Five years and £64 million in the making, the Barony Campus is now open to students. With ambitions to help students reach their full potential by providing world-class resources, the largest school in Scotland has been fully fitted with Promethean ActivPanels which form a fundamental base for its edtech network.
The East Ayrshire “Super School” combines five schools from the area into one state-of-the-art education centre, catering for children from early childhood all the way through to secondary, including special needs services.
Seeing a staggered opening due to COVID-19 restrictions, the estimated 2,500 students are finally able to enjoy the innovative campus facilities in-person, which include a hydrotherapy pool, two full-sized rugby pitches, and a 550-seat auditorium.
A huge edtech investment was needed to match the careful attention put into the rest of the school’s infrastructure. The ActivPanels complement a widescale investment in laptops for staff and students, a streamlined edtech platform that simplifies screen sharing, collaborative work, and IT support across the campus.
A close working relationship with Promethean’s support team, plus a familiarity for East Ayrshire’s teachers with the panels’ award-winning lesson delivery software, ActivInspire, settled the council’s decision to use the company for this panel implementation. The campus is now working with Promethean to explore how they can make full use of the ActivPanels.
“We now have our sights set on working with Promethean to make the Barony Campus a beacon of best practice, with a comprehensive training programme for staff planned to begin in the new school year.” ICT Coordinator Gary Neilson has been working for the council since the conception of the Barony Campus in 2015.
A detailed training programme for the Super School, delivered by Promethean’s Scottish support team, will make up part of this huge professional development operation; Barony teachers will work towards earning recognition in key pedagogical areas, with plans for a campus-wide initiative to be in place by mid-2022.
On top of this campus-focused support, Promethean’s “Train the Trainer” initiative is set to be rolled out across the wider council over the new school year, giving teachers in the region the opportunity to upskill their colleagues in digital pedagogy techniques.
“There’s a continuity of support with training, customer care, and technical advice,” said Mr Nielson of the council’s partnership with Promethean. “They are able to work as a team with the council, and we couldn’t have accomplished all that we’ve been able to without that working relationship driving things forward.”
You can learn more about the features and functionality of the ActivPanel a live, customised demonstration by a Promethean Education Consultant. Request a demo here.