Security Policy

 

Reviewed by:	Michelle Fenniche and Suzanne Deadman, 12 05 2025
Ratified by:	Resources Committee, 05 06 2025
Next Review:	Summer 2027

Personal Security

All staff are responsible for being aware of their own personal security and should have read the following policies – lone working policy and positive handling policy. Staff should try to prevent the occurrence of any activity that would compromise their own personal safety.

Personal Safety for children

Children should be supervised by an adult at all times. If a child does not return to the classroom at times of transition, please notify the school office. Staff who are not class-based will then search for the missing child and return them to the classroom.

General Security

The main door into Reception is electronically locked at all times and key locked at night times and holidays. There are CCTV cameras around the perimeter of the building. Once a visitor is through the main gate, the doors to the office are also locked. Visitors must ring the bell and office staff can allow access.

Teachers should remind the children of the importance of not opening the door to allow access to strangers onto the premises and to explain the occurrence of ‘tail-gating’.

Security from intruders

All adults must ensure that the door is closed and that the buzzer entry system is adhered to. All adults only gain entrance to the site through the entry buzzer and arrive at the school office – tailgating is not permitted. All visitors must be signed in and out at the main office.

Staff must challenge anyone and ask for verification if visitors are not known to them and escort them to the appropriate member of staff and area of the building.

Staff must let a member of SLT know immediately, if not compromising the safety of pupils or themselves.

Safety of Personal Items

All staff should ensure that items of value i.e. purses, credit cards are locked away in their locker. All staff can have access to a locker – staff should speak to the admin manager to arrange a locker.

Visitors to the school will be offered the use of a spare locker for the time they are at the school. All personal medication and personal toiletry items such as deodorants should be kept in a locked locker.

Safety of Equipment

All laptops, cameras and electrical items are security etched. When possible, some items may be stored away in an appropriate area after use. Laptops are kept locked in the ICT Suite after use.

Security risk of arson from waste

All general and recyled waste is stored in the waste storage area of each school.

• Rangefield – Sissinghurst Close entrance
• Forster Park – Car park

Site Entrance & Exit security

The site at Rangefield has five entrances and exits

1. Main Reception
2. KS2 Playground
3. Nursery Entrance
4. Back Entrance (step, slope and bin entrances)
5. Breakfast & After School Club Entrance

The site at Forster Park has four entrances and exits

1. Main Gate Waters Road
2. Main Gate Boundfield Road
3. Main Vehicle Gate
4. Linked door between dining hall and Greenvale School

The Premises Manager and assistants, The Executive Head Teacher, Heads of School and the Deputy Head Teacher have keys to the premises.

The school is secured by means of a monitored system. The Premises Manager is in charge of maintaining the system. The system is regularly serviced and monitored by First Ace at both schools

The school is unlocked at around 07:00 Monday to Friday by the Premises Manager Unlocking should, if possible, always be carried out by two people to ensure their safety.

All staff have a personal card to register attendance and time in school, this information can be printed out and used for fire alarm checks.

In the morning, the main gate to the school is unlocked at 08.40 and locked at 09:00. In the afternoon; the gate is unlocked at 15:25 and closed at approximately 15:45. During these times, adults and children must use these gates to access the school.

A member of staff is at each gate to oversee the coming and going of parents/carers and children. Care must be taken if strangers enter at this time. Staff must always challenge people they do not know. If children arrive after the gate has closed they must enter through the main door through Reception.

During the school day access to the school is by the main door which is situated in front of the school office and can been seen by the office staff. Visitors can gain access by an intercom system which has a camera and a member of the office staff can speak to the visitor to ask their business at the school, they must then come to the school office where a member of the office staff can let them in via a door release system. Staff will ask for identification, who they are visiting and ask them to sign in using the Inventry system

All visitors will be asked to wear a visitor’s badge whilst in school and be asked to sign out when they leave and return their badge.

When an adult or child gains entry to the school by the main Reception they should not allow other people to follow them into the school.

They should direct that person to the school office via the intercom system or in the case of an adult accompany the visitor to the office. If a child is being picked up by another person other than the parent/carer the school must be informed. The name of the person must be on the “Pick up List” held by the school.

If the member of staff does not know the person picking up a child they will phone the parent/carer to confirm whether to allow the child to leave.

Parents and Carers

Any parents and carers who come to the school outside of teaching hours are ‘buzzed in’ and asked to come to the school office. They are not allowed to go straight to their child’s class. Messages to children, forgotten lunchboxes or clothing, for example, will be taken by a member of office staff and not the parent or carer.

Outside teaching hours, for example at parent / carer meeting evenings, parents and carers are buzzed in by a member of staff and asked to wait in the office where they will be met by the member of staff they have an appointment with. This is to ensure that no visiting parent or carer is on site unaccompanied.

Tailgating – when an adult or child gains entry to the school by buzzing they should not allow other people to follow them into the school. If staff admit people through the main door they should direct that person to the school office.

Individual access to the building must be given: parents & children are not permitted to tailgate once the gate is open. If others attempt to enter the building they must be challenged by a member of staff.

Visitors

All visitors to the school must report to the school office. Staff will ask who they are visiting and will sign them in the visitor’s system. All visitors will be asked to wear a visitor’s badge whilst in school. Visitors with photo ID and local authority passes will need to sign in but will not require a separate visitors badge. All badges/passes must be visibly displayed.

When the visit has concluded the visitor must sign out and return the badge to the school office.

After school clubs

After school clubs take place every day from 15.30 to 18.00.. At the end of the club the children are collected by parents from the session. It is essential that adults collecting children are known to the school. Parents / carers must introduce all adults likely to collect their children from school.

At the end of the day

When the majority of children have left the building, it is essential that all staff are aware of the many exits from the building and ensure that the doors leading to the playground are closed to deter strangers from gaining access to the building.

Staff are to ensure that when they leave in the evening the doors to the outside area are closed and not left open. The Premises Manager checks all doors & windows and turns off as many electrical items as possible. At 18.00 the Premises Manager secures the main gate and entry system. All staff must leave the school by 18.00. The cleaners arrive 15.30.

Out of hours working

Staff should as far as possible avoid working on their own on site. We have procedures for lone working which forbid any potentially risky activity such as working at height. It is also essential that a lone worker should keep all external doors locked from the inside and carry a mobile at all times.

Emergency callouts

If the security firm receive an alert to say that the security alarm has been activated, they contact the key holder who will send a member of staff to the school if safe to do so.

The member of staff ascertains the location of the potential intrusion and the need for attendance/ contacting the police and the Executive Headteacher.

Related Policies

This policy should be read along side the Lone Working Policy and the positive handling policy.

Policy Review

This policy will be reviewed every two years, or sooner if required.