Three areas to consider when communicating with SEN pupils
There are more than 1.3m* school pupils in the UK with identified SEN (special educational needs). More than four in five* pupils with SEN are educated in mainstream schools.
Communicating with these pupils – in emergency and non-emergency situations – presents unique challenges. We suggest three areas to consider when choosing a class change and lockdown alert solution.
1. Adjust your announcement style
If voice announcements are confusing and bells too harsh, we recommend choosing calming melodies to announce class changes or breaks. In Djanogly City Academy they play classical music for four minutes to signal class changeovers. It has made class change smoother and improved punctuality.
2. Communicate at lower volume
Every system should be able to adjust announcements’ volume, so messages can be understood but cause minimum disruption. However, for SEN students we would also suggest broadcasting announcements at a lower volume.
3. Gain flexibility by zoning alerts
Can you tailor announcements to different areas? Not every message is relevant to everyone in the school. Reduce confusion by broadcasting to particular classes, locations or year groups.
Zoning is also useful to differentiate routine and emergency alerts. For example, if there is an accident in one area of the school, you can restrict announcements to avoid causing panic.
Case study: how one specialist school improved its communication
Blossom House School is a specialist, independent day school. It teaches children aged between three and 19 who have speech, language and communication difficulties.
Discover how installing Bodet Time’s Harmonys system created a calmer and more efficient school day for Blossom House School.
Our flexible, customisable solution can help your school too
Bodet Time’s class change, lockdown alert and synchronised clock systems will improve the school day for all your students and staff.
Contact us for a personalised quote for your school
*Source: Children’s Commissioner, as at January 2020
