School & College Security

Schools carry a difficult brief. The site has to be genuinely secure against unauthorised entry during the day, welcoming to hundreds of parents and visitors, evacuable quickly with children who need supervising rather than simply directing, and resistant to break in and arson when the buildings sit empty for weeks at a time.

Access control usually does the heavy lifting. A single controlled visitor entrance with everything else secured, permissions that separate staff, contractors and visitors, and a system that lets the office release the door without leaving reception. Perimeter gates and vehicle access matter too, particularly on sites where the playground adjoins a public road.

CCTV in an education setting needs designing with more care than in any other sector. Cameras are appropriate at entrances, perimeters, car parks and bike stores, and inappropriate in or overlooking toilets, changing areas and other private spaces. The right coverage is defensible and reassuring, and a badly considered position turns into a safeguarding complaint at the next inspection.

Almost all education work is compressed into holidays. That means realistic programming against the actual window rather than an optimistic one, materials on site before the term ends, and enough resource to finish rather than leaving a site part complete when the children come back.

Engineers working on school sites are vetted appropriately for the setting, and we work to whatever supervision and safeguarding arrangements the school requires while term time visits are taking place.