RGS Worcester on the democratisation of digital signage ​

For many IT departments, digital signage can be a real headache. Many systems are too complex, not designed for educational purposes and therefore need to be micromanaged. This is where TrilbyTV comes in because it is simple to use, and with features such as permissions and groups it can be democratised throughout departments with lead educators taking ownership.

RGSW’s previous software

This is something that John Jones, Director of Innovation at RGS Worcester found invaluable when he joined the school for the very first time,

“When I started here there were many TVs about, running a different digital signage software platform. It was essentially managed by the IT team and it was a real headache for them. As a result, many of the screens weren’t even switched on. Starting in a new role, I wanted to make a positive, meaningful impact and signage was a good place to start. The aim of this was to take the management of the screens away from the IT team and work out ways of making it more accessible and interesting for pupils, staff and visitors to the school, which is why we signed up to TrilbyTV.”

Where to start when planning your digital signage strategy

As a starting point, John needed to look at the location of screens around the school, to understand if new ones were required in different areas and essentially who would be managing them – something that we cover in our guide to effective digital signage in education – John started by running a survey of the screens,

“So we needed to decide not only positioning but also establish who would be actually looking after them. For example, the reception screen could be managed by the receptionist, the sixth form centre screen would be managed by the sixth form leadership team and so on… One of the more interesting screens was in our brand new theatre building where digital signage had been included as part of the build. The Drama teacher had actually seen the reception screen and how it was being managed and was like, ‘right, I want a screen, which I can control’ which was great as they had so much content already. After a short training session, he was on top of it straight away, managing it, taking full control. It worked brilliantly!”

Educational leaders taking ownership

It wasn’t just the Drama teacher that had seen the screens and requested access, John found himself having many knocks on the door,

“Off the back of the drama experience, other departments started to show interest which has now led us to have twice the amount of screens up across all four of our sites. All of these have different individuals taking ownership, managing the screens and all are in complete control of them, so effectively the IT department doesn’t have to. At RGS The Grange, we even have one in the headteachers’ office now, so when parents come to visit they can see what’s going on within the school community.”

Responsibility and protocol

With so many screens being managed by individuals outside of the IT department, a level of trust has to be established. This is something that John has nailed down simply,

“We’ve got a protocol document in place to make sure they don’t put inappropriate stuff on there and double check for issues like spelling mistakes. It’s part of the deal as the signage is a representation of the school.”

John has been kind enough to share his protocol document, which you may want to use as a template for your own signage policy – You can see John’s protocol document here.

The impact that TrilbyTV has had on RGSW and its stakeholders

Summing up his experiences so far from the IT department’s perspective, John had this to say,

“TrilbyTV has raised the profile of our digital signage. Stakeholders are more aware of its power to influence, and I don’t have to micromanage the system. Once we had those champions in place it was fantastic, I had no more knocks at my door.”

Our thanks go to John, it’s fantastic to hear how TrilbyTV has taken a big weight off the IT department’s shoulders and created ownership among stakeholders!

If you’d like to take advantage of our Unlimited screen licence to grow your signage estate without having the headache of having to micromanage the system, then why not book a free demo session today!