School Safe - Photo Identification Initiative For Schools

If a stranger, unconnected with the school, were discovered wandering around the grounds or buildings, staff would probably be concerned as to the person's reasons for being there. However, if as a result of the frequent numbers of people coming and going, no one realised that this person was not authorised to be in the school, he or she might well be allowed to continue! Would any member of staff be aware that this person was not entitled to be there?

Schools are and should be open and friendly learning environments for our children but to remain safe they should have a method of easily identifying whether adults are legitimately on the premises. One solution is to introduce photo ID cards for all connected with the school, including volunteers, regular visitors and any non-uniformed students, alongside a ‘High Visibility’ Visitor pass (below) for the infrequent visitor or guest to the establishment.

 
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Introducing a policy of wearing photo ID cards can help solve the dilemma caused by unidentified adults in a school. Every person entitled to be there would wear their identity card, increasing the feeling of safety and security. If all staff, parents and students are educated about the reasons for introducing an ID policy, they will ensure that they abide by it and always wear their ID card or obtain a visitor pass when they spend time in the school. Any stranger in the school grounds will stand out because of their lack of ID and immediate action can be taken. It may well be innocuous, perhaps someone visiting for the day that simply requires a visitor badge from reception, but better safe than sorry.

Types of ID card systems vary in size and price according to schools requirements and budgets. For example if the number of photo ID cards required is less than 500, a cost-effective way of producing them is to use an ID card bureau such as PVCPrinting. The benefits of using a bureau are that it eliminates the need to purchase a system and card printer costing between £5000 and £10,000, and it provides the expertise to quickly produce the ID cards and maintain a database of all cardholders which can be updated whenever necessary.

If the requirement is more than 2000 cards there is a range of software packages and ID card printers suitable for producing larger quantities. Bigger educational establishments such as universities are well suited to purchasing a full system from us, giving them control over ID card production on-site for both staff and students.

Whichever system is chosen, the production methods are similar. A photograph of each cardholder is needed, taken either with a digital camera (the image is downloaded into the software) or a standard camera (the picture is scanned into the software). The card design or layout is created (free of charge), usually including a school emblem, crest or motto, and often colour coding for quick and easy identification of teaching staff, non-teaching staff and students.

Additional functions can be incorporated such as a barcode to use the ID card as a library card, a magnetic stripe for access control purposes, or even a smart card chip for cashless vending and electronic purse. The database stores the photo and relevant cardholder details such as name, job title, department, date of card issue, expiry date, etc, allowing a professional ID card to be produced in just a couple of minute