Executive Summary
At Fulwood Academy, digital signage and communication was fragmented and limited. The school needed a reliable way to reach every corridor, every classroom, and every student — and prepare for Martyn’s Law.
When the IT team discovered Vivi, they found more than a digital signage tool. They found a unified platform that powers safety alerts, daily updates, and modern collaboration, all from one easy-to-manage system.
Now, with more than 30 Vivi-enabled screens around campus, Fulwood’s staff can share messages, manage displays remotely, and keep the school connected, safe and efficient.
“We’re a UK school, and you understand our needs. The fact that we can go to you and say, ‘It’d be really nice if Vivi could do this,’ nine times out of ten it’s, ‘We can already do that, here’s how.’ And if not, you pass it straight to the developers. That makes us feel part of something.”
— Connor Elliott, Head of IT Infrastructure & Cybersecurity, Fulwood Academy
Challenge
Before Vivi, Fulwood’s digital signage system couldn’t keep up with the school’s communication needs. The IT team faced limitations with file types, no audio support, and no way to manage content securely across users.
Solution
After meeting Vivi’s team at BETT, and learning that Vivi could fully support the school’s signage and communication needs, Fulwood trialled a single box. Within weeks, they decided to roll it out school-wide. The setup was fast, the interface was intuitive, and support from Vivi’s team was personal and proactive.
Connor Elliott, Fulwood’s Head of IT Infrastructure & Cybersecurity:
“From the moment I said, ‘let’s get it done,’ two days later every single box turned up and straight away, we got a phone call,‘Do you need any help?’ That means a lot.”
Impact
Vivi quickly became central to school communication, handling announcements, lockdown alerts, and leadership presentations, all from the same platform.
Connor describes the keyways that Vivi has helped Fulwood Academy reshape, streamline, and modernise their approach to a safe and connected campus, including:
Schoolwide Communication & Safety Preparedness for Martyn’s Law
Vivi transformed Fulwood’s approach to safety and communication, ensuring that instant visual alerts reach every display, providing accessible safety communication when seconds count.
At Fulwood, Vivi enables instant visual alerts for different emergency scenarios, clear messaging, and remote management and triggering schoolwide. When leadership asked Elliott if the school is prepared for the new safety legislation, Martyn’s Law, Connor’s answer was simple:
“Don’t worry, Vivi’s already sorted it. For lockdown purposes, it’s been a life changer for us, especially with all the new laws coming in, like Martyn’s Law. The fact that you’ve already integrated with it is another tick box for us.”
Whether for routine announcements or safety drills, staff rely on Vivi to deliver clarity and confidence when it matters most.
“The protection for the children, the fact that we can have little messages pop up which is essentially a little messaging bulletin board for them. SLT has noticed a massive difference in communication with the children and staff.”
A Connected & Informed School Community
At Fulwood, Vivi brings every display, and every person, into one connected network. Vivi’s digital signage builds school community and a hub for engagement, powering daily messages, community updates, and multimedia content. Every week, leadership shares updates, from club reminders to event notices. What used to take manual coordination now runs like clockwork, with seamless communication across campus.
“Our building’s quite unique, it’s a big circle. We’ve got about 30 Vivi boxes dotted around the corridors so that anywhere you are in the building, you’d be able to see our digital signage. Every Monday, our senior leadership team share a PowerPoint with key messages for the kids, like ‘the chess club’s on this week.’ It goes straight on the screens. Another great example of when we’ve used Vivi is at Christmas, we had a little fireplace video playing with music in the canteen during our Christmas dinner and it made such a difference!”
Wireless Screen Sharing for Enhanced Collaboration and Professional Engagement
Vivi’s wireless screen sharing has transformed collaboration at Fulwood Academy and pairs with TVs as the go-to tool for leadership meetings, planning sessions, and even classroom discussions. Staff can cast instantly, annotate live from their iPads, involve everyone in the conversation, and move about the space freely. It’s made collaboration faster, more flexible, and unmistakably modern. Teachers who’ve used it loved it, and it showcases Fulwood’s position as a polished, professional academy when hosting visitors.
For Fulwood, Vivi isn’t just a convenience, it’s a simple shift in technology that’s elevated how the whole school presents.
“It’s been fantastic in meetings. The Deputy Head can roll in the screen and cast whatever they need, and the Headteacher often shares from his iPad, circling things with his Apple Pencil. People love that feature; it looks professional and shows we know what we’re doing.”
Improved IT Efficiency and Simplified Tech Management
For Fulwood’s IT team, Vivi has been a time-saver. With cloud-based management and user permissions, they give staff greater controls to build and schedule digital signage, without losing oversight or compromising security.
“It’s cloud-based, it’s easy to use, and I could then give access to our senior leadership team, it’s not solely on me.”
Connor can now manage every screen in seconds, from anywhere. When it comes to making last-minute schedule changes, especially for school-held events like parents evening is easy.
“The reliability and the remote management features have been absolute game-changing… I can log in from anywhere, do what I need to do, and it’s sorted. I don’t have to go to every single box. I can highlight them all and instead of turning off at half four tonight, turn off at half eight instead.”
Not Just a Product, a Partnership
When Fulwood became a Vivi customer they were delighted by the level of responsiveness, openness and community that came with Vivi. Not only did they find Vivi listens, supports and evolves alongside its schools they had ongoing, quick support beyond installation and were made to feel that they were contributing to the quality and continued development of Vivi to meet their wants and needs.
“Usually, you buy the product and get on with it yourself. But there were the finer touches. The team was there every step of the way. Even now, you’re still reaching out and showing upcoming features and letting us vote on what’s important. That’s fantastic. It shows you’re proactive and it feels like we’re contributing to make Vivi better. As a customer, that means a lot more than, ‘Here you go, off you go.’”
