Every Day's a School Day!
Dec 7, 2018
Naomi Trueman, a teacher at Lockington Primary School near Beverley describes a recent visit to Tunstall.
A couple of weeks ago I was one of three teachers accompanying nine Year 5 and 6 pupils to Tunstall’s UK head office near Doncaster. The visit coincided with a school termly project looking at the use of technology in the home.
Some of the children told us that their parents or grandparents use lifelines and pendants to support them at home, and so they were intrigued to see how units are designed and made for themselves.
The visit included a tour of the Tunstall museum, which gave the children a good understanding of the company’s long history and the opportunity to understand how it has grown from a single TV repair shop to a global company, as well as seeing how the products have changed over time. They were fascinated to look at the old adverts and photography, and see the very first alarm units.
The children were particularly interested in the factory tour, seeing how products are put together and the way the manufacturing area is arranged to make sure it is as efficient as possible. Next stop was Tunstall’s Innovation Centre, which is a fantastic area where the children could explore and use some of Tunstall’s very latest technology solutions. They used the PNC software to answer, log and close down calls, giving them a good insight into how the whole system works.
The next part of the day involved the children being given a project brief to design and build a model of what they think could be the next innovative assistive technology solution. Angus Honeysett, Service Development Manager, and Kevin Avery, System Consultant, were on hand to explain the project, and will be visiting the school in the new year to hear their thoughts and ideas. A winning design will be chosen, which if possible will be made into a prototype, and the winner will also receive a £30 book voucher.
It is always a pleasure to take our pupils on a visit as they are great ambassadors to the school in terms of interest, manners, confidence etc. However, their engagement with the visit to Tunstall took this to a higher level. They are so enthusiastic about the project and talked about their ideas all the way home.
It is crucial that we excite and inform young people about the way science and technology can be taken into society in real and valuable ways. Seeing the kind of inventions and innovations which Tunstall provide for its customers really did bring learning opportunities to life.
I’m really excited to be working with the children and Tunstall over coming weeks to gather some great ideas for the next generation of Tunstall technology!
