Specialist School Resonates with Harmonys

HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, U.K. - Jan. 12, 2016 - PRLog -- It’s not unusual for special-needs children to find loud, harsh sounds like traditional alarm bells very upsetting, and it can be an issue when alerting students and staff that it’s time to change class or break for lunch. This was the issue faced by Blossom House School, a specialist independent day school for children aged between 3 and 19 years with speech, language and communication difficulties.

Staff relied on clocks or watches to finish classes or start breaks. This resulted in delays in starting classes, which not only adversely affected the smooth running of the school but also reduced the available learning time for students.

“We did not want a traditional alarm bell system to announce class changes, but one that was more child-friendly” said James Stavert, director of operations for Blossom House School. “Having looked at many systems, we decided to install the Harmonys system developed by Bodet as it includes a range of pre-recoded melodies which we felt would be more sympathetic to the student’s needs. The system also includes a microphone so we can record our own messages and make live announcements for special events such as wet breaks or calling staff meetings.”

The system incorporates a master clock so alerts can be programmed to synchronise with the school timetable and ensure all classes finish at exactly the right time. The school also broadcasts a ‘tidy up’ melody  five minutes before the end of each class so the students know it’s time to finish what they are doing and get ready to move on.

As each speaker has its own IP address, alerts and announcements can either be broadcast to the whole school or restricted to specific zones within it. “The zoning facility is a real benefit to us as we have a wide age range of students on site.” added Stavert. “It means that as well as making general announcements to the whole school, we can now broadcast specific melodies or announcements separately to the primary and secondary school pupils.”

“The system has been very well received by both staff and students. Classes start and finish on time so the students now have more time in the classroom. More importantly, the melodies used for alerts are calming and do not upset the students. They have learned the significance of each melody very quickly, which improved communication with both staff and students and the school now runs much more efficiently.”

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