The importance of access control in education

As the education system continues to strive, it has become essential for schools and colleges to install access control systems around their premises. With the help of United Carlton, specialists in Visitor management systems.

Ofsted

While Ofsted don’t entirely focus on security when inspecting a school, they won’t be afraid to bring forward any issues they might find within an education establishment, as this could have a strong effect on the safety of students, staff and guests.

They might even mark your school down if your security systems are not up to scratch. Ofsted want to be reassured that you have the safety of your pupils prioritised and this is something that can be achieved through access control systems.

It is important for schools to have the correct security systems in place to protect those inside. One of the first steps to take is to incorporate access control systems on all entry points of the building – allowing you to monitor who enters and who leaves the building at any given moment.

Here are some other areas that may be looked at by Ofsted regarding security and safety:

• CCTV—if your school does not have CCTV covering all areas, you will not be able to monitor the school entirely. You should be capturing footage throughout the school day and once the school day has ended to record any incidents that occur.
• Fences—a common problem schools face is damage to their fences, which could become another entry point for unknown guests and even a route for pupils to leave the premises unknowingly and without permission.
• Fire Alarms—having multiple fire alerting systems can be a problem as fire alarms could then become delayed. This is something that Ofsted will pick up on so it is best to have one central system in place.

“It’s hugely important for schools and businesses to monitor who’s in and who’s out, in case of fire alerts and for security reasons”—United Carlton.

Access in departments

There are many areas of a school that should have access control systems in place, including the science department and associated laboratories. If students have access to these rooms at any given time and are unsupervised, they could come into harm with hazardous chemicals, such as acid. With the rise of acid attacks carried out, it is vital to protect school resources and keep them out of the hands of students unless supervised by a teacher within a lesson.

Another key department that should be on lockdown at all times is Design and Technology (DT) as this is where many tools and equipment are stored which could potentially be used to cause harm if used without supervision. Having access control systems in place can help limit the access and permissions certain people have around a school – it is something that should be looked at more frequently by those in managerial positions within an education practice. It can help improve the safety of students, staff and guests and you can’t put a price on safety.