YKids, a Bootle-based children’s charity has harnessed the power of connectivity to transform children’s literacy, boost employability skills and enhance learning both in and out of the classroom – thanks to a collaboration between Britannia IT and LCR Connect. As Bootle is in the bottom 6% of literacy in the UK, Britannia IT sought a resilient network solution that could support wide community outreach via digital channels – ensuring YKids could scale its services and reach more families in need.
Thanks to Britannia IT and LCR Connect, YKids can now access a 500Mbps FibreLight service on a 1Gbps bearer, providing up to 1Gbps-worth of upgradability, YKids’ Bootle Strand bookshop Kingsley & Co, with its associated café, apprenticeship workshops and out of hours activity, have the bandwidth capacity and scalability to meet their needs now and accommodate their future growth.
YKids is a Sefton-based children’s charity – established over 20 years ago to provide a deprived area of Bootle with a children’s outreach centre created to empower children to develop resiliency, independence, employability and enhanced literacy skills. As a result, Claire Morgans, Founder and CEO of YKids, opened Kingsley & Co, a children’s bookshop in the Bootle New Strand Shopping Centre to address the ongoing literacy crisis in the area. However, this ambitious goal required high-capacity internet to support multiple functions: Free ultrafast WiFi for visitors, point-of-sale systems, and digital outreach on platforms like YouTube and Instagram.
As a charity, one of the key barriers that Kingsley & Co faced was finding high-speed connectivity packages that were affordable with easy installation, in time for their November grand opening. They obtained multiple quotes from major providers – all of which were outside of their budget and speed needs. Following a thorough consultation, Britannia IT collaborated with LCR Connect to identify a long-term, future-ready solution that supported their fluctuating bandwidth requirements but met their budget needs.
These budgetary restrictions were also combined with the complex installation requirements of cabling into a former bank with multiple floors. However, Britannia IT’s use of the existing LCR Connect network offered a solution that ensured Kingsley & Co could leverage the ultrafast capability of the network without presenting them with costly and lengthy lead times that could have jeopardised their grand opening.
Following the consultation, Britannia IT offered Kingsley & Co a 500Mbps FibreLight service, using a 1Gbps bearer. This gives the charity the gift of future scalability, allowing them to increase speeds up to 1Gbps as and when they need it, without costly infrastructure upgrades, at the click of a button thanks to XGS-PON technology – ultimately serving both their immediate and future needs as they strive to reach more children across the City Region.
Beyond simply connecting Kingsley & Co to a high-speed network, the connectivity package serves as a broader enablement tool. It allows YKids to expand their reach within the City Region, ensuring more children have access to vital digital resources to enhance their skills. The successful deployment of this
robust connectivity solution ensured Kingsley & Co’s reopening in October went off without any service disruptions, even amid fluctuating network demand levels.
As Claire Morgans notes, “The future jobs our children will have haven’t been invented yet” – thanks to rapid digital transformation. Children are now leaving school with a more solidified understanding of digital roles, programmes, coding and software – meaning internet is a basic utility needed for children to develop skills for future careers. However, approximately 1 in 5 households live in some sort of digital poverty – excluding this demographic from advancing their digital skills outside of the classroom.
Thanks to the free WiFi, children of all ages, and their caregivers can harness ultrafast full fibre speeds to do their homework, engage in digital workshops, join apprenticeships or apply for jobs without worrying about not having access to vital connectivity.
Outside of enabling children and their care givers to utilise ultrafast connectivity, Kingsley & Co’s connection to a 500Mbps FibreLight solution also helps the team expand their portfolio – offering access to online streaming services, run online sessions and host interactive learning sessions, without experiencing any disruption in service.
Kingsley & Co sees a varying level of visitors thanks to school term times and group sessions. These events can place a heavy load on the network, with increased demand for bandwidth and smooth data transmission. Thanks to the 1Gbps bearer on a resilient network, Kingsley & Co’s full fibre connection can handle high traffic without latency, ensuring a seamless experience whether at the café till or during interactive children’s programs – no matter how many users are connected. As Kingsley & Co expands, they can easily adjust their bandwidth capacity to match their growth and footfall, maintaining consistent service quality for all visitors with the help of symmetrical upload and download speeds.
The impact of this project extends well beyond serving the staff and children who visit Kingsley & Co every day. Claire Morgans predicts that the connection will play a significant role in the “overall redevelopment of Bootle.” The integration of ultrafast fibre is helping to cultivate the future workforce of the City Region, ensuring they can nurture the digital skills they require to enter higher education, apprenticeships and ultimately the workforce in the local area – improving the local employment rate and the resultant economy.
By providing YKids and Kingsley & Co with a solution tailored to their bandwidth needs and budget, Britannia IT and LCR Connect demonstrate the value of a consultative, community-driven approach to connectivity. The partnership shows that robust, scalable, and reliable services need not come with prohibitive costs. This collaborative approach between LCR Connect and local providers makes high-quality connectivity more accessible and equitable, fostering sustainable growth and community empowerment.
“When we moved into our current premises we wanted to expand, but in order to do that, we needed a decent connection. From point of sale, to making orders and running the businesses – but also to help the public communicate, job search and run our out of hours activity – we needed reliable, fast connectivity. I’m all about going local and I’m looking forward to the regeneration of Bootle and Liverpool, thanks to the connectivity coming into the area. Britannia IT and LCR Connect gave a reasonable price and reliable service and we now have just the most amazing broadband.” – Claire Morgans – Founder & CEO of YKids & Kingsley & Co.
Providing YKids/Kingsley & Co with a business-grade connectivity solution at Bootle Strand was made even smoother thanks to LCR Connect’s existing presence in the area, allowing us to deliver a quick and efficient setup. With our local expertise, we ensured they had fast, reliable access to the resources they need to make a difference daily. At Britannia IT, we know that connectivity is essential for any organisation’s success, and we’re proud to support local charities by connecting them swiftly and seamlessly to a high-performance network that empowers them to reach their community effectively.
-Alex Ashe, Technical Director at Britannia IT
To learn more about when LCR Connect full fibre is coming to your area and access our early bird offers, connect with us today and receive updates relating to our network.
Even if full service is not yet available in your postcode LCR Connect can provide a range of early service solutions and will migrate your connection to the full network within 12 months. Contact LCR Connect today to get ahead of the competition.
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