“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!

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”!

Portsmouth Grammar School go Cashless!

This month we installed our popular Cashless Catering system, EventPOS, in the independent secondary school which has a student population of 1,351.

Their system is programmed specifically to their requirements, to charge different rates for those who pay daily, versus those who choose to pay for a term in advance. 

This categorisation is not visible to students, nor are bursaries or any allergens/dietary requirements.

They opted to use smart ID cards with their system, but other options such as biometric fingerprint readers are also available.

Their system is linked to WisePay for parents and carers to top up and monitor their children’s accounts.  This keeps parents happy as it is so easy to use!

Thanks to The Portsmouth Grammar School, we can’t wait to hear how you get on with EventPOS!

To find out more about our cashless catering system, click here!

idXtra at The Security Event 2023!

We had a blast at The Security Event 2023 in Birmingham! It was our first time exhibiting at this event, and we hope to return next year. We made lots of new connections and gave out more idXtra Business Bears!

The two Tony’s!

We had lots of interest in our Visitor Management System, VisiTapp, as it enhances safeguarding and security in any establishment. We can integrate our software with most existing Access Control systems, which makes upgrading to VisiTapp even easier.

To find out more about VisiTapp or to book a remote demo, please click here!

Working hard or hardly working? 🙂

Keep an eye on our blog and Twitter for news of our next event appearances! We hope to see you soon.

Attendance Tracking Add-On for the NCC Group!

What an exciting time for the NCC! We had previously installed new ID card printers and ID design and printing software for the group, along with our “EventPOS” cashless catering system, and our visitor management solution “VisiTapp” at all campuses.  We also look after the middleware for pushing card records to the access control systems at all campuses (3 different systems).  We were therefore delighted to be asked to install our attendance tracking solution “Ad Hoc Registers”, which is a module of VisiTapp.

In the first instance the system is being used to monitor students’ extra-curricular sessions which are not timetabled in ProSolution, but form part of each learner’s Study Programme, so they need to be recorded. Previous methods consisted of pen and paper, Excel sheets and emails, but they were not consistent. This was leaving a gap in student journeys within the college group, leaving a potential loophole for students to disengage with their studies, or not complete them.

EventMarker consists of simple USB smart card readers plugged into teachers’ laptops.  For any ad hoc or non-timetabled session, the teacher simply creates the event on their laptop and gives it a description and room number.  The learners then simply tap in and their photo is shown on the laptop screen, and they are marked as PRESENT and if they arrive late they are marked as LATE. 

These marks are saved into the EventMarker database and can be reported on as required.  This system evidences all non-timetabled studies (that students are required to do) and provides management information which is invaluable to senior staff.

Thanks NCC Group, we hope you love your latest addition from idXtra!

To find out more about our systems, click on the below links!

Attendance monitoring software, EventMarker

Visitor Management System, VisiTapp

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.

The Headteacher magazine – Summer issue

As we enter the summer months, we are pleased to announce that idXtra will feature in the new June / July issue of ‘The Headteacher’ magazine!

We are delighted to be featured in the publication again, which is received by many primary school headteachers, school leaders, SBMs, executive heads and academy chain buyers.

Our feature in this issue focuses on our visitor management system, VisiTapp. We feel VisiTapp in particular would be of interest to primary schools, not just because of GDPR reasons but also for safeguarding and security purposes. These systems are essential as much as they are affordable; they can also really enhance the look and feel of the school’s front-of-house reception area.

VisiTapp is highly reliable, flexible and affordable, and is more efficient than the much-hyped leading brands. For more info on our VMS, visit idxtra.com/new-visitapp, and for a free demo or quotation, email info@idxtra.com or call 0800 083 6053.

Get your latest copy of ‘The Headteacher’ magazine (Volume 5, Issue 5) on June 25th.

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:

As 2021 Welcomes a New Law on Allergen Labelling… Ensure Safeguarding with EventPOS!

With ‘Natasha’s Law’ coming into effect in October 2021, there is a duty for businesses and establishments to have strict requirements on food allergen labelling.

The law denotes that pre-packaged foods must carry a full ingredients list, in order to ensure the safeguarding of the consumer. Millions of people in the UK suffer from food allergies, which makes this a top priority for catering companies.

Did you know…

1 in 4 people living in the UK has a food allergy?

School catering teams are required to provide information about 14 allergenic ingredients that are used in the foods that are sold or provided by them within the school. The allergens are:

Our cashless catering system, EventPOS, has a built-in functionality which stores data of students’ allergies, and thereby automatically prohibits the sale of any harmful products to them.

It can also store data of any other dietary requirements that your students may have, for example things that are not potentially life-threatening such as allergens, but cultural, religious, nutritional and aspirational preferences such as:

It is a simple, easy to use and fail-safe system that ensures the safeguarding of your students. Students are assigned with their dietary needs in MIS (such as no nuts, no pork, no gluten etc) which the EventPOS system reads dynamically.

Every product in the canteen that contains an allergen or potentially disallowed ingredient is flagged, for example peanuts are flagged as “no nuts” allowed and a bacon sandwich is flagged as “no pork” allowed. If a student tries to purchase an item which contradicts with their dietary requirements, a message will flag up saying ‘item not permitted’.

Ensure safeguarding and ‘Natasha’s Law’ compliance by using our cashless catering system, EventPOS! Find more information about it here: https://idxtra.com/new-eventpos/