A recent survey of over 1000 stakeholders within schools suggests they’re are widespread issues relating to school perimeter fencing. Prepared by Jackson Security, the full report has gathered opinions from parents, teachers and specifiers, with many stating their school is struggling to implement effective security and safeguarding measures. They especially highlight poor perimeter fencing and a wide security knowledge gap within senior school staff.
Over 10 million children in the UK attend school every day so security of each location is paramount and absolutely shouldn’t be overlooked. It is unfortunately relatively common to read reports of unauthorised people easily gaining entry to school grounds so the demand for robust but also effective perimeter security is ever growing, all at the same time as decreased budgets.
With security in schools there is of course a delicate balancing act to find. Not only are budgets stretched but being overzealous with security can make a school seem particularly uninviting, and not a place where students can enjoy their learning experience. No school wants to look or operate like a fortress, but the absolute minimum they should be providing is a highly secure environment.
Plus, when there is an incident it’s been found that after a brief investigation many new security initiatives are knee-jerk and have never been designed to provide long-term effective security. New measures often don’t remain in place very long as once the event in question has left people’s memory, new policies are also quickly forgotten. These short term fixes often include regular patrols and inspections of school perimeters and temporary alarms that sound should their be a breach. More long term school security should include automatic gates and doors that can easily be locked during school hours. These measures can become highly efficient with the addition of video intercoms and remote fob operations.
The report includes findings that highlight current perimeter security, particularly fencing and gates are failing to fulfil their purpose. Over 80% of school fencing has been inspected over the last 5 years, so perhaps some of the responsibility needs to land at the feet of these inspectors who are either missing key design flaws or simply don’t possess the knowledge to see them. The number of schools that fail Ofsted reports due to poor safeguarding and security is growing.
Crucial have a wealth of expertise and experience providing perimeter security to many different types of education establishment. From barriers and fencing, to automatic doors and gates we can provide a tailored solution to meet your needs.
The full report titled “Protecting The Future” can be downloaded from Jackson Security.