Parklands High School

SECURITY POLICY

INTRODUCTION

Burglary and theft from schools have dramatically increased both in frequency and

severity. We have been more secure as a result of our closed-circuit television

system (CCTV) but we cannot afford to be complacent.

There is a need for high levels of security, and as with so many aspects of

administration in a large organisation, high levels of security can be achieved only

if every member of the school accepts a shared responsibility. For these reasons, it

is important that all members of staff - teaching and support staff - are fully aware

of the policy and its execution. Pupils and regular visitors to our school, should

also be aware of some aspects of the policy. To be effective and appropriate the

policy must be:

• manageable

• reasonable to all school users

• cost effective

• commensurate with the risk matching our specific needs and those of the school's

environment

CONTENTS

The main areas of consideration for the purpose of this policy are:

Security of pupils and staff

1. Keys

2. Cash handling

3. The safe

4. The office stock room

5. Protecting school equipment

6. Safe-guarding personal property

7. Closed-circuit television and the intruder alarm

8. Important documents, record and registers

9. Important documents and records

10. The minibus

SECURITY OF PUPILS AND STAFF

The Governors and Senior Leadership Group are concerned for the safety

and security of pupils and staff and have a responsibility to ensure that

reasonable precautions are in place to prevent avoidable risk in and around

school. Sound management strategies and practice are paramount in respect

of arrangements for dealing with visitors, for protecting pupils and staff in

school and for ensuring safe arrival and departure from school.

1.2 Visitors to school

Like most other schools, we have many visitors. They include parents,

contractors, people making deliveries, former pupils, L.E.A. officers, and many

others. They also include, from time to time, individuals with dishonest

motives, such as "walk-in" thieves. It is unlikely that all of these callers, even

the legitimate ones, will be known by sight, and it is important for the security

of the school and the safety of its members, that their actions are subject to

some form of routine scrutiny.

1.2.1 Directions to visitors

Signs at all of our main entrances direct visitors to the Reception Office. It is

important that these signs are not obscured and that visitors respond to the

clear request.

1.2.2 The procedure

All visitors entering the school via one of the main entrances will be recorded

on our CCTV records, but for many reasons, other measures of security are

necessary.

1.2.3 Identifying visitors

When they report to the reception Office all visitors will receive a visitor's

identification badge. There is a concern, however, that this system may not

be entirely secure for a number of reasons, particularly when some people do

not consider themselves to be "visitors", or if they deliberately fail to comply

with the procedure.

1.2.4 Unauthorised visitors

All members of staff and all pupils have a responsibility to challenge anyone

encountered in the school whom they do not recognise, and who is not

wearing a "visitor identity" badge, with "Can I show you to the office?"

Such people should be politely escorted to the school office and asked to "sign

in (This procedure is in keeping with the recommended procedure in "School

Security Guidelines -Lancashire Education Service).

If a visitor refuses to sign for a visitors' identity badge at the office, the

member of staff or pupil who made the request should immediately notify a

senior member of staff of their concern.

Staff and pupils will always need to assess the risk of challenging an un co-operative visitor, and, where appropriate, two members of staff should be involved. If an unsatisfactory reason is given for their presence, or proof of their identity cannot be produced, they might reasonably be asked to leave the premises.

The legal position

Visitors who do not have a legitimate reason for being on the premises are

intruders and therefore committing a trespass. Should they refuse to leave or,

display aggressive behaviour, the police should be called immediately. No attempt

should be made to detain or remove an intruder from the premises, using force.

1.2.5 Emergency circumstances

If an emergency arises in relation to an unauthorised visitor, and is reported to the reception Office; the lesson bell will be rung continuously. This will bring a planned response. Senior members of Staff must immediately report to the school offices to ascertain what the problem is and respond appropriately.

1.2.6 Entrances to school

In order to ensure that visitors use one of the two recognised entrances, fire doors

that allow egress from the building should be closed at all times. From 4.30 pm

the concourse and Site Supervisors' door will be the only doors in use to exit the

building. Keypad door locks have been fitted to the main entrances to allow Staff

back in after these doors are closed. For outsiders to gain access they will need to

ring the doorbell.

1.3 Working with and counselling individual pupils

Personal security is important for both pupils and staff where private meetings

become necessary. Where confidential interviews take place, it is urged that they

are conducted in accessible areas of the school. Every effort should be made to

ensure that wherever possible, there should be visual access. Where such

conditions cannot apply, it is advised that another adult should be informed that

the interview is taking place. The use of an "engaged" sign is not advised unless

there is also visual access.

1.4 During school holidays all external doors will normally be locked. Visitors will

ring the bell at the Office entrances. This will alert the Office Manager or Site

Supervisor. When members of staff attend school during official holidays they

should always make their presence known to the Office Manager

KEYS

A locked building, room, store or cupboard is only as secure as its key. If the key is

lost or illicitly copied, security is immediately, and for all practical purposes,

permanently compromised, until the lock is changed. Rigorous key control,

especially in relation to sensitive areas is, therefore, of the highest importance

2.1 Teaching Staff

The majority of staff will hold a number of important keys that will be recorded on

a key inventory. Teaching staff will not normally hold access keys to the main

building, since these can be used only in conjunction with detailed knowledge of

the intruder alarm.

Master keys which give access via outside doors should be carefully

guarded by the key-holder, and kept in his/her presence or at his/her

home at all times. In the event of a key being lost or mislaid the

Headteacher must be informed immediately.

2.2 Head and Office Manager

These members of staff will permanently hold keys to the office stock

room and to the safe. These keys must never be left on site in the

absence of the key-holder.

2.3 Examination Secretary

Will hold keys to important cabinets and there will be only one additional key-holder.

2.4 Site Supervisors and Headteacher

Will hold keys that offer access to the main building. These must never be left on

site in the absence of the key-holder, and must not be left unguarded throughout

the working day. The Site Supervisors' room should be locked if vacated. The

Keyboard is to be kept locked except for access.

2.5 Locker Keys

When locker keys are lost, pupils must follow the necessary procedure of reporting

the loss to the school office.

3. CASH HANDLING

Cash is obviously a very attractive target for criminals and its presence, even in moderate

quantities, can pose a threat to the school and its occupants. Cash should never be kept on the

premises for a moment longer than absolutely necessary.

3.1 Teaching Staff

Whenever possible will arrange to collect cash and cheques from pupils at the beginning of

the school day or at break. This will then be handed to the Office Manager as soon as

possible. Members of staff should not hold more than £10.00 of school money at any given

time, and if left unguarded, this must be locked in a cabinet or drawer.

3.2 Cash and cheque transactions

3.2.1 Teaching Staff to Office Manager

The Office Manager will receive money from members of staff any morning. Money should

rarely be passed to the Office Manager after 12.30 pm. The Office Manager will then check

the amount in the presence of the member of staff and ask the member of staff to sign for

the amount received. All pupils should be encouraged to pay by cheque. Pupil's name and form

should be written on the back of every cheque. All pupils should be issued with a Payment

Card to record all payments for major trips.

3.2.2 Dining Hall Staff to Clerical Assistants

Two members of the Dining-hall staff who will remain in the office while the cash is counted

and confirmed to be correct will deliver cash.

3.2.3 Payment of cash and cheques to the bank

Cash and cheques will be banked frequently. The absolute maximum limit for the school safe

will be £2000 in cash and £2000 in cheques. It will be most unusual for the safe to contain

these levels. A professional security company will take cash and cheques to the bank.

4. THE SAFE

Only the three permanent key holders - the Headteacher, Deputy Head and the Office

Manager, will use the safe. No other members of staff are authorised to use the safe. It will

always be locked, except for access.

5. THE OFFICE STOCK ROOM

This stock room is the storage area for the most valuable items in relation to the School's

Office, its staff and the school's administration. It is to be used only by the Office Manager,

and her appointed staff, and by the Head, Deputy Heads and Assistant Headteacher. If

members of the Teaching Staff or Support Staff want an item from this stock room they

should ask the Office Manager, or a member of her team, to get it on their behalf. Items of

stationery - envelopes, notepaper will be available to Staff in the Main Office. For reasons of

security and detailed tidiness, it is important that staff, - other than those already listed -

should not use this room.

The Office Manager should lock the office on departure.

PROTECTING SCHOOL EQUIPMENT

The Senior Leadership Group, the School Office, the Resources Centre and each Department

controls equipment of considerable value, and with obvious value to thieves. When not in use,

equipment should be stored in conditions that reflect accurately the level of risk attached to

it. The greater the risk, the more secure the storage. Curriculum Leaders are responsible for

ensuring that these criteria are observed.

All items of valuable equipment (e.g. valued at £100 or more and/or are attractive to thieves)

should be visibly marked in such a way as to readily identify that it belongs to Parklands High

School PR7 ILL, should it be stolen, and subsequently spotted or recovered. An engraver tool is

available in the Resources Centre for Curriculum Leaders to mark their equipment.

Smartwater will be placed on all expensive items to help recovery if stolen.

SAFEGUARDING PERSONAL PROPERTY

The valuable personal property of staff, and pupils, particularly purses, should not be left

unattended. If not in the possession of the owner, valuables should be securely locked in

lockers, cabinets or drawers.

Lost Property

Staff and pupils should always report losses of property, whether considered to be misplaced or stolen. Pupils will report losses to their Head of School, who will record the date of the loss, and members of staff should report losses to the Headteacher.

Details of lost property (of significant value) that has been recovered will be announced in the

Daily Bulletin at regular intervals.

8. CLOSED CIRCUIT TELEVISION AND THE INTRUDER ALARM

Our electronic security equipment, including closed circuit television and the intruder alarm

system, offer very effective safeguards, and yet they are far from being impregnable.

Such systems require careful management and scrutiny, not only by the Site Supervisors, but

also by many members of the school community.

The discovery of any of the following should be reported immediately to a senior member of

staff:

1. anyone tampering with a CCTV camera

2. damage to a CCTV camera

3. damage to an intruder alarm sensor, and especially any material covering the lens of a

sensor.

The Site Supervisors will test the efficiency of both the CCTV and the Intruder Alarm

systems on a weekly basis, and ensure that both are functional for 24 hours on every day of

the year and that recording is continually taking place.

9. IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS, RECORDS AND REGISTERS

Paper based documents and registers will normally not be of great value to thieves, though

during a break-in to schools, they are often damaged or stolen. In the case of all of these

documents and registers a periodic risk assessment is necessary to review the current level of

difficulty that would result from their loss.

Back-up tapes should be produced daily, and a single tape should be stored at the home of

the Assistant Headteacher (this should be up-dated monthly).

10 THE SCHOOL MINIBUS

School minibuses are extremely vulnerable to vandalism and theft for many reasons.

Separate recommendations relate to the use of the minibus, and are available from the

Manager of the minibus. The purpose of this paper is to offer guidelines for the

safekeeping of the minibus when parked on the school premises. When left at school

overnight, the last driver of the day is responsible for:

1. parking the minibus in the parking area on all occasions

2.turning all lights off

3.locking all five minibus doors before ensuring that parking area is securely locked

4.retaining the minibus keys until the following school day

Under exceptional circumstances, if the school parking area cannot be used, the minibus

should be taken to the home of the member of staff concerned.

CONTRACTORS ON SITE

Contractors are permitted on site only with written advanced notice to facilitate necessary

contingency organisation.

The Health and Safety Officer and Site Supervisor are to inspect/advise Health and Safety

matters relating to these visitors.

CONTROL OF SUBSTANCES HAZARDOUS TO HEALTH

All members of staff are aware of the need to carefully control all substances that are hazardous

to health and equally aware that the Head of the Science Department holds the COSSH

Register and related documentation.

ELECTRICAL SAFETY

Arrangements will be made with contractors to test all electrical items annually. It is the

responsibility of Curriculum Leaders to make available all items that need checking.

WEARING OF JEWELLERY

Pupils may wear no jewellery.

ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICINES

No medicines should be administered to pupil