Ysgol Glan Morfa is a Welsh Medium School that was established back in 2005 in Splott, Cardiff. Like most Welsh schools it started in a classroom at an English school (Moorland Primary School). In 2018 they made the bold move to a £6 million newly built site, expanding to 420 places.
Headteacher Meilir Tomos has since installed digital signage into the new school building and of course, with TrilbyTV being the number one signage platform made for education, this was his first port of call. After meeting TrilbyTV Director Neil Emery at a sharing and showcasing presentation, he just couldn’t wait to get started, as he told us,
“I was really excited about it, I had brought a signage system into my previous school so this was key for me. TrilbyTV is great, it’s simple to use and one of the best tools to sell your school. In particular, photographs of pupils learning are a really effective way to showcase the school to parents. I always like the fact that you can put important messages up quickly and effectively. If there’s a special day or event, you can put a specific slide up to remind pupils what’s going on.”
Ysgol Glan Morfa have three screens in total, using TrilbyTV’s Unlimited subscription, there is a screen in the school reception, Key Stage 2 area and staffroom. Meilir continued,
“We tailor content to specific screens; in the staffroom we’re showing educational quotes, inset timetables, weekly planners and memos for staff nights out. I try to put as many things on there that are helpful for the staff. Educational Twitter feeds are a great way for staff to look and think, that’s a good idea. The staff enjoy seeing the work that they’ve done through the school’s Twitter account too. I think that this is important in supporting them in their professional development as well.”
“In the Key Stage 2 area, we show a lot of videos, staff create a quick vid per term. This allows children to see what they’ve done on the screens so that they can feel proud. It’s a great reminder and really pupils love seeing themselves on the TV. We’re planning to use digital signage to celebrate success with more pupils, instead of using certificates for one child. It is an efficient way to do it compared to old fashion wall displays that take time, effort and paper.”
“Reception is more for welcoming people, showcasing what I want people from outside of the school to see. It’s changed often as we have a lot of visitors, including parents that come in at the end of the day and this is the first thing that they see. We had a special educational needs forum here yesterday, so there was a welcome sign up, along with some photographs.”
“Once you use TrilbyTV a couple of times it’s very easy to use. We use Google Slides a lot, I like the way that I can use it on my phone and it updates automatically, which I do in assembly to update house points.”
Meilir plans to extend the screens to the foundation area and then the hallway and eventually give Glan Morfa’s students the power to share and upload content directly. So we’ll be popping back again soon to see how their school signage has progressed!
Meilir Tomos Talks Digital Signage in an Under the Hat session.