Clocks and lockdown alert systems for schools
Analogue and digital clocks, both for indoor and outdoor use, must display an accurate and identical time to students, teachers and administrative personnel. Besides, the headmaster must guarantee people safety by implementing a lockdown procedure in case of external threat.
Connected by a centralised time distribution system, the Bodet clock systems display a synchronised and identical time across the whole school.
Whether wired or radio synchronised, Bodet’s lockdown systems ensure the safety of all people present in the buildings. They also set the pace of students and teachers’ day by broadcasting class change bells.
For over 50 years, Bodet Time has been recognised for its expertise in time management and knowledge of nursery, primary schools as well as secondary schools and universities. Since 2006 with the release of the Melodys range, Bodet Time has been committed to offering solutions securing all people present in educational settings. Since then, Bodet security solutions have multiplied to meet all needs, from nursery schools to universities.
PREPARE YOUR TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Which clock system is to be installed in educational facilities?
From nursery schools to high schools, clocks set the pace of students and teachers’ daily lives as well as of all the supervising staff of an educational setting. Installed in every classroom, clocks are key in order for pupils to learn how to tell the time.
To do so, nursery and primary schools usually use analogue clocks in order to help pupils to learn how to tell the time. Therefore, they have become an indispensable tool.
In secondary schools, it is quite frequent to see LED digital clocks in common areas, such as the playground, the sports hall, the canteen or the school office.
Which class change bells and lockdown systems are to be implemented in schools?
Compliant with the future Martyn’s Law requirements, The Melodys (radio synchronised) and Harmonys (IP network) devices keep people informed about the current risks: major risks, attacks, intrusions. These visual and audible solutions enable headmasters to activate the lockdown procedure.
Bodet devices also allow to carry out regulatory annual lockdown drills. Much more than security equipment, the Harmonys and Melodys solutions have also been designed to broadcast class change bells, music or any other audio message.
Find out more about our lockdown alert system Discover our PA systems
Clocks, class change systems, lockdown alert systems: choosing the equipment most suitable to a specific educational setting
We have been collaborating with schools for over 50 years. Therefore, it has enabled us to design clocks, class change bell and emergency alert systems suitable to the needs and the size of all facilities.
Whether for small nursery and primary schools with less than 5 classrooms, for secondary schools, universities or any other higher education establishment, our customisable solutions are suitable to the size of every facility.
What is your type of establishment?
Small schools with less
than 5 classrooms
Schools with over
5 classrooms
Secondary
schools
Higher education establishments: university campus / prestigious universities
How to equip a primary school?
Radio-synchronised clock systems and devices
Clocks
Which clocks are to be installed in a nursery or primary school?
PA systems
How to trigger a class change bell or broadcast an emergency alert in a small school with less than 5 classrooms?
Find out more
Which class change bell and lockdown alert device to install in a school with over 5 classrooms?
Find out moreInstallation example: Radio-synchronised clock systems and devices in a primary school
Which clock systems are to be installed in a primary school?
Analogue clocks to make it easy to learn how to tell the time!
Installed in classrooms, analogue clocks featuring a dial with figures are real educational tools to learn pupils how to tell the time.
Designed to meet the specific needs of nursery and primary schools, outdoor analogue clocks find their place on the main façade or in the playground.
The Profil 930 wall analogue clock features an Hour-Minute or an Hour-Minute-Second display. It is to be installed in classrooms, dormitories, hallways or in the canteen.
The 100% standalone and eco-designed Profil 930L solar analogue clock is appreciated for its sustainable and ecological features.
Since they are easy to install, wireless and with no batteries to change, nursery and primary schools often choose ALS/DCF radio-synchronised analogue clocks for uninterrupted time display and automatic time changeover.
Larger schools often choose wired clocks (electrical impulse or NTP).
Back to radio-synchronised equipment How to broadcast a class change bell or a lockdown alert in a small school?
Melodys Standalone: the turnkey safety package, especially designed for schools with less than 5 classrooms
The Melodys Standalone radio-synchronised package not only allows for manual triggering of class change melodies but also securing small schools efficiently in case of major risks.
Installed in a classroom or in the headmaster’s office, the manual button box can be fully configured: 4 buttons with a different feature each. The Melodys Standalone control box allows for broadcasting of melodies as well as pre-recorded messages to indicate the beginning and the end of alerts.
Located in the hallway or in the playground, Melodys indoor and outdoor speakers broadcast class change bells or attack-intrusion emergency messages.
With its DHF radio transmitter integrated into the triggering box, the Melodys Standalone solution is an easy-to-install safety equipment, without requiring any maintenance costs.
With a wireless installation, and equipment with no batteries to change, Melodys Standalone fits easily in small schools from 3 to 5 classrooms.
Which class change system and lockdown alert device to install in a nursery or primary school?
Melodys: the highly comprehensive wireless solution setting the pace of pupils and teacher’s daily lives and protecting them in case of emergency
Controlled by a master clock, Melodys is a radio-synchronised solution broadcasting melodies, music, class change bells, pre-recorded messages and alerts, whether inside or outside the premises.
Customisable and configurable, Melodys allows for control of class change melodies and audible messages.
Featuring speakers as well as indoor and outdoor strobes, the Melodys solution ensures school safety. In order to ensure the building’s complete safety, teachers or classrooms can be equipped with a remote control, thus enabling them to trigger alerts remotely.
The Bodet DHF wireless technology offers a signal range of approximately 100 to 200 metres , with the possibility to add secondary transmitters, thus ensuring complete coverage of a school and allowing the installation of an unlimited number of speakers.
Without requiring the use of cables or batteries, this solution is highly appreciated for its ease of installation and low maintenance costs. Another advantage that maintenance managers appreciate is that the Melodys installation ensures continuity of service (the speakers never run out of battery during regulatory lockdown drills).
What are the necessary equipment for a primary school?
NTP clock systems and devices
Clocks
Which clocks are to be installed in a primary school?
Find out moreLockdown bells and alarms
How to protect a small school in the case of an emergency alert? (Less than 5 classrooms)
Find out more
Which lockdown alert system and class change system to use in a school with over 5 classrooms?
Find out moreInstallation example: NTP clock systems and equipment for a primary school
Which clock to use in a primary school?
Analogue clocks as educational tools to make it easy to learn how to tell the time
Featuring a dial with digits, as well as an Hour-Minutes or Hour-Minutes-Seconds display, the Profil analogue clocks find their place in classrooms, just above the board. Indicating playtime, these clocks are real tools to help pupils telling the time.
Indoor analogue clocks can be found everywhere in secondary schools: whether in the hallways, the canteen or in dormitories.
Outdoor analogue clocks are installed on the school’s façade or under the covered playground.
The facilities equipped with an NTP network often chose an NTP Ethernet time distribution to synchronise all clocks installed in their premises. Therefore, all indoor and outdoor clocks display an identical time and carry out the automatic time changeover.
How to broadcast class change bells or lockdown alarms in a small school?
Harmonys Standalone: the package for small schools (3 to 5 classrooms) equipped with an IP network
Harmonys Standalone is an all-in-one package designed to ensure the safety of small schools. It makes it easy to implement lockdown procedures, while setting the pace of their daily lives by broadcasting beginning and end of class bells.
This package includes essential elements for a school with 3 to 5 classrooms:
- A manual button box, featuring 4 customisable buttons with a feature for each button to choose from: intrusion, lockdown, evacuation, end of alert, stop, and so on. Often located in the headmaster’s office, the manual button box allows for broadcasting of unprogrammed bells, to set the pace of the school life and broadcast alarms in case of a threat.
- An Harmonys indoor speaker to broadcast end-of-class melodies or attack-intrusion emergency alarms in hallways.
- An Harmonys outdoor speaker to indicate the end of playtime or inform of an alert in progress within the school.
Connected to the school’s IP network, the Harmonys Standalone package is a scalable solution with the possibility to add additional speakers if new classrooms open within the school.
Which equipment to choose to set the pace of the school’s daily life and inform students and teachers of an alert?
Harmonys: the highly comprehensive, scalable lockdown solution broadcasting programmed melodies and alerts in real time in the case of a threat or an intrusion
The Harmonys range of devices allows for live or programmed broadcasting of bells, audible and text messages, within a school with one or more buildings.
Featuring speakers as well as indoor and outdoor strobes, Harmonys complies with the regulatory requirements in terms of school safety. Its different triggering devices (button box, microphone) inform the whole facility instantly in case of assault, attack, intrusion or climatic risks.
Broadcast over all the speakers, the live or pre-programmed messages will inform all people present in the building on the actions to be taken out in case of major risks: shutting oneself up, evacuating, escaping/hiding, getting up high, and so on.
Customisable, the Harmonys solution allows to adapt all messages and melodies to the different events of a primary school (shows, school parties, end-of-year fairs) and secondary schools (open days, exam periods).
Connected to the IP network of the facility, Harmonys allows for fast and clear broadcasting of any type of bell and alarm. This solution makes it easy to implement the lockdown procedure and ensures the safety of the whole facility.
The IP technology also enables to add new equipment and functions in line with changing needs.
How to equip a higher education establishment?
NTP clock systems and devices
Clocks
Which clock systems to install in a secondary school?
Find out moreLockdown bells and alarms
Which PA systems are required in a secondary school?
Find out moreRemote control of several sites
How to remotely control lockdown alarms in secondary schools, universities, and higher education establishments?
Find out moreSports hall
How to equip the sports hall of a higher education establishment?
Find out moreExample of NTP installation: Clock systems and devices in a higher education establishment
Which clock system to install in a higher education establishment?
In higher education establishments, clocks are essential tools during exams
The analogue and digital clocks are indispensable to correctly manage one’s time during exams or other tests (oral tests, homework, and so on).
The timeless Profil analogue clocks usually find their place in common areas.
Higher education establishments usually install LED digital clocks in examination rooms. The Style clocks are silent and allow for quick, clear and accurate time reading. Combined with the Style keyboard, the Style digital clocks offer a countdown feature to indicate the time remaining before the end of the exam.
Higher education establishments equipped with an NTP network choose an NTP Ethernet time distribution to display an identical time on all the clocks present in the facility.
How to manage the safety system in a secondary school?
The Harmonys ecosystem ensures the safety of pupils and supervising staff across all the buildings of a secondary school
Harmonys is a highly comprehensive PA system broadcasting class change bells, audio streaming or lockdown alarms. The modularity of the Harmonys solution makes it suitable to any type of facility. It has been especially designed for secondary schools but also for higher education establishments and universities.
The solution includes speakers, indoor and outdoor strobes, a multizone microphone, buttons and triggering remote controls (melodies, alarms). Different audio streaming mobile apps complete its eco-system.
The Harmonys solution is customisable, easy to implement and to use. Its scheduling software enables to program from a PC, class change bells, bell cut-offs during the holidays or exams, but also to program regulatory annual lockdown drills.
With their IP technology, Harmonys devices can be installed in facilities with several buildings. Its capacity to manage different areas enables to broadcast audio messages in all or part of the facility.
The Harmonys solution is highly modular and evolves with the facility needs, as well as with the lockdown regulation.
How to remotely control emergency alerts in secondary schools, universities, and higher education establishments?
Harmonys Multisite: the software which supervises remotely several facilities equipped with the Harmonys solution
The Harmonys Multisite software has been designed to supervise, on a city or university campus scale, the alert status of the different facilities equipped with Harmonys equipment.
This software reports the triggering of an alert via a PC notification or an audio signal. The supervision centre located outside of the facility (control centre, police station, maintenance office) is immediately informed.
The software’s built-in map allows for instant geolocation of the facility that has triggered an alert. The safety officer can thus locate alerts in progress on one or several university sites or any other higher education establishment. The latter can then trigger the lockdown procedure, inform emergency services and communicate remotely with the sites that have triggered an alert.
Harmonys Multisite is the ideal safety tool of cities in order to protect all facilities (from nursery schools to universities) spread over several sites.
How to equip the sports hall of a higher education establishment?
Clocks, lockdown solutions and scoreboards: equipment dedicated to sports halls
The benefits of practising sport in schools are well established. Equipping a sports hall attached to a school is at the heart of our expertise and at the crossroads of Bodet’s activities. This is why Bodet Time and Bodet Sport teams offer solutions suitable to school sports centres.
The Profil 930 analogue and Style 5 LED digital clocks fit perfectly into the changing rooms of a sports hall. Ideally designed to be installed in changing rooms, the Style 5 clock featuring an IK10 protection index withstands all impacts (balls) and vandalism (ripping). They are robust and display an accurate time to guarantee pupils’ punctuality in PE lessons.
Designed for multisport and ideal for sports halls used for PE lessons, the 8015 indoor scoreboard displays the game clock, scores, time-outs and team fouls. This scoreboard provides all essential game information of sports such as basketball, handball, volleyball, badminton, and so on.
Since pupil and teacher safety must be ensured within the whole school, the Melodys Standalone package meets the security needs of sports halls.
Most frequently asked questions
What is the Martyn's law and when will it be enforced?
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act, most commonly known as Martyn’s Law, has been introduced to ensure stronger protection against terrorism and other threats in public places, including schools. The law received Royal Assent on the 3rd of April, 2025. The law is split into two tiers of duty”: The Standard Duty applies to premises with a capacity of 200-799 people, and the Enhanced Duty applies to premises with a capacity of 800 people and more. Schools will have to implement appropriate public protection procedures, so far as is reasonably practicable. The law is to be effective within a 24-month period, in order for all to understand their new obligations and prepare accordingly.
What is a lockdown alert system?
A lockdown alert system is an audio or visual device used to inform people present in a building of an alert and keep them safe. This device can be installed whether indoors or outdoors. For example, within a school, said system can be installed whether in a classroom or in the playground. Then, alerts can be triggered by using the button box, an app, or a remote control.
How to implement a lockdown procedure?
In order to implement a lockdown procedure, 4 things shall be put into place:
- A plan of evacuation (getting people out),
- invacuation (letting people moving around the campus know that there is a problem),
- lockdown (securing the premises, locking doors)
- and communication (alerting people on the premises to danger).
Within a school, it is required to keep it simple, by using the Run/Hide/Tell procedure: moving inside the building, focusing on getting people in classrooms or offices, then hiding by closing windows, doors and turning phones down, and eventually, telling people about the issue so they know how to react.
Is it relevant to choose battery-operated lockdown alarm systems?
To ensure continuity of service, battery-operated solutions require periodic control of the proper operation of speakers. In case of malfunction, a technician must replace the faulty batteries. Therefore, battery-operated solutions require maintenance costs that can be onerous over the long term (battery replacement and labour costs). In the worst case scenario, battery equipment might not operate properly (faulty batteries) in case of threats, attacks and intrusions. Choosing a batteryless lockdown solution guarantees the continuous operation of alerts and avoids costly maintenance, which is the case with battery-operated solutions.
Why choosing Bodet lockdown solutions?
Bodet Time has been making school safety a priority since 2006. We have been collaborating with 15,000 facilities from nursing schools to universities. Besides, Bodet lockdown solutions are constantly evolving and guarantee the optimum safety of pupils and staff. Bodet lockdown solutions are modular, while meeting the exclusive needs of each school.
We used to use the fire alarm to announce class changes and lunch breaks, but the information that can be conveyed is very limited... We needed a more versatile system that would enable us to communicate quickly and clearly to all staff and students what to do should a situation arise that required a lockdown protocol rather than evacuation.
James Amps,
Director of Operations
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international projects.
Germaine Tillion high school – Biardel La Mezière
France
French School – Belgrade
Serbia
Apprentice Training Centre (CFA) – Brive La Gaillarde
France
Ecole Supérieure d’Electronique de L’Ouest ESEO – Angers
France
Sainte-Marie high school – Cholet
France
Ecole Fontamentale et Maison Relais – Grevels Wahl
Luxembourg
Glasgow University
United Kingdom
Primary school
Abu Dhabi
Primary school of Barcelona
Spain