Access control in education

The changing nature of the school and university ‘ecosystem’ in the UK, with developments such as academies, free schools and rising tuition fees, has many implications, including consequences for the safety and security of students, staff and the public.

There are a number of drivers for access control within educational premises, including:

– The safety of students, staff and authorised visitors

– Legal compliance and statutory duties placed on governors, school heads, local authorities and other bodies

– Protection of valuable assets

– Security and protection of data gathered by the organisation and held on IT systems

– Managing and controlling security across multiple sites, sometimes for example at university campuses, spread across a city.

The legal consequences and reputational issues arising from any failure to consider these issues and protect and secure people, physical assets and information data are increasingly severe.

Rapid advances in technology, especially internet or smartphone enabled devices, means there is a plethora of potential solutions for each security challenge, but the fact the choice is so wide may, in itself, be a problem for time-constrained educational managers.

These changes are taking place against a backdrop of severe public sector financial constraints, with further cuts in real terms expected over the next 3-5 years. This means the competition for those scarce resources, time and money, is fiercer than ever.

Overall, all of these issues require an answer to the question: “How do we afford to protect our young people adequately in educational premises today and at the same time improve the student experience?”

Launch to Industry

At IFSEC 2012, the industry witnessed the very latest in security solutions, with the increasing focus on near field communication (NFC) technologies and mobile phone capability demonstrating the fast paced adoption of access control.

And seeing how latest access control solutions can be adopted cost effectively to upgrade the security solutions at any school or university, we need to consider the purpose of access control in educational premises and the specific challenges posed by such sites. These challenges include the age group of the user population and the need to consider all user groups, including people with disabilities.

At the same time, the need to avoid a ‘fortress’ atmosphere to maintain mental health and wellbeing for students must be balanced against ensuring staff, pupils and visitors are always accounted for and safe on site.

It is all very well considering the options, solutions, issues and challenges to secure an educational premises, but whose responsibility really is the security of the building and all who attend? Additionally, who must understand the technicalities of any system installed and ultimately how is it financed?

There is no question that financial constraints are now a major factor in decisions in all public sector organisations. In the remaining large new build education projects, on ‘green field’ sites, installing a purpose designed full access control system is still feasible.

However, if the organisation is looking to overhaul, renew or extend an existing system, the investment is competing with many other priorities.

Assa Abloy Access Control believes there is a need to raise awareness of the issues, specifically in education, where despite the austerity measures in place, the Government pledged an additional GB pound 3.6bn investment in education in cash terms in its Autumn Spending Review.

In summary, whilst basic security measures must become second nature to staff, solutions must encompass intelligent, discreet and effective security and access control solutions, all delivered without the need to encroach on civil liberties.

Matt Thomas is managing director of Assa Abloy Access Control. This article previews a white paper by the company on access control in educational premises. To find out more or to download a copy visit www.assaabloy.co.uk/aperio

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