Pupils and staff at Stephen Hawking School, Tower Hamlets, have been provided with stimulating state of the art technical facilities following a specialist technical upgrade by Clarity in Sound, Light and Vision Limited.
Stephen Hawking School caters to the special needs of approximately 75 pupils between two and eleven years of age across the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The majority of the pupils attending the school have profound and multiple learning difficulties; a significant number also have additional sensory and physical impairments.
Specialists in technical school installations Clarity, took a fresh ‘from the ground up’ approach in creating the outstanding new facilities, beginning with the school’s Sensory room.
When Clarity first visited the school the existing Sensory room was a basic padded relaxation environment which had grown tired and drab in appearance. Clarity used its expertise to set about transforming the Sensory room into what is now a generously equipped and relaxing space.
The team liaised extensively with the school’s ICT Coordinator Hazel Rowley to confirm the school’s aims and requirements. They removed most of the existing sensory room equipment, re-using some of the existing equipment such as the sound generator, and developed it to create a more user-friendly interface.
A new sound system, extensive colour changing LED lighting and a Projection System was installed, along with an interactive games console linked up to the projection system. This provides clear large screen projection ability to assist with pupils’ perception and interaction. “Interactive and stimulating products were important with this install to maximise benefits to the pupils,” explained Clarity’s David Ashton.
Staff at the school were so pleased with the work in the sensory room they gave Ashton a round of applause when he visited them for a training session. “We installed extremely user friendly systems to make the teachers lives as easy as possible without having to face technical stresses or gremlins,” Ashton explained. “To support this we provided a training session to ensure everyone was happy with how to use the equipment and knew its range of uses.”
Clarity also rejuvenated the school’s reception area. The entrance has a new audio system installed, enabling clear broadcasting of music and announcements, allowing playback in reception areas of music/tracks the children recognise as they arrive and leave the building. A new lease of life has also been added to the area by adding an LED lighting system which allows staff to display preferred colours, so when children are arriving and leaving visually impaired pupils can recognise where they are. This is of particular importance to the school’s pupils to whom regular routine is a very important aspect of their development.
In addition a new networked digital signage system capable of displaying a range of media enables staff to display their own images, video, RSS newsfeeds, or office content, scheduled to change to suit the needs of the school. This is to be managed by Stephen Hawking School’s Stephen Linehan, who is responsible for the schools ICT requirements and production of videos, images and managing the content of the screen. “I was impressed with the quality of support Clarity provided when we came upon problems, their quality of service was excellent in this regard,” explained Stephen. “Clarity has also done a very impressive job upgrading our sensory room and sound system. I am particularly impressed with the solution they provided for the sound system: it works very well, is simple to operate and has improved the quality of both the spoken word and recorded music. I am sure the children’s experience of both is enhanced.”
A high quality audio system was installed in the school’s Main Hall, allowing the use of radio microphones, CD playback and MP3 playback - simultaneously if required. Clarity designed the system to be very simple to operate, which allows it to be used in most lessons conducted in the hall, as well as for daily assemblies, open evenings and fun/play-times.
“Clarity worked extremely well with the school staff to ensure that the needs of the children were at the centre of all work that was completed,” enthused Headteacher Dr Matthew Raynor. “They used their own expertise and the expertise of teaching and support staff to support the school in ensuring that pupils’ communication and curriculum needs were met.”
Media Links:
http://content.yudu.com/A1ngf7/edbmagazine20100301/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.edbmagazine.co.uk%2F
http://www.educationbusinessuk.net/content/view/1624/2/
http://www.teachingtimes.com/articles/technical-facilities-stephen-hawking.htm
http://www.cpbsonline.eu/pressrelease/pressrelease.aspx?companyname=Clarity+in+Sound%2c+Light+and+Vision&title=Pupils+at+Stephen+Hawking+School+benefit+from+specialised+technical+installation
http://www.adfonline.eu/pressrelease/pressrelease.aspx?companyname=Clarity+in+Sound%2c+Light+and+Vision&title=Pupils+at+Stephen+Hawking+School+benefit+from+specialised+technical+installation
http://www.stephenhawking.towerhamlets.sch.uk