Safeguarding children in schools – the duty that education and learning authorities have in regard to giving a risk-free setting for every person on their premises is perhaps more tough in today’s world than any time before. There are many aspects to safeguarding but one topic that must not be overlooked and should be singled-out for routine review is emergency-situation lockdown. Schools should think about a variety of safety and security remedies to continually boost their lockdown procedures.

Everyone associated with the running of the institution has a duty to constantly guarantee the safety and security of the pupils in their care, provide a safe environment for education and to have a planned response for any type of major incident, including lockdowns.

When it comes to burglary and even major incidents, schools are one of the most at-risk targets. Nonetheless, by preparing for the worst-case scenario, schools can achieve a secure as well as inspiring space for education.

Controlling access is a critical aspect of any kind of security plan. It is inherent to the way in which a college manages site-visitor credentials and the secure means of access and egress of pupils, employees, and genuine-visitors daily. However, should the unthinkable occur then access-control systems are not enough on their own.

Every educational establishment should have a lockdown policy that plans to show the ‘closed or breached’ state of each entry-point of the building on as soon as an emergency-situation is detected.
Fast effective communication thereafter is key. Ideally a centralised web-based system can communicate via smartphones, tablets, laptops, and teachers’ smartboards giving a constantly updating overview and instant updates to staff.

The ability to execute a sufficient lockdown plan for emergencies throughout normal working-hours is essential, as is protection for the building when unoccupied.

Considerations

When considering safeguarding children in schools then the safety of schools is of paramount significance, but intruder systems and security hardware are frequently outdated. It is not unusual for essential updates and repairs to be put on-hold or even omitted completely due to budget challenges.

Nevertheless surely, it’s paramount that guaranteeing the efficacy of any security policy ongoing is maintained, and locking mechanisms and intruder systems, along with emergency-communication facilities are the keystones of any type of school lockdown policy.

Regardless of this, institutions are obviously under intense budget constraints. The extent of protection systems and services readily available to the UK market, ensures that schools / colleges can usually discover systems that meet their needs as well as budget. From hardware to electronic remedies or more likely a combination of both, they can put in place an effective lockdown procedure, even with budget constraints.

Lockdown equipment

An across-the-board universal approach is unlikely to be successful when it comes to picking the best equipment. Each establishment is unique and because of this, access-control and security solutions must be tailored to each school and its own special protection needs.

When it comes to picking the best locking solutions, there are several things to think about. For example, the likelihood and severity of possible risks, the age of the structure, available capital, and the long-term security-policy.

Based upon these considerations, schools can consider whether to employ a simple manual, electronic stand-alone or a remote networked-system or a combination there of.

Simple Manual System

Probably the most common of the three, manual systems are perhaps the most used and easily understood. These are possibly among one of the most cost-effective lockdown options, and require staff having to physically throw a lock to lockdown a room or rooms.

Mechanical locks are a low-cost choice for a large range of applications. However, they are probably the least effective lockdown technique as a fast lockdown is reliant on exactly how quickly an employee can get to the door and secure it.

Electronic stand-alone locking

This is a halfway-house solution for schools that want to upgrade lockdown systems but are reluctant to invest the extra capital required for a fully networked system.

This is enacted by locking classrooms with a remote fob (or secret switch) placed near the teacher’s normal teaching location. Nonetheless, they still depend on numerous teachers to carry out a lockdown

Remote Networked System

Networked solutions can be one of the most effective lockdown systems, requiring only one member of staff to initiate lockdown.

Networked access-control systems are triggered using a pc or app. A tap of a button can lock all doors at once making this the fastest lockdown of the three.

Emergency Lockdown Communication

Our app gives unprecedented comms during a lockdown situation. It is one thing to affect a lockdown through access-control and intruder systems but quite another to manage an ongoing situation.

Heightened security, lowered risk

Whatever the available capital, colleges can employ reliable lockdown technologies for their needs. Even in older facilities, the reliable use of digital and even wi-fi based systems, perhaps combined with existing locks, can be effective as well as economical.

Many in-lockdown communication systems require new hardware and incur large installation costs unlike the Alert CS School Lockdown system.

Whatever system is employed, the end goal is to provide an emergency lockdown method that assists in ensuring the safety and security of children as they are educated and forms part of the plan of safeguarding children in schools.