How Cornerstone Academy Trust and Cloud Design Box deliver innovative, game-changing education using Microsoft 365

The Cornerstone Multi-Academy Trust includes a group of four primary schools located in Devon, England that share a vision of providing a challenging and inspiring learning environment for students. The Trust also provides professional support and training for teachers and supports improvement initiatives at other schools. The Trust is known for its innovative use of digital technologies and strong partnerships with local, national, and global organizations.

The Trust recently teamed with Cloud Design Box, which offers a unified, collaborative platform for learning and working, to transform its learning environment. The complex initiative has a simple goal: preparing students for a successful future. Jonathan Bishop is both Chief Exective Officer and Executive Headteacher for Cornerstone Academy Trust. He points out that while proficiency in traditional areas like math, communication, reading, and science are as important as ever, students need a wider skillset to enter the modern workplace. He says, “Our journey has been to see how we might implement today’s digital tools in a classroom environment to prepare every learner for their future.”

Tony Phillips, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Cloud Design Box shares that vision. With a background in both education and technology, Tony started his firm determined to make a difference in the classroom. Today, the company’s flagship offering Cloud Box, which is based on Microsoft 365 for Education is used by one in ten secondary schools in England.

The shared passion for education made Cloud Design Box the ideal partner for the Trust. Jonathan explains, “I want IT partners who are more than just providers of technical solutions. I want them to be the solution provider to education.”

Future-ready, secure, and easy to manage

The path to digital transformation began with the exploration of multiple options available to educators. For Jonathan, a solution based on Microsoft 365, Windows 11, and Microsoft Surface devices was the only clear choice. “The decision becomes immediately obvious when you ask which cloud environment has the richness suited to our educational context,” he says. “The depth and breadth of Microsoft 365 is a game-changer.”

Tony agrees, “Larger schools have more requirements, and Microsoft 365 offers more than any other solution. You get all the learning tools, plus a safe environment for students with granular control—it’s easy to manage, govern, and keep secure.”

Microsoft 365 for Education includes Learning Accelerators, a new category of learning tools with interactive features and real-time insights.  The tools are designed to help students develop foundational and future-ready skills and enable teachers to save time and provide personalized feedback to students. Jonathan and his colleagues are taking advantage of multiple Learning Accelerators, including Reading Coach, Reading Progress, Reflect, Speaker Coach, and Search Coach. Learning Accelerators seamlessly integrate with Microsoft 365 apps including Teams and OneNote.
The partnership with Cloud Design Box helped ensure smooth deployment and adoption. Tony explains. “We automate the deployment process using School Data Sync, and then we make sure people get trained so they’re really comfortable using the more advanced features in the classroom.”
Jonathan adds, “We needed a solution that’s easy for schoolteachers to manage without needing to be techies. Cloud Design Box worked with us in real partnership to customize a learning platform with Teams and SharePoint integration that’s seamless, easy, and attractive for teachers and students.”

Enabling new models for modern learning

“Teachers also use OneNote to create a centralized digital textbook, including embedded video, web links, and other learning materials. The notebook is shared with students in Teams as a resource for assignments.  Teachers also take advantage of real-time insights and analytics that are recorded in Reading Progress to monitor student engagement. “You get valuable insights into how they’re feeling and the progress that they’re making,” says Jonathan. “The richness of that learning journey is immense,” and I don’t find that in other products outside of Microsoft 365.”

In addition to the Microsoft 365 environment, each student is equipped with a Microsoft Surface device and a wireless headset for noise reduction and Teams collaboration. The new technology is the foundation for their blended learning model, which combines traditional learning in classrooms with interactive digital experiences. For example, the Trust uses Teams to bring the schools together in large, virtual classrooms to teach a core, shared curriculum or experience a guest lecture. “We’re able to provide a much richer environment with Microsoft 365 in many ways,” says Jonathan.  I can bring a subject specialist into a classroom with Teams, and I couldn’t afford to do that otherwise.”

Evergreen priorities with personalized experiences

With Microsoft 365, the Trust is bringing evergreen priorities of academic skills and excellent teaching together with digital tools. The solution helps great teachers become even better. For instance, in a class of 30 students, spending just five minutes with each child on reading practice daily would consume most of the teacher’s time. But with Reading Progress layered with Reading Coach, students get ample, interactive practice, and teachers can optimize assistance. Digital assessments track both progress and barriers to learning, giving teachers a data-driven approach for delivering more personalized, effective support including one-to-one mentoring. “Learning Accelerators like Reading Coach frees teachers to do that high quality teaching we need,” says Jonathan. “It doesn’t replace educators; it liberates both the teacher and the child to accomplish more.”