A Birmingham school sought to improve safety of pupils and staff through fully digital CCTV. The system has also helped the school switch to an off-site caretaker who can now inspect the site remotely in the event of alarm activation.
Jervoise School is a medium size Primary School with 220 pupils in Weoley Castle. It was built in 1935, and is housed in two main buildings separated by playgrounds. The school is a community school within the LEA and as Carl Jenner, ICT Operations Manager says, “We have never had any major trouble but it was felt that CCTV would be beneficial both as part of our duty of care and as a deterrent.”
With a budget approved by governors, Mr Jenner approached a number of local firms for a quote.
“We narrowed it down to an analogue system and a fully digital MOBOTIX CCTV solution,” he says, “The analogue system was cheaper but the quality was not desirable and we would have needed more cameras to cover the same area. So in the end, The MOBOTIX system supplied by Ecl-ips represents a much higher value proposition like superb image quality and the benefit of remote viewing for our caretaker who is planning to move offsite.”
The new 16 camera installation at Jervoise uses the existing data network without any upgrade other than one extra switch for POE and uses a mix of M12, M24 and D12 cameras to provide complete perimeter coverage, day and night, at megapixel resolutions.
“The installation was smooth and Ecl-ips gave us full training on the system which we have found very easy to use,” says Mr Jenner, “We are now in the process of setting up a link for our caretaker so they can remotely inspect the site at night in the event of an alarm – which is a much better solution than having to wander around the site at night with just a torch.”
Mr Jenner believes that the signage and the quality of the images from the new CCTV system will act as a deterrent and help the school to retain its reputation as a safe, happy and productive community. “The project has gone just as we hoped and we are pleased with the results.”
