As parents, teachers, and community members, we worry about sending our children to school. The rise of national threats to schools and crimes on campuses causes anxiety. This is why many parents are choosing homeschooling and remote schooling options. If you would like support with traditional or non-traditional schooling methods, WorldWise Tutoring can help! WWT’s expert educators can help students of all ages and all abilities with all subjects.
But regardless of the schooling format, to help mitigate these concerns many educational institutions are investing in top-level security solutions to improve security in schools. To learn how the technology landscape is changing, keep reading. In this guide, we will discuss the future of school security. Keep reading to learn about the top tools, technologies, and evolutions in the school security sphere.
Cloud-Based Access Control
Cloud-based access control is one of the most popular security solutions for schools upgrading their security strategy. This is an alternative to an on-premise system that provides many more functions to enhance security.
With cloud-based access control, you can eliminate the use of keycards and fobs – which can be financially draining to create and replace. Instead, you can adopt mobile access credentials. Mobile access credentials are like digital access keys that your students, staff members, and security professionals can use to enter school grounds.
Opting for cloud-based and mobile-first access control technology presents the following benefits to your security strategy:
- Touchless entry – Entry becomes more convenient with mobile access credentials. Students don’t need to remove their devices from their bags or pockets to enter the building. Instead, they can simply wave their hands over the access control reader. The reader has built-in motion sensors. When these sensors are triggered, the device will initiate remote communication with a student’s mobile device to unlock the door. This mode of entry provides more convenience and hygiene for daily security.
- Remote operation – Schools need agile security solutions that allow immediate security response in emergencies. Cloud-based access control can be managed remotely, meaning security staff or school security guards can manage access and lock or unlock doors remotely from their mobile phones. They can unlock doors, check access logs, and view door lock status from anywhere for immediate and proactive security.
- Open API integrations – Cloud-based access control offers the opportunity for integration, allowing you to apply software tools that enhance the existing function of your security investments, improving ROI.
For the above reasons, many schools are switching to cloud-based access control in response to the recent spike in violent campus crimes.
Surveillance Integrations
Video security is essential in schools. Cameras ensure the school documents theft, property damage, and criminal activity on campus – which is invaluable in security investigations, police investigations, or insurance claims.
Cloud-based school security cameras are becoming increasingly popular in educational institutions as they offer remote visibility. Your security staff can monitor surveillance footage from anywhere using a mobile application. Additionally, cloud-based video surveillance offers open API integrations.
One of the most popular software solutions for cloud-based video surveillance is video analytics, which reduces the potential for your security staff to miss a security threat by automating video feed monitoring. For example, you can apply object recognition for weapons, ensuring that your team receives an alert on their mobile devices for any weapons spotted on site.
Reducing reliance on manual video feed monitoring will free up your staff’s time for more critical tasks. Additionally, it will allow you to ensure that you don’t miss any vital incidents – creating proactive security for emergencies that will make your response procedures more effective.
Visitor Management Software
Visitor management software is the optimal solution for schools looking to improve safeguarding procedures. Schools are responsible for ensuring that nobody can enter the building without registering and providing their details. They must also provide the proper certification to move freely around the school without an escort.
Visitor management software offers more control in the visitor management process. Your visitors can register using online forms, which grant them temporary access credentials to move through the school. The system also removes their credentials when the visitor signs out and logs their exit time. By automating visitor management, you eliminate the potential for human error, and you will have reliable visitor logs for security investigations. You will also ensure that a person can only enter the school unaccompanied by providing evidence of their certification.
Wellness Verification Software
Since the beginning of the pandemic, schools have been seeking security solutions that allow them to prevent coronavirus outbreaks on campus. Wellness verification software is an integration for your access control system that ensures every user in your building has been screened for coronavirus. The tool will provide students and staff with digital surveys on their mobile devices based on their symptoms.
Once the user has completed the survey and been found healthy, they can enter the building. Should they have any symptoms of coronavirus, the school can halt their entry and handle the incident according to their health and safety procedures. They can advise the student to go for a coronavirus test elsewhere or on-site.
Advanced Alarm Solutions
Alarm systems are essential for your school’s security policies and to maintain compliance with health and safety regulations. You should have fire and carbon monoxide detectors on site. You might also consider implementing alarm solutions that enable you to detect security threats. For instance, many schools are implementing alarm solutions that detect broken glass, gunshots, and on-site intrusion. If an alarm is triggered, your staff can initiate an emergency response early and protect students.
Lockdown Systems
In the event of an emergency, you need lockdown systems that allow you to prevent free movement on school premises. Many schools are implementing lockdown systems with cloud-based access control. Once a threat has been detected, any staff member can use their mobile device to initiate lockdown procedures on site and contain the incident until authorities arrive.
Investing in Robust Security for Schools
Unfortunately, schools aren’t exempt from the rise in violent crime. This means that schools and parents need to keep a keen eye on the latest security developments. Is your school safe? Consider whether the technologies listed above would help to improve emergency response, threat detection, and security on school premises and if you have any concerns, speak to your school safety agent or the Head Teacher. Children deserve to feel safe while receiving education, and it is the school’s responsibility to provide protection.
