Case Studies
Transforming Education with Cloud Design Box: A Case Study of the Cranmer Education Trust
The Cranmer Education Trust, established in 2015, has been on a mission to lead in education and provide excellent schools that nurture young people, enabling them to achieve, progress, and experience success. With a network of schools spanning nursery to sixth form and continued growth on the horizon, the Trust constantly seeks innovative solutions to meet the evolving needs of its diverse student population.
About the Organisation
One of the Trust’s standout institutions is The Brian Clarke Church of England Academy, a new inclusive, co-educational secondary school located in central Oldham. Opened in September 2021, the Academy serves 1,200 students from diverse backgrounds, reflecting Oldham’s multicultural, multi-faith community. From its inception, the Academy aimed to offer not only excellent education but also a forward-thinking approach to technology to support learning.
"Cloud Design Box are professional, knowledgeable, and always keen to help. Their team goes above and beyond to ensure satisfaction, and their pride in their work is evident. I can’t recommend them highly enough."
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Challenges
As a new school, The Brian Clarke Academy faced the unique opportunity—and challenge—of building its IT infrastructure from scratch. The Trust wanted to move beyond traditional on-site servers and explore more modern, efficient solutions to ensure seamless collaboration, accessibility, and resource sharing.
Solution
The Academy turned to Cloud Design Box after the Trust’s IT Director, Craig Hawes, discovered its capabilities online. Choosing to implement Microsoft’s SharePoint and Teams through CDB, the Academy embraced an entirely cloud-based solution. This decision provided a fresh start, as there was no legacy data to migrate.
Mr. Hawes highlighted the support received during implementation, stating, “The help and assistance from the entire team at CDB made it a lot easier. Nothing was ever too much trouble, and they resolved issues swiftly.”
The benefits of the solution included:
- Automatic creation of Teams linked to classes.
- A user-friendly ‘mega menu’ that simplifies navigation for students and teachers.
- MAT-wide collaboration while maintaining each school’s unique identity through bespoke branding.
- Controlled access for students to age-appropriate resources.
Over three years, the Trust has experienced measurable improvements in efficiency, collaboration, and cost savings.
The Future
The Cranmer Education Trust’s adoption of CDB is a testament to the power of innovation in education. Substantial savings, reduced reliance on virtual desktops, and enhanced resource-sharing capabilities have positioned the Trust for future growth. Three additional schools joining in 2025 will benefit from the proven success of this solution.
Mr. Hawes praised CDB, saying, “They are professional, knowledgeable, and always keen to help. Their team goes above and beyond to ensure satisfaction, and their pride in their work is evident. I can’t recommend them highly enough.”
As the Trust continues its journey, it stands as a model for embracing technology to transform education and foster success across its community of schools.
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