Safeguarding children is an extremely pressing issue. Head teachers are aware that the modern world requires a high level of vigilance when it comes to taking care of our young people’s safety and security.
Schools have the ultimate responsibility for the protection of our children and this can cause some top-level staff to have sleepless nights. This, in turn, has led to many schools embracing technology and installing a school check-in kiosk.
Here are just some of the reasons why installing a check-in system is essential to pupil safeguarding:
1. Tracking exactly who is on site
A school check-in kiosk offers schools instant reporting of exactly who is on site at all times. Should there be an intruder, teachers or security teams can use reports to immediately identify them as such and respond.
This also means that you can keep an eye on contractors and visitors coming into your school. The system can be used to vet contractors by presenting them with specific questions to maintain strict adherence to security and health & safety measures. This ensure that the people coming into your school are supposed to be there and are appropriately qualified.
The system can also print a photo ID badge for all visitors clearly showing their contact information and their level of access permission within the school. Not only does this make the process of signing in quick and easy, it also ensures that everyone on site has permission to be there.
2. Emergency evacuations made much easier
Even during drills where there is no real danger, emergency drills are fraught with stress and tension. A school check-in system can make these situations much less stressful.
A visitor management system offers an evacuation register, which can be accessed from any mobile device with checking off capabilities once pupils and staff are accounted for. The system can even bring up emergency contact details for everybody and photos of the people you are checking off to help with easy recognition. Gone are the days where staff in charge have to hunt around for paper registers to allow them to check everyone is accounted for, with a school check-in kiosk system they simply need their phone.
3. Attendance tracking
Ensuring pupils are in school and attending lessons is paramount to providing a safe learning experience. This is why VisiPoint offers full attendance reporting capabilities that allow you to instantly look at absence statistics over a particular period of time. This allows staff to address attendance issues quickly and ensure every pupil is attending all the lessons they should be.
This can allow staff to spot and deal with any problems quickly. It also gives schools the reports they need to ensure the school is hitting their targets when it comes to attendance. Having a school check-in kiosk has also found to help reduce issues with lateness.
The thought of having to check in and have an instance of lateness logged on their record encourages pupils to get to lessons on time. Hailey Elementary notes that lateness can often be linked to larger behavioural and academic issues. It is hugely beneficial, then, to get lateness under control. Not only are you combatting student lateness, you’re also safeguarding students against the negative effects of not attending lessons.
4. Staff location
A school check-in system allows school staff to immediately sign in with existing door passes, negating the need to queue at reception to sign in. This improves the productivity of your teaching staff, as they can sign in instantly and get straight to where they need to be.
There will also be no more issues with staff members forgetting to sign-in as the process will be linked to them accessing buildings. This has the added benefit of providing information on exactly which staff members are on site and when.
The system also clearly shows you which building staff members are in, so that you can find them quickly should you need them. This can help to safeguard both staff and pupils as you can quickly and easily locate them.
5. DBS information log
A school check-in kiosk can also maintain records in regards to DBS checks, which can help you keep on top of making sure each check is up-to-date. It is essential for the safeguarding of children that everyone working in a school has a valid DBS check.
This allows you to ensure that every person on site has been appropriately assessed and given permission to be on site. This safeguards your students against people who are unsuitable to undertake a role in your school.
Keeping on top of DBS checks should be a priority for any school serious about safeguarding, and a check-in system is a fantastic way to ensure everyone has been assessed.
A school check-in kiosk is an integral part of effectively safeguarding your pupils. If you want to reduce the pressure involved with keeping your students safe, get in touch with Visipoint today for a consultation with one of our experts.