Mayo secondary school saves time and money with technology solutions

A forward-thinking school in east Mayo is using technology to drive down its costs and administration time by using solutions from Three Ireland.

Ballyhaunis Community School (BCS), which is a mixed multi-denominational secondary school, has seen pupil numbers grow by over 150 over the last five years, with more than 600 students now attending. Faced with two distinct challenges, BCS enlisted Three to find a way to reduce their high landline charges, and to help the school manage their payments.

The school already had high-speed internet access in place, but Three introduced its hosted telephone solution allowing BCS to route all voice calls through the internet, eliminating fixed-line charges.

With the new system, the school can connect callers directly to specific services such as the guidance councillor or the chaplain, reducing the workload for the front office and allowing staff time to focus on other tasks.

When it came to managing payments, BCS had been handling up to €40,000 in cash every year as pupils brought money in to pay for various activities such as the book rental scheme, transition year activities, and school tours.

Three proposed Way2Pay, a cashless payment system for schools, and now automated reminders are sent to parents via text message. This allows parents to follow the link in the message and pay directly in their own time from their smartphone.

Three’s Castlebar-based Information and Communications Technology specialist, Natasha Beegan, said: “We are delighted to help Ballyhaunis Community School implement new technologies to save them not only time, but money too.

“BCS now has flexible and advanced solutions in place, with the school already seeing significant savings since removing its costly landline charge. Also, Way2Pay has allowed a seamless flow from the parent to the school’s financial database, taking the hassle out of activities and school trips. And, crucially, it has increased security for the school given that they no longer have any cash on-site.”

David McDonagh, principal of Ballyhaunis Community School, said: “We’re very happy with the new services that we have on board. Every school principal will tell you that budgeting is a challenge and being able to make a saving without compromising on quality is a no-brainer for me. We are also in a time where schools need to go cashless.

“Parents don’t want the hassle of looking for cash at 8.30 in the morning, they want the option of going onto their mobiles and paying at their own convenience. That’s what they expect from a school nowadays, and these are the services that help Ballyhaunis Community School to stand out.