Security in education: Keeping students and staff safe

The safety of students and staff is a primary concern in the education sector so it’s crucial that management within schools, colleges and universities have access to robust security solutions.

At Access Control, we have a wave of innovative and easy-to-use technologies that make monitoring and controlling complex premises of all sizes straightforward and cost-effective.

Why security is vital in education

Educational establishments – and schools especially – are supposed to be safe environments in which children can learn and have fun. As well as pupils feeling comfortable, their parents and guardians must also have the peace of mind that comes with knowing their sons and daughters are protected from harm.

On top of this, most places of learning operate on tight budgets with little room for financial setbacks. Protecting valuable assets such as IT hardware and sports equipment, therefore, is hugely important – if something is taken or damaged unlawfully, it would need to be replaced quickly to avoid disruption for the students.

With these issues in mind, an investment in the latest security solutions is easy to justify – so what’s out there?

Access control

One of the main objectives of any security team – whether in the education sector or elsewhere – is to properly manage the movement of people in and around a particular space. This means allowing certain people the freedom to enter designated rooms and areas, while effectively preventing access from those without authorisation. You’ll be glad to know the latest access control solutions from TouchStar make balancing the two extremely easy.

By combining our in-house M-EVO software with robust door furniture, scanners and barriers, you can protect building entrances, classrooms, staff rooms, lecture theatres, sports facilities and libraries from unauthorised access – all with great confidence. Going one step further than most solutions on the market, our systems can be configured to allow access to specific rooms or areas at certain times only; ideal for school grounds which have other purposes after the pupils go home.

Additional features can be added too, such as the ability to lock down classrooms or other areas of the building during an emergency or security incident.

CCTV

As well as controlling access throughout your premises, you’ll no doubt benefit from being able to monitor all goings-on closely – in real-time or retrospectively. CCTV ticks this box extremely well.

First and foremost, CCTV cameras are there to record everything that happens in a certain space, giving you vital information or even evidence in the event of a security breach. Before it gets to that stage, though, you’ll find the presence of cameras alone will act as an effective deterrent for would-be criminals.

Today’s technologies offer a lot more than the basic, grainy video recordings you might associate with the term ‘CCTV’. TouchStar’s solutions provide high-quality imagery to ensure you get the best evidence possible, while also giving you the power to zoom in on any picture and play back any clip instantly.

Flexibility is another advantage of TouchStar’s innovative CCTV solutions – these systems can be scaled to cover sites of any size, and can be integrated with existing security set-ups if necessary.

Security solutions built for you

Educational institutions must deal with unique security challenges, especially when young children are involved. Even in adult learning environments, such as universities, the constant movement of people throughout the day paired with a complex arrangement of buildings can make for a daunting security task.

The latest access control and CCTV solutions from TouchStar have been designed carefully to make the job of protecting your learning environment and the people and assets within it an easy one. If you think you could benefit, get in touch today.