How Technology Can Secure Your Setting
“The obvious issue with key fobs, access cards and PIN numbers is that they can be forgotten, lost, or worse, stolen.”
- by Julie Waite
It’s that nightmare scenario that every nursery professional fears – a child is hurt, goes missing or is taken from your setting. It’s so awful that it doesn’t bear thinking about, and yet, as the manager, you are the person responsible for the safety and security of the children in your care. So, you do think about it. You put policies and procedures in place, you follow best practice, you train your staff, and you make your nursery as secure as possible. But, is there more you could do to keep children safe in your setting? Some nurseries are embracing advances in technology to try and do just this.
What’s out there?
As with any type of technology, it is easy to feel bamboozled by the vast quantity of products on the market. To clarify your thinking, a good starting point is to consider the purpose and location of the security systems available to your setting. So there’s…
• An entry system for your main entrance, to identify visitors and secure the exit; • External CCTV focusing on the outside of the building, for surveillance; • Internal CCTV focusing on the inside of the building, for surveillance; • A burglar alarm for the whole building, for out-of-hours protection.
Door entry systems
You’ll no doubt have a door entry system in place already. Perhaps it is simply a locked door that visitors must knock on, or ring a bell, and then a member of staff comes and opens it, verifying the identity of the visitor. This is a perfectly safe and acceptable method of securing the door, but can be time-consuming for your staff.
Or, maybe you have an audio entry phone, where the visitor buzzes and talks to a member of staff inside, then the member of staff presses a button which releases the door. Can you always recognise the voice of the visitor, though?
A video entry phone gives you ‘eyes-on’ your visitor, making the identification process easier and more accurate. This entry system has a camera built into the intercom panel at the door and a small video monitor on the handset inside. When the parent rings the bell, the member of staff glances at the video monitor to check their identity and buzzes them in.
You can choose where to place your internal handset for maximum efficiency. If you have a staffed office, then you might want the handset in there; alternatively, you could site it just outside the door of one of your nursery rooms so that staff can monitor it. In fact, they use this system at my daughter’s nursery and, as a parent, it makes me feel confident that every visitor is seen and recognised by a member of staff.
Indeed, this is the key difference between the two main types of entry systems – door entry systems, where communication and identification is required between the visitor and the nursery; and access control systems, where the visitor is identified and allowed entry to the setting by technology.
Access control systems
Access control systems include using key fobs, access cards or having a coded key pad. These allow a visitor entry to the setting, provided they have the correct fob, card or PIN number. More sophisticated systems allow you to limit access to certain days and times, and will provide you with useful reports of entrance and exit activity.
The obvious issue with key fobs, access cards and PIN numbers is that they can be forgotten, lost, or worse, stolen – potentially meaning that an unwanted visitor could access your nursery. You might, therefore, want to use a dual method of security with this type of access control – perhaps using it to get into a porch or waiting area, where there is another level of security.
This method works well for Abby Auty, owner of Red Balloon Nurseries in Surrey, who has had experience of numerous access control systems: “We prefer key fobs as they are reliable and can be easily deactivated when necessary,” she explains. “They give parents access to a locked entrance area where a member of staff then checks their identity and buzzes them in. We’ve tried four different fingerprint entry systems, but we found that they regularly didn’t work for about 30 per cent of our parents. We’ve also had key pads, but the PIN codes need to be updated frequently – whenever a child leaves the nursery.”
Biometric access control systems use measurable physical characteristics that can be automatically checked, to allow a visitor entrance to the setting. These unique physical characteristics include scanning the iris or retina, voice or facial recognition and, the more mainstream option, fingerprint recognition.
Fingerprint entry systems have the benefit that you can’t lose your means of access or have it stolen. Bernadette Morgan, manager of Little Learners Day Nursery in Manchester, has used a fingerprint entry system since 2010 and sums up the advantages: “Whilst the technology can sometimes be a bit finicky, parents like the benefit of getting in quicker, and it frees up staff to spend more time with the children.”
CCTV
CCTV is becoming increasingly popular in early years settings – partly because of the desire to be more secure (and to reassure parents), and partly to cover the nursery in the case of a false accusation by a parent. Unfortunately, we are living in an ever more litigious society and having the ability to provide irrefutable evidence is a valuable benefit to the nursery and its reputation.
The aforementioned Little Learners uses internal and external CCTV (alongside its fingerprint entry system), with 24 cameras in total, all viewed on two split-screen monitors in the office, which is permanently staffed and overlooks the entrance to the setting. Bernadette says, “I can’t imagine life without our CCTV! Our parents are very reassured by it and, whilst our staff were a bit anxious initially, they don’t have any worries now. I really value the instant ability to see into every room, both for safety and for management.”
In addition to the key benefits of transparency, acting as a deterrent to burglars or other unwanted visitors and protection from untrue allegations, nurseries are using CCTV to enhance their practice. Management can use it to ensure procedures are being adhered to and as a mechanism for staff to learn from their mistakes.
Red Balloon has CCTV too (theirs featuring parent webcam functionality too), and Abby has no doubts about its impact: “CCTV is a huge positive for staff training,” she says. “It is so valuable to be able to sit with a member of staff and review their practice.”
Providing this is done in a sensitive and positive way it can be a good learning tool. CCTV can also be used to reassure parents when settling in a new child or to show them what really happened in the case of an accident or incident.
What’s the catch?
With so many benefits to enhancing your setting’s security through new technology, you might wonder what the drawbacks are. Well, first and foremost, there’s the cost, which will depend on the type of technology you choose and how many products you want. For example, with CCTV, do you want four cameras or 16? Also, how do you know that the system provider is trustworthy and is recommending the right security for you? Will it be reliable? Will your parents approve of what you choose? How will staff react – will they feel supported or spied on?
All of these issues can be overcome with some careful planning, research and involvement of your parents and staff. But, be aware that no technology will ever make your setting 100% secure. National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) advises nurseries to ensure that parents do not hold doors open for other parents, to prevent ‘tailgating’, and also to change the manufacturers’ passwords for any systems they install.
Technology can most definitely enhance your security, but ultimately it is you, your staff, and the policies and procedures you adhere to, as well as communicating to parents the importance of their role in keeping the nursery secure, that will keep your children safe and sound.
HOW TO GET THE BEST DEAL
So, you’ve weighed up the pros and cons and have decided to install a new security system, but how can you choose the right option for your setting and get a good deal?
1. Do your homework – go online and research what’s out there, talk to other settings and ask them what they’ve got, how much they paid and whether they would recommend their provider.
2. Get three quotes – asking different companies to quote gives you the chance to compare prices, plus lots of opportunities to ask questions (don’t be embarrassed to ask them to explain it to you in detail – without jargon!).
3. Ask for customer testimonials – not just pre-prepared quotes, get names and phone numbers of real customers (other early years settings, ideally) and give them a call.
4. Negotiate on cost – always. The company you prefer might not be the cheapest, but telling them you’ve had a cheaper quote might encourage them to reduce theirs. You could try offering to act as a case study for a discount or, if all else fails, you could ask for something extra to be included in the price.
5. Agree details in writing – make sure you have everything written down, including price, installation dates, the length of the project and what aftercare support and maintenance you receive.
Julie Waite is a writer and marketing consultant working in the early years sector. For more information about her services, visit jwaitemarketing.com or follow on Twitter at @JwaiteMarketing.
