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I would recommend a conventional telecare alarm system which can be used either with a fixed telephone line or with an integrated GSM output so that it can be portable and used virtually anywhere. The teaching assistant would have a small panic pendant while the dispersed alarm unit could be programmed to ring the mobile phones of relevant staff using a silent dialling mode as well as the central school switchboard. The staff member' phones would be on vibrate mode for these calls so that nobody in the class would know what has happened. This is the most robust approach as it uses commercially available and low cost communications infrastructures. The range is unlimited as far as the responders are concerned (provided there is mobile coverage) while the range from pendant to dispersed alarm unit can be as high as 100 metres if the VHF rather than UHF option is selected. The systems can be provided by Tynetec and offer a range of pendant colour options so that multiple users can use the same dispersed alarm without confusion. Commercial systems are also available from Tunstall and Chubb, though the range of wireless transmission tends to be less in buildings. Incidentally, such telecare systems could also be used with a wrist worn fall detector as a man-down detector and with the panic bars used in some facilities where clients may exhibit challenging behaviour. Cheers, Kevin Dr Kevin Doughty Co-Director Centre for Usable Home Technologies University of York and Newcastle University ________________________________ From: Aidan Parr <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Wednesday, 6 November 2013, 13:34 Subject: Carer alert system Hi, Hope someone can help: I had a call from a lady working at a nursery who is supporting a child with multiple serious medical conditions. The child has a permanent assistant, but the school need the assistant to be able to alert a nominated member of staff if the child becomes ill. Most of the alerts my enquirer has found aren’t suitable – she needs a silent alert at the assistant end when they press the button, but an audible alert to the nominated member of staff, but no loud noises that can disrupt the attention of 3 year olds in the vicinity! I’m unsure of geographical spread that the alarm would need to cover, but the nursery is part of a mainstream school. Cheers, Aidan. Aidan ParrBEng MSc PGDE (Lifelong Learning) Researcher Foundation for Assistive Technology 302 Tower BridgeBusiness Centre 46-48 East Smithfield LondonE1W 1AW Tel: +44 (0) 300 330 1430 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7709 2068 Web: www.fastuk.org Reg. charity Number: 1061636 FAST is a limited company no. 3331184 (Englandand Wales) To stay up to date with the latest news on assistive technology why not subscribe to FAST's free monthly e-newsletters. Send an email to [log in to unmask] subscribe to AT Policy News. To subscribe to AT Research and Development News send an email to [log in to unmask] We Tweet at www.twitter.com/FASTATUKand at https://www.rebelmouse.com/FASTATUK/