Pupils lead Transform Trust's new ChilbyTV rollout

Transform Trust has expanded its use of TrilbyTV across its schools and introduced a pupil-led digital signage initiative, ChilbyTV, through its Children's Parliament.

The multi-academy trust previously installed screens in every staffroom to share internal updates. It has now widened the approach so pupils can also produce and share information shown in communal areas.

ChilbyTV sits within the Trust's Children's Parliament, which brings together pupil representatives from across the group. Parliamentary discussions found that messages shared consistently with staff did not always reach pupils effectively. The new initiative adds pupil-created content to screens in shared school spaces.

Pupil-led content

Under the project, pupils design and schedule content covering school events and other notices. Screens will carry a mix of school-specific updates and trust-wide messaging, including safeguarding and belonging initiatives.

The programme began with a training day at Ashbrook Junior School. TrilbyTV Director Neil Emery and Head of Relationships Terri Roberts led sessions alongside Canva Learning Consultant Adwoa Oforiwa.

Year 6 pupils took part in workshops on creating digital signage content from scratch, including research and planning, and on structuring messages for different audiences. They also used Canva to design visual assets, including animated signage for display on screens.

The training day also covered communication principles, including timing and how visual design affects clarity. It also addressed accessibility for pupils.

Skills handover

Transform Trust plans for participating pupils to pass on what they learn to younger year groups. The aim is to keep knowledge and practical skills within each school as cohorts move on, rather than relying on a single set of pupils to maintain the project.

The approach reflects a broader trend of schools using pupil voice groups to shape internal communications. Digital signage has become more common in education as schools seek alternatives to paper notices and email updates that often do not reach pupils or families.

For Transform Trust, the project expands a staff-focused rollout into a wider communications model, with pupils as content creators. Staffroom screens remain part of the Trust's set-up, while shared spaces now carry content designed for children.

TrilbyTV describes its product as a digital signage platform for education. This project provides the platform for distributing content across the Trust's sites, while Canva is used as the design tool.

Schools and trusts are increasingly adopting platforms that combine creation tools with centralised distribution, particularly where leaders want consistency across multiple sites. Trust-wide channels can carry standardised notices, while individual schools publish local messages.

Transform Trust says the Children's Parliament drove the work, with pupils identifying the communication gap and shaping the solution. Staff and external partners delivered the training and supported the initial rollout, with pupils expected to take an ongoing role in producing content.

Trish Wilson, Transform Trust Associate, said:

"Children's parliamentarians have driven this project right from the start and it will be amazing to see the information they want to share reaching children in their schools and beyond. Children across Transform are eager to connect with each other and Chilby offers a great way to enable this."

ChilbyTV will continue to grow across the Trust on the TrilbyTV digital signage platform.