THE CLIENT 

Handforth Grange Primary School, part of the Frank Field Education Trust, had previously relied on IT services provided by Cheshire East Council. With a strong focus on maintaining digital resilience, the Trust needed a reliable, forward-thinking partner to take over their IT services and support after the council announced it would be withdrawing its school ICT offering.

THE SITUATION

Cheshire East and Cheshire West & Chester Councils confirmed their school ICT service arrangements would come to an end in August 2025. This left schools with a pressing task: to review their current provision and identify new suppliers to take on a wide range of services previously bundled into their Local Authority contract.

This included finding replacements for:

• IT Support
• Digital Safeguarding
• Data Backup
• Broadband 
• MIS Support
• Cloud Solutions

For Handforth Grange, this wasn’t just a case of finding any IT support company, it was about replacing an entire ecosystem of services, built over years with the council.

Naturally, there were concerns:

• How seamless would the transition be?
• Would services continue without gaps and disruptions?
• Could one supplier take ownership of everything, or would they end up dealing with multiple suppliers?
• Did they have internal resource to manage such a large-scale transition?
• Would this impact their long-term IT strategy and would it align with DfE standards?

The Trust explored a number of options before selecting Tel Group, not just to provide IT support, but to take full ownership of their IT services, lead the transition, and deliver strategic leadership moving forward.

THE SOLUTION

Tel Group worked closely with both the Trust and school leadership teams to deliver a fully managed, all-encompassing replacement for their Cheshire East Council IT provision. The focus wasn’t just on technical delivery, it was about building confidence, future-proofing systems, and ensuring a seamless transition.

Our solution combined technical support with strategic consultancy, and included:

✅ Free onboarding and transitional period, allowing time for confidence-building and proactive system setup.
✅ Early implementation of Tel Group systems, fully operational before the official contract start date.
✅ Dedicated onsite technician delivering hands-on, face-to-face support.
✅ Remote helpdesk access, providing fast and expert support for day-to-day issues.
✅ Proactive communication, including regular account management meetings and ticket reviews.
✅ Development of an IT strategy and roadmap, including a current-state RAG analysis aligned to DfE Digital & Technology Standards. 

THE RESULT

What started as a daunting challenge turned into a seamless, stress-free transition, with the school now more confident in their IT setup than ever before.

Tel Group’s proactive approach, clear communication, and technical expertise delivered immediate impact and long-term value.

✅ Zero downtime, with all services fully operational from day one.
✅ Increased confidence from school and Trust leadership in the reliability and responsiveness of IT support.
✅ Clear strategic direction, with clear planning aligned to educational sector standards and future needs.
✅ Stronger relationships, built through trust, transparency, and ongoing collaboration.
✅ High satisfaction, with the Trust happy to recommend Tel Group to other local schools.