As a School for Specific Purposes (SSP), where students have complex learning and support needs, every communication counts - and every milestone matters. Bullimbal serves students with diverse needs, many of whom require highly individualised programmes and tailored support strategies. For Brett Pearson, Principal, and Emma Pearson, Deputy Principal, of this uniquely specialised setting, the search for the right management system was never about just taking attendance or grades based reporting. It was about finding a platform that could support real communication, tailored assessment, and celebration of progress in a way that is meaningful to students, families, and staff.
Their search led them to Hero.
Revolutionising Communication Between Home and School: “Hero Has Changed Everything”
When Bullimbal started using Hero, their primary goal was about building stronger, more transparent communication with families.
For students with complex communication needs, going home and saying, “I counted to five today!” or “I finished a story on the iPad!” is not always possible. Hero has changed that by making student learning visible - and accessible - to families in real time.
“We have so many students who can’t go home and say what they did today. Hero lets us show families what their child is working on, what they’re proud of, and what’s coming next,” explains Emma.
Rather than relying on sporadic, text-heavy updates or traditional communication books, Hero enables staff to share multimedia content - especially video - that showcases what students are doing and achieving in the classroom on a regular basis.
“We use Hero to post videos of students engaging in learning, achieving goals, or just having a great moment,” Brett shared. “For our parents and carers, those moments are everything.”
Capturing these authentic accounts of learning not only builds stronger partnerships with families, but also enables meaningful two-way conversations. Parents are now equipped to join the conversation based on real classroom activity, and students are more motivated knowing that their work is seen and celebrated at home.
“We’ve had kids ask, ‘Can you put that up so Mum can see it?’ That kind of motivation is huge,” Emma shares.
Empowering Teaching Through Specialised Assessment
As an SSP, the school uses highly customised assessments - far beyond what is typically found in mainstream education. Tracking these was previously managed via spreadsheets and folders - prone to errors and difficult to share. Hero’s flexibility has made it possible to capture, store, and visualise these specialised tools all in one place.
“It became a simple choice. Hero was the only platform flexible enough to house the assessment data we needed,” says Brett.
From literacy and numeracy to alternative communication and behavioural data, Hero brings these assessments into a centralised, user-friendly space - providing insights to support personalised next steps and school performance. Leaders, like Emma, can easily adjust parameters, adapt data displays, and use insights to inform daily teaching practices.
“Hero allows us to triangulate data from multiple sources, customise assessments, and have real-time, data-informed conversations with staff.” Emma adds.
This data-centric approach has helped shift teaching and learning from observational guesswork, to evidence-based action.
Using Video to Capture Progress, and Create Connection
One of the most powerful impacts of Hero has been the ability to use video to document and share student achievement.
Whether it’s a child expressing themselves through assistive technology for the first time, or simply engaging meaningfully in a learning activity, these moments can now be shared directly with families, at times providing a glimpse into capabilities that parents have not witnessed at home.
“A parent once told us, ‘I never thought I’d see that.’ Hero allowed us to capture and share a video of their child using their communication system expressively for the first time,” says Emma. “That video is now a treasure.”
Beyond emotional resonance, these videos have practical use too. They serve as visual supports that families can use at home, creating continuity and shared language between school and family life.
Staff and Student Impact: Motivation, Safety, and Strategy
Hero isn’t just transforming family engagement - it’s changing what happens inside the school as well. Teachers have a single source of truth for accessing and updating student data, reducing workload and improving planning. Behavioural and medical updates are captured in real-time, supporting student safety and tailored interventions across teams.
“It’s not just a communication tool - it’s become a platform for safety, strategy, and success,” Brett reflects.
Importantly, students themselves are becoming more engaged, knowing that their learning has an audience. The pride they take in seeing their work shared with their “team” is tangible.
Advice for Other SSPs Considering Hero
Both Brett and Emma recommend starting with a clear end goal in mind - what you want Hero to achieve for your school - and then back map from that vision. They began with home-to-school communication as a key priority, and gradually built on the platform’s capabilities from there.
Emma adds that it’s crucial to build quietly in the background - populate Hero with real data before opening it up to parents. This enables staff and families to see authentic examples from the outset. This built trust and engagement without overwhelming anyone.
“It’s changed the way we work with families. It’s no longer about telling them what we’re doing - it’s a conversation about where we’re going, together.”
The Takeaway
For Bullimbal School, Hero isn’t just a platform. It’s a bridge between home and school, a repository of rich data, and a tool to document and celebrate progress in ways that matter. Critically it supports personalised next steps in learning. From leadership to staff, from students to families, the impact is clear: Hero is helping everyone stay connected, informed, and is making a difference to every learner.
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Considering Hero for Your School? If you're looking for a solution designed to support a specialist context, and bring visibility across the moments that matter, book a demo!
