Site: Comberton Village College based in Cambridgeshire strongly believe that the highest achievement is only possible where pupils feel secure and supported within a calm and purposeful learning environment. To this end site security and the safeguarding of pupils, staff and visitors to site is paramount.

Problem/Goal: The school requested an access control system to enhance security of the premises and further safeguarding of pupils and staff. The school were using ID cards for staff and 6th form pupils and wanted to continue using them, while also adding new cards for incoming 6th form students in the upcoming school year. The school requested for us to test these for compatibility with any proposed access control systems.

In addition to security, the school aimed to regulate the movement of students in high-traffic areas during specific times of the day. They also needed the flexibility to unlock doors at certain times to efficiently manage the school and minimise disruptions. The school set a deadline for the system to be implemented and operational before the start of the new school year, but they are concerned about potential disruptions during the transition due to programming on existing and new cards in time for the start of the new term.

Moreover, they required a system that could be upgraded and was future-proofed to accommodate future plans for expanding the security coverage.

Solution/outcome: We specified PC based Paxton Net2 access control to 13 doors throughout the school on both internal and external doors. The doors in reception were specified as read in/read out to provide a holding area for visitors and to prevent further access through the school. The receptionist had 2 concealed door release buttons to allow access through the doors to authorised people.

We also fitted a release button to the student entrance door within the school office which helps to prevent students leaving without officially signing out.

We specified Paxton Mifare readers to work alongside the sites existing cards and to allow new cards to be added and work together.

Paxton Pro software was specified for its additional features to integrate with the fire alarm system, and to allow further features to be used in the future including fire roll call and lockdown functions.

We worked alongside the schools nominated fire contractor who installed the fire relays to work alongside the Paxton doors which were tested for release on full fire alarm activation.

We installed unswitched fused electrical spur points adjacent to each of the doors, which allows for local isolation.

We worked in conjunction with the schools IT department to install the software and get all the doors online and programmed on. It always makes a real difference to this part of the installation when you have an IT department that was as helpful and friendly as we found at Comberton.

The installation began at the start of the school holidays, and we worked through the school an area at a time and kept the site team aware of progress along the way. The system was complete by the end of the holiday, and we did a site handover to the SLT and IT department. It was agreed that rather than cause stress at the start of the school year, all access control cards would be programmed on over a few weeks and the school would set a go live date. This allowed a phased approach to getting cards programmed on to the system and tested before going live and causing unnecessary disruption.

 Mr S Sycamore Deputy Head Teacher’s Comments:

“At the start of the project, we had concerns over the delivery and the foreseen problems, that could occur with the existing cards and rolling this all out in time for the start of the new school year. Simon put my mind at rest and kept the school informed of cards being compatible and start dates being booked in, he also offered his reassurance that the work would be completed on time”.

“Having now lived with the system for 4 months we are reassured by the sturdiness of the door magnets to hold the doors in the closed position and have confidence in the overall system and its ability to keep our pupils safe. We have found as a further result of the system being fitted other issues have arisen that now require different solutions, but the flexibility of the system allows for this”.

Conclusion.

The system has further enhanced the security of the site and serves to promote the safeguarding principles at Comberton Village College. Its flexibility allows for continuous adaptation to address unforeseen challenges within the school, resulting in a robust system that meets the school’s evolving needs. The school provided valuable feedback on areas where our services as a contractor can be improved, highlighting new challenges arising from the system installation. This demonstrates that effective communication between the school and contractor is vital for ongoing improvement and relationship building helping us strive to provide the best service possible.