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5 things you to know about moving into temporary prefab classrooms

Making to move into temporary prefab classrooms

What do you need to consider?

Outgrowing your existing school building is an equally exciting and terrifying time for school leaders. As many schools are undertaking a new school fit out in 2024/25, we thought what better time than now to share industry helpful tips and tricks to assist you in making this transition into temporary prefab classrooms as smooth as possible.

Here are 5 things you need to consider when planning for the DTI in your new prefabs

Don’t let the move to an external prefab disrupt the continuity of learning

Connectivity in temporary prefab classrooms

Often when schools move to an external prefab, the continuity of learning is dramatically disrupted. However, with some forward planning, you can guarantee that your prefab is just as connected to the main school as the classrooms inside.

We recommend that you use a separate underground service duct to conceal cables such as fibre optic cables between standalone buildings. The internal wiring used should be Category 6e to ensure maximised connectivity. It is important to state that it is an electrical safety requirement that separate buildings have a fibre line directly connected to your school’s core switch.

If you are moving to a number of prefabs, it is also important to discuss a multimode fibre optic backbone with your DTI provider.

Wi-Fi is an essential component of modern-day teaching and learning

Wired Network’s in temporary prefab classrooms

Reliable and robust Wi-Fi has become an essential component of the modern-day teaching and learning landscape. Our infrastructure experts recommend wiring what and where you can.

It is crucial that all data points have enough switching capacity to go live. These ports then need to be pro-actively maintained by a reputable and experienced IT provider such as IT Systems.

How many data points will you require within these prefabs?

Classroom Wi-Fi Coverage within temporary prefab classrooms

It is important to carefully consider how many data points you require within these prefabs.
Strong coverage can typically be achieved with 1 access point per 2 classrooms. However, if you are a 1:1 school or have active additional devices such as mobiles, tablets or laptops it is highly likely that you will need more capacity to ensure a reliable and efficient online experience in each classroom.

How many data points will you require within these prefabs?

Installing interactive Boards & Data Projectors on temporary prefab walls

Interactive boards and data projectors are absolute gamechangers when it comes to inclusive and immersive education. But, before any purchasing or installations can occur, it is vital that you investigate the materials your prefab is made from as well as the specifications of the products you plan to purchase.

Overlooking these critical elements can impede the installation process, impact wider DTI infrastructure and prove very costly for your school.

Interactive white boards and data projectors are not included part of the contract for a new school or extension. Leaving you as a school leader solely responsible for purchasing and installation. Navigating key snippets of information such light output in projectors or user environments in interactive boards can be extremely tedious.

However, with a well-seasoned IT provider such as IT Systems by your side, it can be made so much simpler. We work with you to create a reliable and stable classroom environment that is tailored to your schools’ specific needs.

We research the device speciation’s so you don’t have to

Easy to manoeuvre Teacher Devices

Now that the prefab is wired up, reliable connectivity is secured, and the interactive board or projector is installed – where do you look to next? The teacher’s device of course!

First off, you need to consider has the teacher got an existing device they need to use within the classroom or are you looking to purchase a new device? We recommend that you take time to carefully research the speciation’s of any device you wish to integrate into your ICT environment as to avoid Islands of Technology.

If you are unsure of the best route to take, it is super important to ask your DTI provider what they advise.

All the better if it is IT Systems

Our final thought, involve your ICT Support from the beginning

We have been in the IT for schools’ business since 1996. So, you can be guaranteed we know a thing or two about the successful integration of ICT across multiple school buildings.

If it were us, (which hopefully it is) we would want to be involved from the first fit stage to advise and ensure that everything is running efficiently and effectively. Moving into a prefab while temporary can be massively daunting. Our team are here to bring the stress levels down.

Whether you are a new or existing customer, we want you to reach out to our team on 061 375 140 to discuss your schools’ goals for this demanding phase of your schools ICT journey.

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