Guidance on Security, Access Control, Workplace Safety and Lone Working Policy

Transcription

1 Guidance on Security, Access Control, Workplace Safety and Lone Working Policy INTRODUCTION Our policy for the security and workplace safety at Heath Mount School is primarily to provide a safe and secure environment in which our pupils can learn, our staff can work and our visitors can freely come and go. Its second objective is to protect our buildings and grounds, together with the equipment belonging to the school and the personal possessions of everyone in our community. ORGANISATION The Clerk of Works The Clerk of Works is responsible for the physical security of the buildings. This includes, ensuring that the main school window alarms are set and unset (if this has not been done by the boys boarding houseparent); setting and un-setting the main school alarms at weekends and holidays; carrying out regular checks of the site (both when it is occupied and unoccupied). The Clerk of Works or Bursar of the school staff will always be contactable by mobile phone. A set of procedures have been produced for term time as well as holiday security procedures. The Clerk of Works will summon the Emergency Services if the security or fire alarms go off outside the normal school hours, unless he is pre-warned of a planned fire practice, or an immediate personal inspection reveals a false alarm. The IT Systems Manager The IT Systems Manager is responsible for maintaining a safe IT technical infrastructure at the school. Their responsibilities include protecting the network and equipment from attack by viruses, maintaining robust firewalls to safeguard or prevent inappropriate usage, and ensuring the security of our electronic hardware. All school computers, printers, copiers, scanners, projectors, screens and other electronic equipment are marked with the school s logo, and a register is maintained of all equipment showing: make, date of purchase, cost and location in the school. The asset register is audited and updated annually. Teaching Staff on Duty At least one member of the teaching staff is always present on duty in order to supervise pupils whenever they are in the school outside normal school hours. Pupils are not allowed to be unsupervised on site, and are expected to go home unless they are boarding. Arrangements are made to ensure pupils are supervised during play and 1

2 concert rehearsals, or other events that bring small groups into school out of hours. All members of the teaching staff are expected to take their share of late duties. Staff are on duty in both boarding houses in the evenings Monday to Thursday nights. Pupils are able to call on a member of staff at any time if necessary. Medical Support A Matron who is First Aid trained is on duty 24 hours a day from Monday to Thursday inclusive, and on Fridays until 6pm She is available to administer first aid, to deal with any accidents or emergencies, or to help if someone is taken ill. All staff attend a first aid training course every three years and are able to give emergency first aid. Specific staff attend a three day first aid course and are trained on the use of a defibrillator. We always make sure that a qualified paediatric first aider is on duty whilst our Nursery and Reception class children are in school. First aid boxes are in all potentially high risk areas, as well as in the School Office. (The School Matron regularly checks and replenishes the first aid boxes). The School Doctor visits every Monday and is available to visit the School at short notice should the need arise. As many of our boarding and day pupils are local, sick children are sent home whenever possible. Access control There is an electric gate at our vehicle entrance, which is linked to our Reception and a duty mobile phone. The gates are closed out of school hours and at break times and lunch times. During the holidays they are locked outside the normal holiday working hours. The entrances to the Nursery Department are always locked when EYFS children are in school. Detailed procedures on access control are set out at the end of this document. Relevant staff are briefed on these procedures. CCTV Heath Mount School uses closed circuit television (CCTV) images to reduce crime and monitor the school buildings in order to provide a safe and secure environment for pupils, staff and visitors, and to prevent the loss or damage to school property. The system comprises a number of fixed cameras and does not have sound recording capability. It is owned and operated by the school, the deployment of which is determined by the school s leadership team. A separate CCTV policy is available on request. Parking Facilities and Deliveries There are clear signs directing visitors to our visitors car park. 2

3 There are warning signs restricting speed to 15mph, and speed humps to restrict speed. We require all delivery lorries to be fitted with audible reversing alarms, and our Catering Manager has instructed our regular suppliers to make all food deliveries before 8.00 a.m. Deliveries made between the hours of a.m. and p.m. have to call reception and are warned that it is times of high pupil movement and extreme caution is required. Risk assessments The Bursar and the Health and Safety Officer (part time) ensure all relevant staff have conducted risk assessments on the security and safety of the grounds and all the buildings. A copy of these risk assessments is maintained on the staff drive in the Health and Safety folder. These risk assessments are included on the Risk Assessment Register. Reception The main School Reception is manned between 8.00 a.m. and 6 p.m. during weekdays throughout the year in term-time and between 10.00am and 4pm during half terms and holidays, apart from the Christmas and Easter closedowns. Visitors and Contractors All visitors and contractors are required to sign in at our Reception, where they are issued with a visitor s badge, which should be worn at all times that they are on school property. They are shown the school s emergency evacuation notice (see our policy on fire safety) and the way to the assembly point. Visitors should normally wait in our Reception Area until they are collected by the person whom they have come to see. All staff are expected to escort their visitors whilst they are at the school and to ensure that they sign out (and return their badges) on leaving. The special arrangements for our Nursery Department are described at the end of this document. Otherwise, this policy applies throughout the school. When large numbers of visitors are at the school for open days, plays, concerts, exhibitions and other events, a brief announcement is made advising them of the location of the emergency exits that they should use in the event of the alarms sounding. Disabled Visitors We suggest that visitors to Heath Mount School who are disabled let us know in advance if they require any special arrangements. We will do our best to make sure that the visit is as comprehensive as possible, within the constraints imposed by our historic Grade 1 listed building, and by our scattered site. We have disabled parking outside our front 3

4 door. Access to the Preprep, Sports Hall and the ground floor of the Main House is suitable. There is a portable ramp for access to the front door of the Main Building. PROMOTING A CULTURE OF SAFETY Staff Induction All staff receive a briefing on security and workplace safety within their first week at the school. This includes advice on: Supervising pupils, where new members of the teaching staff are given training in registration and in the arrangements for supervising pupils. Safeguarding the school s property. Staff are asked to follow an agreed procedure for taking equipment, such as laptops off the site, and for returning them. Measures to deter opportunist thieves, such as closing windows and blinds when leaving valuable equipment unsupervised. Keeping outside doors shut. Arrangements for late and lone working Staff who work in the Nursery Department or with EYFS children receive induction training that covers the needs of our youngest pupils. The briefing also covers: The procedure for booking in visitors and escorting them. The value of being curious about strangers, and of reporting concerns. The regime of login and password protection for electronic equipment. How academic, medical and boarding staff are trained in keeping pupils safe. More detailed and specific training is given to the Works teams and to the staff who work in Reception. Lone Working If a member of staff wishes to work after 8.00pm, the normal school closure time when there is no function, s/he must arrange to do so in advance with the boys boarding staff, who will lock the rest of the school and set the ground floor window alarm. On departure, the staff member will ensure that the outside door is secured. Boarding staff know which cleaners also are working late. During the school holidays all cleaners working after lock up at 4.00 pm must make this known to the bursar or Clerk of Works so there is another person on site until the cleaner has finished. Pupils 4

5 We use PSHEE and form/house/tutor discussions to promote awareness of safety amongst all age groups. The local Police Community Safety Officer is involved in a programme of safety discussions for our Year 7s, which covers: Travelling on foot Using public transport Safeguarding mobile phones and other personal possessions. This programme continues in higher years and is linked with our PSHEE programmes on anti-bullying and the safe use of ICT, mobile phones and other electronic devices. Every pupil is given a locker for the secure storage of his or her personal possessions. Our boarders do not have lockable storage facilities in their boarding houses. We encourage pupils not to bring any money or valuables to school. The cost of lunches is included on the school bill and most school trips do not require children to bring money. There are facilities to secure cash in the school office or Bursar s office if children do bring money into school. Boarding All pupils are supervised by boarding house staff during and after Tea. Boarding house staff are available to pupils throughout the night and have responsibility for them until 8:15am, when they go to registration. Use of School Facilities by Members of the Local Community A number of local community groups use our sports facilities at weekends and in the holidays. We regulate their use by hire agreements that cover practical matters such as: hours of usage, rent, insurance and security. No facilities can be used by non school members during the week. PHYSICAL SECURITY MEASURES External doors and windows All external doors are fitted with key pad locks and all ground floor windows are fitted with window locks. In the main house, the ground floor door and window alarms are set each night. The Pre-Prep windows that give access to the IT suite are fitted with blinds and window locks, which are closed every evening. Security Alarms The key rooms in the main house are connected to a security alarm which is set at weekends and holidays. It is maintained by CAMS Fire and Security. 5

6 Unsupervised Access by Pupils Pupils are not allowed into the swimming pool without a qualified member of staff in charge, nor are they allowed to use the sports equipment without supervision. Pupils are expected to follow reasonable instructions given to them by teachers or by qualified leaders in adventurous activities. We ensure that pupils do not have unsupervised access to potentially dangerous areas, such as the swimming pool, the science laboratories, the design technology rooms or the pottery room. It is the responsibility of the teaching staff to ensure doors to these areas are kept locked at all times when not in use. All flammables are kept securely locked in appropriate storage facilities. Pupils do not have access to the works compound or kitchens. Clear signs are displayed. Pupils are allowed into the woodland areas to the north and east of the main house, and duty staff have an awareness of the activities that pupils undertake there. Breaktime assistants are responsible for patrolling the grounds to ensure the safety of the children. Security of Electronic Property Notices are displayed in the IT suites advising that all computers, projectors and other equipment are password protected and cannot be activated without a recognised login and password. Security Lights We use security lights to protect the outside of our buildings. They are fitted to every external door and pathway around each building and connecting with the pedestrian entrance and the car parks. MAINTAINING A SAFE AND SECURE ENVIRONMENT IN OUR PREPREP DEPARTMENT The safety of the children is our highest priority, and because they are so young, we need to be particularly vigilant. We will therefore: Only allow a child to go home with someone other than their parent(s) if we have received advance permission (preferably in writing) that he or she may be collected by another adult; Never allow a child to leave the premises unsupervised. There is always at least one adult in charge of the outside play area which is fenced off from the rest of the school; 6

7 The main exit doors are locked at all times unless there is a member of staff on duty supervising it. Teaching staff are responsible for the doors in their own classrooms. Ask all visitors to identify themselves and to state their business before we give them access to the premises. Visitors sign in, wear security badges and are escorted throughout their visit. They sign out on leaving; Register all pupils at the start of the morning and afternoon sessions; Check all pupils out as they are collected by their parents or carers. All visitors will be asked to wait there until they have signed in and their escort has arrived. The security locks make it impossible for visitors to proceed further until this process has been completed. Parents and carers are asked to wait in this area for their children at the end of a session. Each child is handed over by the Teacher to his or her parent or carer. ACCESS CONTROL PROCEDURES TERM TIME These procedures must be adhered to at all times to ensure that we control all visitors to the school and that we guarantee the safety of our children. Timings Electric Gate. The electric driveway gate is open Monday to Friday 6.30 a.m. to a.m a.m. to 1.00 pm p.m. to 6.30 p.m. At all other times during the school week and at weekends, the gate is closed and access is by the key pad code or the remote call button. Main House and Sports Hall External Doors. The external doors except the Main Entrance require a key code to open them at all times. Pre-Prep. The external doors are locked except at morning and afternoon drop-off and pick-up when staff are on hand to monitor access. At all other times access is by key pad code. Swimming Pool. The swimming pool gates are locked. These are only to be opened when the school is in use with a member of staff present. 7

8 Vehicle Access Control When the electric gate is closed, vehicle access is by the remote call button to the main reception phone during the school day and to the Clerk of Works mobile out of hours. Only if you are satisfied that the person has legitimate business in school should you grant access. If necessary (such as during break time when children are outside), do not allow access for large vehicles or only allow access if someone can escort the vehicle in the vicinity of the kitchen quad. Visitor Control All visitors to the school must sign in on the visitor s book at the Reception desk (Prep Department) or the Pre-Prep entrance hall. They will be issued with a visitor s pass and must be escorted throughout their visit unless they have specific unescorted access. All members of staff should be prepared to challenge any unescorted strangers on site who are not wearing a visitor s pass. If necessary, the Bursar or Facilities Manager should be informed. Distribution: Nikki Slowey Bursar December 2015 Reception and Pre-Prep Offices Prep and Pre-Prep Staff Rooms Clerk of Works 8