City of Westminster College “tap in”!

The United Colleges Group already had our cashless catering system, EventPOS, and our visitor management system, VisiTapp, and we had installed new ID card printers and ID design and printing software for the group.

We were therefore delighted to be asked to install our attendance tracking solution, EventMarker, for City of Westminster College!

Primarily it was required for monitoring students’ self-study sessions, which are timetabled but not necessarily staffed by teachers, so no formal registers were being taken.

EventMarker consists of simple PoE smart card readers located in the appropriate places, so that learners can simply tap in and out of their self-study sessions. 

If learners arrive on time they are marked as PRESENT and if they arrive late they are marked as LATE. These marks are saved into the ProSolution MIS database under the relevant lessons. 

Teachers and administrators with the appropriate level of access may edit the marks, for example, if a student was late through no fault of their own.

Thanks City of Westminster College, we look forward to hearing how you get on with your new system!

Very smart cards at Caterham School!

We were delighted to be chosen by Caterham School to upgrade and streamline their smart ID card system. 

The brief was to utilise any serviceable aspects of the existing system, updating where necessary and feasible, and to add state-of-the-art solutions to form a modern student, visitor and staff safeguarding solution. 

The project comprised of adding new ID card printing stations, with internal smart card encoding units, to print and program smart ID cards. 

The solution is streamlined and driven by live data from the iSams MIS database.  Upon card issuance, users’ credentials are sent in real-time to the cashless catering system, the visitor management system and the access control system (Paxton Net2).

This minimises the need for staff intervention and maximises security, keeping students safe all throughout the school and the associated Sports Centre. 

Thanks Caterham, we’re glad you “tapped in”!

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.

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:

New City College group gets major upgrade!

In these summer months as the new school year rapidly approaches, many schools and colleges use this time to get upgrades to their premises.

The New City College group are no different, and this month have decided to get a major upgrade to their systems, and opted for idXtra’s cashless catering and visitor management systems.

The NCC group had our cashless system, EventPOS, installed across their six colleges and ten campuses. They chose EventPOS to manage their cashless catering across its very large estate; the system works perfectly for them as it links to MIS to deliver FSM and other bursaries in real time.

A recent and major upgrade to the EventPOS system is that it now caters for allergies and dietary preferences, meaning the safeguarding of students is greatly enhanced.

Not only did the college group opt for a new cashless system, but they upgraded their visitor management system too! We upgraded and replaced all of their systems to our VMS, VisiTapp, across all of their campuses. VisiTapp is highly efficient and reliable, and can be adapted to meet your specific requirements and preferences.

Lastly, just in time for the enrolment period, we supplied the NCC with ten new ZXP 7 card printers plus eighteen new CardExchange v10 licenses. Our card printers and software are very reliable and easy to operate, plus our printers can be hired on a daily basis!

Big thanks to the New City College group, it was a pleasure installing our systems in your premises!

For further information on our products and services mentioned here, please click on the following links:

Attendance monitoring at West Notts College!

We are thrilled to welcome on board West Nottinghamshire College to the idXtra family of customers!

Recently we completed the installation of EventMarker, our attendance monitoring system, in all of their classrooms and teaching spaces. The system was installed in a way that incorporates their existing student ID cards, which meant they didn’t need to get all new cards printed, thus saving time and expense.

Through the installation the idXtra team also fine-tuned the link to their MIS system, for the purpose of exchanging timetable and attendance data. This system was a major investment by the college, which will inevitably result in even better student retention rates and the funding associated with it.

Thank you West Notts College, we look forward to seeing how you get on with your new system!

For information on our attendance monitoring system, EventMarker, and to find out how to book a free remote demonstration, please click here.

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