NEWS SCHOOL SECURITY
School emergency planning is an opportunity
for security service providers to shine
As schools revise their emergency plans, Covid-19 is creating opportunities for the security industry.
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actoring Covid-19 into school emergency plans, which should ideally be reassessed and updated annually, presents South Africa’s security service providers with an unusual opportunity to garner market share. According to an article by ScholarChip, a USA-based company that specialises in school security1, the landscape of school safety planning has changed significantly thanks to the pandemic. The result, it asserts, is growing demand for access control systems and touchless technology. ScholarChip makes the point that schools need to plan for second (and possibly more) waves of the pandemic as has happened throughout the world. This suggests that security product manufacturers and service providers have an important role to play when it comes to providing relevant advice and products. “Even if a second wave is less severe
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SECURITY FOCUS AFRICA OCTOBER 2020
than the first, schools must understand that planning for a pandemic requires new thinking,” says ScholarChip. “Administrators need to start with an after-action review of what did and didn’t work in the final months of the 20192020 school year. This will help identify gaps and areas for improvement. Start by asking questions about the strategies used. Did your distance-learning technologies work well? What problems occurred? How were they addressed, and how long did it take to do so?”
enforce safety and wellness procedures,” it says. “Limiting visitor access to the building by restricting them to the office or escorting them only to specific destinations further reduces risk. Regardless of the strategies used to limit outside exposure, tracking visitors and contact information is crucial. A visitor management solution will allow the school to maintain contact with outsiders. This will simplify communication in the event of an outbreak.”
Security hardening
What can schools be doing better?
In order to limit the scope for infection, ScholarChip strongly advocates that schools install hard security products such as access control systems. “Monitored access and locked exterior doors force visitors to enter the building at specific points, where staff can complete and
In his article “What can schools be doing better?”2 on the Accredited Schools Online website, school safety expert Jason Russell says the biggest hurdle in school emergency preparedness is understanding the importance and need for training. Russell, who is the president and CEO of
securityfocusafrica.com
