the school of
educational administration

Question: What system do schools have in place to stop children from leaving school (primary) without permission. Do they have special doors that can only be opened by adults and if so, are there any companies they would recommend? Does this create a fire risk by having doors that the children cannot open themselves?

All our playground gates are locked through the day and the only exit from the building which leads to a way out is through the office, controlled by a key-pad lock.  This can be opened from the inside but the handle is at adult height.

We recently (Easter) had a new security system fitted to our main  entrance.  We had new doors to the main entrance, we have a lobby and some  internal doors before entering into school via the main entrance.  These  internal doors were also replaced and we decided to  review the digital  lock which was temperamental.  We researched systems as we felt parents  were entering school whenever they felt like it and with expensive  equipment and laptops etc in our open plan school we felt that temptation  was too prominent.  We decided to go ahead with an 'Access Control  System' - this killed two birds with one stone - all permanent staff,  lunchtime staff, cleaners, relief staff, visitors and supply teachers are  issued an ID card with a magnetic chip inside.  The card when shown to a  small black box opens the door from both sides.  Pupils instantly  recognise adults who are allowed to be in school by their ID badge and  have been told that should they see an adult in school not wearing an ID  badge they need to come to a known adult in school to inform them.  This  system is also recorded onto our computer and we can instantly see who is  in school, when we have a fire alarm it instantly prints out an evacuation  report.  It is also linked in to our fire alarm and releases the door when  it goes off.  We have only had experience of this system since Easter but  so far I can highly recommend it.  ADT Fire & Security were the company we  dealt with.

In reply to your question about school security/doors, this issue has been considered here and having doors which could only be opened by adults would contravene Health and Safety Regs.  A rather elaborate system of walkie-talkies has been devised together with keeping the large 5 bar gate and adjacent side gate closed at all times.  Should a child ‘disappear’ from where he/she is expected to be then a plan immediately falls into place and staff are alerted.  It’s somewhat cumbersome, but it does work.

We have been looking at doors that need a small "finger print" to open the doors, from outside and inside.  This stops children leaving the school, and uninvited visitors from entering school - "no print, no access".  Does not create a fire risk as the children should not be leaving the building without an adult.  It is great from a security aspect too and from what I understand it can be used for timekeeping.. no more forms to fill in just a signature on the time sheet at the end of the month.   It looks great, and we are looking at schools that have this system in place.

The company is Easydentic.  My contact is  Andrew Weir   andrew.weir@easydentic.co.uk   he will be able to tell you more about this

Once the gate to the playground is locked pupils can only exit the school via the main entrance. This has a keypad type system out of reach for the children but also they would have to pass the recepionist and office manager, we also have cameras in that area too so this makes leaving unnoticed very difficult.

In response to your email query, we have magnet locks fitted to our external main access doors, with all staff having a key fob to release the doors.  In most cases, this means that no-one can get in or out of the school without permission.  However, depending on the type of lock and positioning, under a fair amount of force it can be possible for some of the older children to open a door (we are an EBD school catering for both primary and secondary so the doors are tested from time to time!).

If the fire alarm is activated, the doors will automatically release, meaning that there is no risk of being trapped in the building.  The doors can also be individually switched off with a key in order to allow access for deliveries as required, or in the event of a failure to release (which has never happened in my experience).

Our original installation was by Fullstop based in Exeter.  However, I would recommend our current contractor instead, who maintain and install similar systems.  This is JFS Security, also based in Exeter, who can be contacted on 01392-447654.  They are extremely helpful, efficient, and offer excellent value.

We are a special school (primary) and we have key pad electronic release doors. In the event of a fire they are attached to fire alarm and they release automatically. They also have a break glass the same as fire alarms
The company we went to is a small company in Hertfordshire. Anchor Sound and Security in St Albans very good.

Our school is an old building with the big old original doors.  We have push bars on all the doors (at child height} in case of fire, as there has to be emergency exits.  We have buzzers on all exit doors at the front which alert the office to a door being opening and all the children know that we know when a door is opened.  This alerts some one and they can investigate. 
The back doors into the playground also have buzzers on them and they alert the next classroom, and the doors can be seen from their windows.  We find the system works well.

We have security doors on a swipe card system, and only staff have swipe cards.  They do not present a fire risk as the doors are linked into the alarm system, and the magnets which hold them shut are released upon the alarm sounding.  I’m guessing that in a primary school you could have a similar system without the swipe cards – just put a door release button high up the wall – this may be classed as discriminatory against wheelchair users though.

Ansador supply our outside gate.  There is an intercom connected to the office for parents/visitors to buzz to get into the school and to leave the school there is a button on the wall that needs to be pushed to open the gate .

There are 2 other gates to the school one is padlocked and the other one is the fire gate which is on a security code used by member of staff only or if visitors come into the school we have a remote control.

Security doors should be linked to the fire alarm system.  Mag bolts hold the doors in place and swipe cards used for entry by staff and buzzer system for visitors.  We also have a monitor in the office as we have hearing impaired staff who would not be able to hear us asking who they were.  There is a push pad on the inside of the door to exit by.  The fire alarm automatically releases the mag bolt should the fire alarm go off or during practice. 

I used Aspect Building Solutions Ltd., j.coates@aspectbuildingsolutions.org.uk to put in the doors and Fosters Electrics 0113 2493232

We have a door just outside the office which is key padded.  Only staff members know the code.  Visitors gain access to the building this way and are ‘buzzed’ through by office staff.  Children cannot leave the premises unless their parents are collecting them.

This door is not on a designated fire exit so no problems arise from this.

We have a bell / door release system in reception for coming into the school but doors can be opened from the inside by anyone.

With regard your question in relation to school security doors.

I can recommend Protech Alarm Systems Ltd. Chris Hughes 07860104134. Chris will answer any problems with regard security within the schools environment. I am the Finance & Facilities Manager of Linden Lodge School in London and have been working with Protech for the past 4 years. The security here is impeccable with access control, cctv and a top of the range intruder alarm system. They also deliver a Fire Risk Assessment service.

Linden Lodge School is a National Support School having had two outstanding Ofsted reports and this company has assisted in helping us achieve this status.

In answer to the question - we are a special school for children with complex needs including autism in LB Enfield.  Almost all our doors are fobbed which means staff can move throughout school but our pupils cannot.  The company we would recommend is Cohort Security Solutions Ltd, telephone number as from 15 June will be 0844 5610634 either Simon or Peter who are fully CRB checked

I saw your plea for advice.  We have magnetic locks on all our doors so that no one can get in or out without supervision.

In the event of a fire, the magnetic locks are automatically released so do not cause a problem.

We use a local alarm specialist company to install any locks onto doors.  Is it very effective.
Remember to place the exit release button at a high level though, so children can’t push it.

We have a swipe card system on our external doors and also a release button which is out of children’s reach.  In the event of a fire a glass panel has to be broken just as in the fire alarm system.  There is a security risk with lost cards which are very difficult to remove from the system so I wouldn’t recommend it!  I would be interested in hearing what other schools have.

Schools cannot have doors that can only be opened by adults for safety reasons.  The only way to try and ensure that children do not leave school without permission is to insist that all staff are vigilant at all times.  There should never be any reason for a primary age child to be leaving school at any time during the school day without an adult accompanying them and so, for that reason, any adult in the school (teaching, support or admin staff) should be encouraged to challenge a child who they see attempting to leave the premises; ask questions, find out why they are trying to leave the premises, who gave them permission to leave the premises, escort the child to the office/their classroom/headteacher.   Obviously if you have a child who runs out of school, that’s a different issue which involves a different set of rules.

We do have school security doors that were installed by a local double glazing company.  These only stop children getting into school though, as a number has to be punched into a keypad to open the doors, which is only known to staff.
Smaller children cannot reach to open the door, but the older children can open them, although they are quite heavy doors.  We just keep reinforcing the fact that the children should not open the door themselves, but report to an adult to either open the door for them, or at least supervise them leaving the premises.