“Wi-fi cuts truancy at Welsh school, By Staff Writer, 6 Oct 2006, pingwales.co.uk
Following their implementation of a £10,000 wireless network at Bryn Hafren Comprehensive in Barry, Cardiff-based IT networking company, Capital Network Solutions (CNS), and Cisco Systems will run a seminar at the school on 10 October to demonstrate the benefits of the technology within the education sector.
Implemented in September 2005, the network has enabled the school to install a cashless canteen and a swipe card system which helps parents monitor their child’s diet and attendance at school.
The individual swipe cards include memory chips that allow pupils to clock in and out of the school and between classrooms. The daily electronic registration means that as soon as a pupil is registered as absent, a text message is automatically sent to the parent’s mobile phone. The text service also notifies parents when school reports are being sent home, and sends reminders of parents’ evenings. Truancy and absenteeism have reportedly been reduced as a result of the introduction of the network.”
