Strengthening safeguarding through connected schools
The Mercian Trust is a growing multi-academy trust in Walsall, supporting schools that place equal emphasis on academic achievement and student wellbeing. As digital learning and online safeguarding became more central to everyday school life, the trust needed a partner that could deliver reliable connectivity, stronger protection for pupils, and simple, consistent management across multiple sites.
Glide was selected to design and deliver a secure, scalable digital platform that supports learning today while meeting current and future Department for Education (DfE) standards.
The challenge
Schools across the trust were experiencing inconsistent connectivity, alongside fragmented safeguarding and communications tools. This created challenges for modern teaching delivery and introduced risk around online safety and compliance.
The Mercian Trust needed resilient internet access at every site, a single firewall and filtering solution aligned to DfE requirements, real-time safeguarding alerts, and a modern voice platform to improve day-to-day communication between schools and central teams.
The delivery
After a competitive tender, Glide was appointed as The Mercian Trust’s connectivity partner, scoring highest on both quality and price. Glide worked closely with the trust’s IT and safeguarding leads to design a tailored solution across eleven initial schools, expanding to fourteen within six months. Each site received a full survey, followed by carefully planned installations to minimise disruption. Glide’s Network Operations Centre now provides round-the-clock monitoring and proactive support across the entire estate.
The outcome
The Mercian Trust now operates on a secure, high-capacity network that supports teaching, administration and safeguarding across all sites. VoIP has improved communication and reduced complexity, while Smoothwall Monitor provides real-time, human-moderated alerts that help staff act quickly when pupils are at risk. The platform is ready for cloud-based learning and future DfE standards. Confidence in the solution led to an additional £50,000 annual safeguarding investment over five years.
Conclusion
By partnering with Glide, The Mercian Trust has built a strong digital foundation for safe, connected learning. With resilient connectivity, centralised security and real-time safeguarding insight, the trust is well equipped to support safe, connected learning as its network of schools continues to grow.
Glide has significantly improved our ability to safeguard our pupils effectively. The real-time monitoring and alerts provided through Smoothwall empower our staff to take immediate, informed action – ensuring student safety remains our highest priority.
Andrew Paulson, CFO, The Mercian Trust