and installed some high-end speed lanes from our latest range. The speed lanes are controlled by the ACT access control system, linked seamlessly to ID card production and MIS.

Andrew Chapman, Estates and Facilities Manager at Eastleigh College said “I was very pleased with our decision to appoint idXtra as they understood our requirements precisely. They are very experienced at dealing with these complicated projects and from start to finish we had a sense that our project was in good hands.”

“The system takes live MIS data and via card production (and using card updating scanners), feeds automatically into the new access control system controlling the speed lanes and doors. This means that managing the system is a doddle.”

“I was particularly pleased with the efficiency and cleanliness of the installation team. There was no mess left behind at any stage and everything was finished to a very high standard.”

We would like to say thank you to Eastleigh College, and we look forward to continuing to support you in the future!

For information on our access control systems and how they could benefit your establishment, visit https://idxtra.com/access_control

Take a look at their new and improved reception area and access control system below: