Justifying Tracking Technology to School Leadership: The Business Case That Works

We know that Duke of Edinburgh leaders can often appreciate the value of trackers but there are barriers to securing the funding from your organisation. One of those barriers is finding the time to do the paperwork required to put the business case forward. This article is designed to help you write your business case. It saves you doing all the research, and we hope it is a helping hand because we know you’d rather be focusing on your students than doing paperwork. 

We’ve presented this in a question and answer format, which we hope predicts most of the likely questions you can be asked. If the question you need to answer isn’t listed here, please feel free to hop on a call and ask our friendly and knowledgeable advisors about your specific needs. We will look forward to your call. 

TrackTrail® Business Case Q&A: Ready-to-Use Answers

These answers can be adapted and combined to suit your specific business case requirements. Each response includes quantifiable benefits and customer testimonials to strengthen your proposal. You have our permission to cut and paste these answers directly into your business case proposal where appropriate.

Overview

Q: What is TrackTrail® and what problem does it solve for our school?

TrackTrail® is a GPS tracking system specifically designed for educational expeditions like Duke of Edinburgh Awards. It solves the critical problem of safely supervising students in remote areas where mobile phones fail or are inappropriate for our needs. Without reliable tracking, schools face: students becoming lost for hours, inefficient deployment of staff resources, potential emergency callouts, stressed volunteers, worried parents, and significant reputational and legal risks. TrackTrail® provides real-time location data that works anywhere, allowing us to ensure student safety whilst maintaining the independence that makes Duke of Edinburgh so valuable. 

Financial Questions

Q: What is the total cost to hire trackers?

TrackTrail® costs £15 per tracker for weekend hire. Each Duke of Edinburgh group requires one tracker to share between them. This equates to less than £3 per student for most expeditions. Alternative tracking solutions either rely on unreliable mobile networks (rendering them useless in expedition areas) or cost significantly more whilst offering inferior coverage. 

Q: What is the total cost to purchase trackers and how much do they cost to run?

Trackers can be purchased for £125 and a typical running cost is around £50 per year (based on four months use during expedition season at £9.50 per month, and eight months of 'hibernation' at £1 per month). Where trackers are being hired more than four times per year, then purchasing trackers provides a saving versus the hire model after two seasons of use. The trackers will also be an asset that can be used for trips, excursions, charity events, and activities.

Q: What is the return on investment?

TrackTrail® delivers immediate ROI through: more efficient deployment of staff (no more waiting at unnecessary checkpoints), more efficient vehicle deployment, fewer emergency responses, and enhanced volunteer retention due to reduced expedition stress. 

Safety and Risk Management

Q: How does this improve student safety and support our duty of care?

TrackTrail® provides continuous GPS location tracking that works reliably in remote areas where mobile phones typically fail. We can immediately identify when groups go off-route, respond quickly to emergencies with precise coordinates, and proactively redirect students away from dangerous weather conditions. This directly addresses our duty of care obligations and significantly strengthens our risk assessments with concrete safety measures rather than hopeful protocols.

Q: What are the consequences of not investing in reliable tracking?

Without reliable tracking, we face: lack of adequate safety and risk management for our students, potential emergency service callouts costing thousands, serious reputational damage if students are injured while lost, possible legal liability for inadequate safety measures, loss of parent confidence leading to reduced participation, and potential termination of our Duke of Edinburgh programme by school leadership following a serious incident.

Educational and Operational Benefits

Q: How does this enhance rather than compromise the Duke of Edinburgh experience?

TrackTrail® is completely invisible to the student experience. Students navigate independently exactly as intended by the Duke of Edinburgh Award. The tracking provides safety oversight without interfering with their decision-making or self-reliance development. Post-expedition, the tracking data creates exceptional educational value through detailed route analysis and evidence-based debriefing sessions.

Q: How will this improve staff efficiency and volunteer retention?

Staff can be positioned strategically based on real-time data rather than guesswork, eliminating unnecessary waiting at checkpoints. This reduces expedition stress, allows staff to focus on education rather than logistics, and makes volunteering more attractive to colleagues and parents. Several schools report improved volunteer retention after implementing tracking.

Technical and Practical Considerations

Q: How reliable is the technology compared to mobile phone solutions?

TrackTrail® provide trackers which connect to multiple mobile networks or models which transmit direct to satellite, providing better coverage than a mobile phone. The trackers provide reliable tracking in remote areas where mobile phones fail. The team at TrackTrail® will advise on the type of trackers that are suitable for the locations of the expeditions. The system has proven reliable across thousands of expeditions. Unlike mobile phones, trackers maintain battery life up to one week and cannot be accidentally disabled by users. 

Q: What training and support is required?

TrackTrail® requires no software downloads, no technical expertise, and no ongoing maintenance. The web-based platform is intuitive enough for the less technical staff members. They provide 24/7 customer support at no additional cost, comprehensive setup guides, and immediate response to any queries. As customers report: "Any questions were answered almost immediately" and "There is an abundance of step by step guides that makes everything so easy to set up."

Strategic and Reputation Questions

Q: How does this align with our commitment to student welfare and outdoor education?

TrackTrail® demonstrates our school's commitment to providing safe, high-quality outdoor education experiences. Not only are student locations visible to leaders, but students also have access to an SOS button on their tracker. Pressing the SOS button will result in a text message being sent to three emergency contacts. Use of GPS tracking shows parents and Ofsted that we take student safety seriously whilst maintaining the educational integrity of Duke of Edinburgh expeditions. This investment positions us as a forward-thinking school that prioritises both student development and welfare. 

Q: What do other schools say about TrackTrail®?

TrackTrail® were finalists for the safeguarding and wellbeing award at BETT in 2025, showing endorsement for their service from the EdTech industry. Schools consistently report transformational experiences: "We wonder how we ran our expeditions before," "Made our DofE Silver and Bronze expedition for over 90 students an absolute joy and worry free," and "The trackers are fantastic. They have saved us so much time in locating students." Customer satisfaction is evidenced by the 5-star Google reviews, with on leader reporting that they "would never consider another option."

Implementation and Risk Mitigation

Q: What specific risks does TrackTrail® address in our risk assessments?

TrackTrail® directly mitigates identified risks including: students becoming lost in remote areas, delayed emergency response due to unknown locations, inadequate supervision in challenging weather, inefficient resource deployment during incidents, and inability to provide precise coordinates to emergency services. These are concrete, measurable safety improvements rather than theoretical protocols. (See our blog on risk assessments for more detail)

Q: What happens if the technology fails?

TrackTrail® has demonstrated reliability across tens of thousands of expeditions with comprehensive backup support. In the unlikely event of technical issues, 24/7 support provides responsive remote resolution.

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At TrackTrail® we believe in supporting Duke of Edinburgh leaders every step of the way. We provide 24/7 support and everything you need in an easily accessible format. Our platform is specifically designed with the busy Duke of Edinburgh leader in mind, and as you can see, our support starts before you even become a customer!

If your specific question isn't answered above, please call to speak with one of our friendly advisors about your particular needs. We look forward to talking with you.