what is tapiochre? Listening to and encouraging schools and businesses in the use of IT for marketing

"Tapiochre" [pronounced tap-ee-oh-kah] is a word designed to stick in your memory - surely you remember the school milk pudding? Well, even if it wasn't your favourite after dinner top-up, its definitely something you've never forgotten. Its different and we are different. We work in schools and businesses a lot where we provide support on e-marketing and we specialise in Virtual Learning Platform technology for schools. One thing we have learned is that all of our customers want to be different. This applies as much to schools as it does to commercial business, they all have very specific issues and Tapiochre have been listening to them for years to create a suite of services to fit how they work and help them market themselves and communiacte with their audiences better.

Two ears and one mouth - a ratio that is key to our success. We listen more than we talk which is good for you because you probably like to talk and the more you talk, explaining your problems, ambitions and direction, the better equipped we are to help you. And then, once we have that background, we listen to you some more - there is always more to a story than the initial facts!

Only when we believe that we have as much as we can acquire from you are we in a position to see if we can help. We're not afraid to say "no"; if we can't help, we'll say so and if there are things we need more help on, we'll tell you.

Either way, you will get what you need and you'll get it from a consultancy that understands more about you that you initially expected, so you can carry on doing what you do best while we work on the other matters for you behind the scenes.

forward thinking schools marketing which is often considerably better than backwards thinking

Every education project we undertake is done with the full weight of facts and information behind it - nothing new there maybe. But our experience in working in industry allows us to embed successful industry practices into what we do and that gives us scope to deploy those ideas into a school setting with significant benefits.

Thinking ahead about how your school needs to improve is a great way for us to model how technology might help. To do that we actively listen to the the history of your school's problems and we talk with you about ways to apply IT answers to directly respond to the issues. IT works.

Schools like to know that there are many technological tools that they can incorporate to help solve some of the educational problems that might exist. These additions can address problems ranging from teaching and learning to administrative organisation and to school community building.

We translate those ideas into a number of long term benefits to help your school to evolve in how you communicate with staff, pupils, parents and the community as a whole.

what they say...

Our customers like what we do and they are happy to talk about it:

search technology

SUPPORT TO GET YOUR WEB SITE RATINGS HIGHER IN GOOGLE AND THE REST

Web sites are the norm in business and education and not having one is a signal to your own clients that perhaps you aren't ready to engage with them at their level just yet. But having a web site is not the end goal, far from it.

Once your website is in place, the technology doesn't simply do the rest for you. In fact, like a good friend, if you ignore it, your website could do you more harm than good. Keep it updated with great news and it will reward you, leave it alone and no-one will care. That is why the techology and art of Search Engineering (SEO) is so crucial to the success of any website. At Tapiochre, we have become quite good at SEO - we often find now that with our help and the support of your own marketing team, your website can become very popular and very quickly. Of course there are no guarantees but, done well and diligently, we ususally see improvements in a website's Google ranking in a few weeks. Done properly, using the right techniques, we have experience of seeing sites go from zero (i.e. a new site) to page one in a matter of days. Is this what you would like?

Who wouldn't want their site to rate highly and our job is to get the information to help that happen. And at a fair price too! Our experience has been that some comapnies will ask for peanuts and give you great ratings for a day, but after that you want to stay there and that's where you end up spending way too much. Our techniques don't work that way and we'd love to tell you about them so you can benefit from them too!

broadband for schools

HOW CAN SCHOOLS ACCESS THE INTERNET SAFELY but do it for thousands of pounds less THAN through REGIONAL CONSORTIA?

From October 2012, safe Internet access for schools across the East Midlands is changing and this is creating 'noise' and distraction which is starting to take the eyes of many school ICT leaders away from their main role of teaching. Having different options is great but let's face it, the vast majority of schools do not currently have a need for anything more advanced than good bandwidth and smart and flexible filtering. Anything beyond that is - from our experience from talking with schools - 'stuff for the future'. So how can a school get the services they need now, but still have confidence that their Internet future is secure?

In January 2012, Tapiochre became an Approved Partner of Exa Networks with the express intention of helping growing numbers of schools make a more informed decision about their medium and long term Internet requirements.

Exa Networks are one of the few business and education only Internet Service Providers (ISP's), offering a broad range of services to both state and private schools. Products used by schools include SurfProtect™, a simple to use and flexible LEA approved filtering system, and Pupil Mail, which is a school-safe email system for both pupils and teachers. For broadband, Exa Networks also provide non-contended ADSL connectivity, remote back up's and the ability for staff to work from home - something which is requested more and more by busy teching staff.

The East Midlands Broadband Consortium have provided clear advise to schools so that they can choose the right service provider partner. A number of questions need to be asked by all schools as they make their selection and Tapiochre, using the support and experience of Exa, are now offering the answers for schools in that specific area. Many schools have limited experience of making such decisions, perhaps using their awareness of residential services as the basis for their planning. Using our help, schools will learn that choosing a broadband service provider can be simple, risk-free, flexible and low cost into the bargain. And once the broadband aspect is under control, Tapiochre will be able to train schools in the incredibly easy SurfProtect filtering tools, configurable by teachers, so that lessons can use appropraite online resources at the time they are needed. Why not have a chat with us about our Exa Networks offering?

learning platforms

HELPING SCHOOLS TO ACHIEVE MORE AND IMPROVE STANDARDS THROUGH BETTER USE OF TECHNOLOGY

The importance of learning platforms in schools is increasing and the need for schools to be properly supported in decision making and use of their chosen platform is one of the keys to success. Tapiochre was introduced to Northamptonshire's chosen VLE in 2009 - the Learning Possibilities LP+ Platform - and since that time we have been engaged in a process of training and on-site support for what is becoming a growing number of primary schools.

Tapiochre now has a formal relationship with Learning Possibilities where we provide support and encouragement to over 150 schools acrosst the Midlands in how they can use their LP+ provision. As ADOPT+ Education Consultants we are able to help schools who need guidance in how they integrate Web 2.0 technology into the classroom, the staff room, administration office and governing body meetings.

The LP+ platform is a fully hosted Microsoft Sharepoint based service and as such makes it easy for Tapiochre to support schools in design and implementation issues remotely and, at times, when the school is otherwise closed. This makes for a perfect blend of service for schools where time is at a premium. New developments can be implemented over night, ready for use the following day.

Tapiochre's expertise in simple yet effective graphic design has also made the adoption of the LP+ platform a significantly intutive approach. We have been challenged to create very bespoke graphical interfaces for the LP+ platform and have risen to the occasion each time with real success. The fact that LP+ is so open at the edges has allowed Tapiochre to become a favoured consultancy in terms of customisation and training - a task that is hard to achieve on other 'locked down' learning platforms.

For more information, contact Johnny Muir at Learning Possibilities on 0208 236 1000.

tapiochre in businesshardcopy design work to echo your online look and feel

Change is constant and when businesses restructure or define a new direction, they often need help in the basics - design of stationery for day to day letters and forms which is a bit dull but nevertheless quite neccessary. Tapiochre have provided help to a number of businesses and educational establishments as they move into new ways to present themselves and we have created new and fresh hardcopy content to complement online visuals to deliver a highly themed look and feel.

From letterheads, compliments slips and flyers, postcards and posters, up to large scale artwork for pop-up banners for exhibitions, we have the experience and tools available to make your brand stand out from the crowd.

Samples of Tapiochre Hardcopy work

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We are a rare breed at Tapiochre. Our lines are always open and we're often to be found replying to customer emails well after most other support teams are tucked up in bed.

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