Sylvia Campbell, sales and marketing manager at G2 Integrated Solutions, comments after Five’s ‘Classroom Chaos’ TV documentary, broadcast on 27 April.
The standard of behaviour in some 21st century schools is not all it once was – but I believe wider usage of access control could have a highly positive effect.
Visit any modern office building in the UK today and you will be almost certainly confronted by at least one security system in order to simply gain entry. But why are all of our schools and colleges not afforded similar protection, when the safety of some of the most vulnerable members of our society is at stake?
Introducing access control may seem a radical step, but the potential benefits these new technologies will bring to the effective policing of our schools are far reaching.
As a UK developer of smartcard applications, we have been involved in installing access control systems at schools, further education institutes and colleges across the country.
In today’s uncertain climate, the need to keep unauthorised people out for the protection of both staff and pupils cannot be underestimated.
In an event when an evacuation is necessary time is always of the essence. An access control system can provide information on such vital data as where individual pupils are located in the building and has the ability to unlock doors quickly from a central location.
However, the increased personal safety of individuals is not the only benefit an access control system will generate – there is also the hardware stored within the building to consider.
With the heyday of ‘chalk and talk’ teaching now well and truly over, education tools have become ever more advanced across the country. The need to protect the new wave of items associated with modern schools, expensive IT equipment in particular, is becoming increasingly prevalent.
The installation of an access control system is an extremely effective method of achieving this security, preventing unauthorised entry to areas where valuable equipment is stored.
Access control may be installed primarily to ward against the potential of negative situations, but in our experience the long-term benefits of these systems can only be seen as positive for the peace of mind for both pupils and staff.
