Lockdown alert system
Lockdown alert system
We are all used to the MP3 format, mostly for playing music on mobile devices. Did you know it can be used for other types of audio message, such as intrusion alerts?
Is it time to update your emergency alerts with distinguished sounds to ensure maximum safety for your pupils? Does your lockdown system take time to communicate across the school?
Many educational settings are currently using the same systems when it comes to communicating vitally important alerts such as a fire, lockdown or evacuation. Have you recently assessed how efficient your systems are? Are pupils clear on which emergency is being communicated with your alerts?
Schools and colleges are important institutions for providing education and developing pupils’ social skills, but they should also be places where parents feel confident that their children are safe and secure.
Schools have a legal responsibility to ensure the safety of staff and pupils whilst on the premises. The Department for Education (DfE) has a list of the policies and documents that schools are legally required to hold. These encompass the social, criminal and on-line risks children face including evacuation procedures, but procedures or policies covering emergency situations that may require the school to go into lockdown are not included. Lockdown is necessary when children and staff need to be securely locked within buildings for their own safety.
It goes without saying that schools have a duty to both pupils and staff to provide the best security possible.
Part of this duty is to have an effective lockdown system in place. Because emergency events are random, schools can do little to prevent them – but they can control how they respond.
In anticipation of Martyn’s Law, which we expect to be effective later this year, we want to ensure that your educational setting is ready and prepared to protect your staff and pupils against terrorism.
