On 20 and 21 October, the Audiebant team spent two busy days at Manchester Central for Education Estates 2026. Delivered in partnership with the Department for Education, the event brings together the people who fund, design, build and manage the UK’s schools, colleges and universities.
From Stand 516, we met school business leaders, trust estates teams and facilities professionals to talk about something that matters on every site: getting the right message to the right people, fast, when safety is at stake.
Audiebant Control in action
Our stand was built around live demonstration. With Audiebant speakers integrated into the stand itself, visitors could hear exactly how Audiebant delivers clear, consistent announcements across a site, whether that’s a lockdown, an evacuation or an everyday message.
It was brilliant to catch up with familiar faces and meet so many new ones. Many of the conversations centred on the same practical questions: how quickly can staff raise an alert, who hears it, and how confident are we that everyone knows what to do next?
Edufringe talks on our stand
Across both days, our CEO Josh Dean and Founding Director Gary Dean hosted Edufringe sessions right on Stand 516, on Tuesday afternoon and again on Wednesday morning. Thank you to everyone who joined us; the discussions that carried on afterwards were some of the most valuable of the show.
A smarter approach to lockdown and safety communications
On Wednesday afternoon, Gary took to the EdTech UK Stage for the session A Smarter Approach to Lockdown and Safety Communications, chaired by Dr Mohamed Reda. The session explored how schools, colleges and universities can communicate clearly and effectively when safety matters most.
One theme stood out. In a crisis, the technology is often already in place. The real test is human: recognising what is happening, making decisions under pressure and getting the right message out at the right time. The right system should make that easier for people, not harder.
With many education settings now preparing for Martyn’s Law, these are conversations we expect to continue well beyond Manchester.
Part of a bigger week for education
This year, Education Estates ran alongside the launch of EdTech UK and the European Universities Estates Congress. That brought estates, technology and safety leaders into the same halls, and it showed how closely those roles now work together.
Thank you
A big thank you to STEP CONNECT2 and the Education Estates team for a well-run and insightful event, and to everyone who visited our stand, joined a talk or stopped for a chat over the two days.
If we didn’t get the chance to meet, or you’d like to see Audiebant in action at your school or trust, get in touch with our team at audiebant.co.uk. We look forward to returning next year.
