LocalcompanyhasLaytown schoolcoveredforsafety
AN East Meath school is taking the lead in COVID protection by getting all its laptops and keyboards especially covered by a local firm.
Scoil an Spioraid Naoimh in Laytown is taking every precaution possible with look after the health of its students and staff during the pandemic and has called on Drogheda company Datapart Ltd to supply Protective Keyboard, Laptop and Mouse Covers.
‘We’re very excited about this, and it’s even better as James (Farrell) from Datapart is an ex-pupil of ours, and he arrived in with this great idea before we even got the school open again,’ explains principal Blaithin Maguire.‘In August, a big part of our brief was rolling out the COVID response plan and how we were going to manage all the guidelines, and because we aspire to eventually be a digital school when we get our new building, we’re doing a lot of online training and Google Classroom through our suite of Chromebooks.’
Their primary concern is of safety using digital technology, which is where James came in.
‘As schools and colleges re-open, the need for hygiene in classrooms is paramount and we feel the steps Blaithin has taken to ensure the safety of her staff and pupils are second to none,’ says
James, who also lives in Laytown. ‘ There is a real need to protect teachers and students alike from the spread of this virus through multiple users
of computer keyboards, and our custom-built keyboard cover solves this problem as it can be completely sanitised before and after every class’.
Ms Maguire says she had her ICT support Adam Smith check the quality of the materials used and ‘ he was very excited at the prospect’.
‘We invested in a huge amount of technology even before the pandemic, and now we are even more mindful of distance learning, so now, at the drop of a hat, we are in a position to switch everything online should the worst happen again,’ she explains.‘Having these covers means they can be wiped down after every use, which is great peace of mind for us all.’
Data Part is the exclusive supplier of this type of skin and James said in the school’s case, it worked out more economical for them to source brand new keyboards for them, and supplied them covered.
‘So we have hear today 26 keyboards and 26 mice covered, as well as 50 bespoke Chromebook covers,’ adds James, who works out of the Boyne Business Park headquarters.‘ The skin is actually moulded to the surface and doesn’t restrict typing, and can be wiped down safely before and after every class.’
The company has sourced the materials from America and James says the uses are endless. ‘With everybody using keyboards of some sort, we’re looking to provide these to schools and offices around the country,’ he adds.