From 20-minute waits to help that is already on its way.
Sybil Andrews Academy replaced radios, emails and student runners with teamSOS Enterprise — and built a culture of consistency on the data that came with it.
Calls for help that disappeared into the building
A few years ago the school was grappling with communication breakdowns and inconsistent behaviour management. Teachers relied on radios, emails or even student runners to request support mid-lesson, which meant delays, confusion and unnecessary disruption.
Leadership needed transparency, rapid communication and consistency — without adding to workload.
Staff would put out a call for help and sometimes no one turned up for 20 minutes. They didn't know if their message had been received or whether anyone was coming. That uncertainty was stressful.
Assistant Head for Behaviour and Culture
One tap, and the answer comes straight back
The moment a teacher taps for help, the right person knows about it — and the teacher can see that they know.
Teachers summon help at the push of a button, tagging the student and the location directly into the system. The on-call responder receives the alert instantly and can confirm they are coming — so the teacher is never left guessing.
It's brilliant. Teachers know immediately that someone's on their way. They get a message saying, 'I'll be there in five minutes', so they're never left wondering if their call's been picked up.
Discreet by default
Before teamSOS, a teacher in need would email the office, who'd radio the responder. It was slow, and students could overhear what was said. Now everything's handled discreetly — it's faster, calmer and far more professional.
Quieter, quicker responses mean less classroom disruption and better protection of student confidentiality — and the right responders are alerted together, rather than one at a time.
From firefighting to foresight
Every call for help leaves a record, so the school can see behaviour patterns rather than isolated incidents — and put support where it is actually needed.
By department
Where hotspots build, so leadership can step in early.
By time of day
When incidents spike, so staff are deployed where it counts.
By student
Who is leaving lessons repeatedly, and what support they need.
We now very rarely miss things. Children know something will happen — they know there'll be a consequence and that routines are consistent. That's allowed us to maintain our high expectations and develop a culture of consistency amongst staff.
Less admin, more time with students
Our pastoral officers are much more efficient now. Before, they'd use a radio, write things on a clipboard, then go back to their desk to log it all. Now it's all done from their iPad straight into teamSOS and onto our behaviour system.
Staff feel supported. Students know where they stand.
Instead of radios or sending a student to reception, staff get an immediate response. Even a reply of 'I'll be there in ten minutes' tells them help is coming — and that reassurance has made the school calmer.
If you turned teamSOS off tomorrow, there'd be uproar. It's become a significant part of how we do things — and I wouldn't want to be without it.
In my opinion, it has made a massive difference. Huge. Our lives are easier. I am an advocate for it, it's brilliant, I have to say. I would 100% recommend it to another school.
See what this looks like in your school.
Book a 20-minute demo and we'll show you teamSOS with your own on-call scenarios.
