The Client:
Tennyson Road Primary School is a three-form entry primary school and academy in Luton that is based over two sites, the North Campus and the South Campus.
A highly esteemed primary school, Tennyson Road has achieved a place in the top 1% of schools nationwide and is rated ‘Outstanding’ by OFSTED. The school currently teaches 450 students and is expected to increase its capacity to 630 over the next few years. As such, Tennyson Road Primary School was required to improve its physical security to safeguard the health and wellbeing of its pupils.
KCS Projects were awarded the contract for the safeguarding project at Tennyson Road Primary School – South Campus in Luton, July 2022.
The Brief:
Tennyson Road Primary School needed to improve their physical security due to issues with the main site boundary. At the time, the boundary was secured with a simple chain link fence and a low brick wall, making it extremely vulnerable to unwanted trespassers. This caused several safeguarding issues for the school.
We were hired to secure the perimeter and develop an ongoing plan for meeting the school’s security requirements. All works had to conform to BS 5839 2017 standards, and all members of staff were expected to undergo enhanced DBS checks and to follow the COVID-19 guidelines outlined in school policy and government legislation.
Our Work:
We first carried out a full review of the school, outlining our strategy to meet the safeguarding requirements and provide for the future security needs of the site.
The works started during the school summer holidays, which meant there was no investigation delay and that we could carry out the work without interfering with staff and students on site.
Due to the school’s main site boundary being vulnerable to unwanted trespassers, we installed multiple gates at various locations across the campus and took down the original fencing, replacing it with a new, more secure fencing system. To improve the height of the brick perimeter wall, we added a two-metre-high mesh panel system to it, thereby reducing the risk of an intruder scaling the wall and gaining entry to the site.
For added security, we reviewed the school premises and negotiated a plan for a CCTV system with the school. Having identified the locations where the CCTV cameras needed to be positioned on the South Campus site to ensure effective monitoring, we then installed the new CCTV system, which contained a total of 32 cameras.
We also installed a double pedestrian gate with Paxton access control, which we integrated into the school's existing security setup. The access control system consisted of a video intercom with an integrated proximity reader, exit button, magnetic lock, and gate closer. As a result, the gates could remain locked during the school day while granting free access during certain periods - such as pupil drop-off and pickup times.
In addition, by using the video intercom, administration staff would be able to give visitors access to the site on request, making it easy and convenient to use when welcoming new visitors.
To ensure the works were completed on time and to prevent disruption to the school, our Contracts Manager liaised with the Site Manager - or a member of the site team – to inform them where on the site we would be finishing our shift. This meant we could lock up the site and set the alarms when we finished, preventing the Site Manager from having to return to complete these tasks himself.
Following the completion of the works, we held a full-day handover session with the Site Manager and his team of caretakers. This ensured that the relevant staff understood all aspects of the auto gate and the CCTV system we installed. We also left our contact details to allow them to contact us in the event of any issues, or if they had any questions for us to answer.
All works were carried out to conform to BS 5839 2017 standards.
The Outcome:
We were successful in meeting Tennyson Road Primary School’s security and safeguarding requirements by securing the perimeter of the South Campus.
Firstly, we installed multiple gates at various locations across the campus and removed the existing chain link fencing, replacing it with a new fencing system that made it more difficult for trespassers to enter the grounds. We also added to the height of the low boundary wall by fitting a section of two-metre-high mesh fencing to it.
Then, through working with the school’s management team, we identified the locations on the South Campus site that required higher levels of security and used this information to fit a 32-camera CCTV system that covered the more vulnerable areas. This meant that if an intruder was somehow able to get through the site’s perimeter, they would be easily identified by the CCTV system.
The security of the school’s perimeter was further enhanced by installing a Paxton access control system into the pedestrian gate, which was then integrated into the school’s existing setup. This system consisted of a video intercom with in-built proximity reader, exit button, magnetic lock, and gate closer – all of which enabled staff to grant visitors access to the site while keeping the school secure.
For added value, we hired a tree surgeon to clear trees and remove ivy from the exterior brick wall. This enabled us to work on the gates and wall more effectively, and removed any barriers to visibility that may contribute to security issues.
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