Safety first for school with investment in new IP audio lockdown system

A Northwest primary school has invested in a new IP (Internet Protocol) audio lockdown system to improve the protection of staff and pupils against threats from terrorism and unauthorised intruders.

Burnley Brow School is a two-form entry community primary school in Oldham, Greater Manchester currently catering for 480 three to 11-year-old pupils and employing approximately 60 full-time and part-time teachers and support staff.

In an ongoing commitment to ensuring its pupils are able to learn and develop in an environment that remains as safe as possible, and in anticipation of complying with the requirements of the forthcoming Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill, or so called ‘Martyn’s Law’, the school has introduced a site-wide audio lockdown solution from Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) solutions specialist Netgenium.

Martyn’s Law, which is set to come into effect later this year, aims to improve security protocols in public spaces by mandating that venues such as schools, have robust emergency procedures in place to prevent and reduce the harm of terror attacks.

New investment by Burnley Brow School is part of a plan to use the latest internet-based technology to improve levels of safeguarding while being able to manage and respond to its own security related incidents quickly and effectively.

The Netgenium solution, installed by education wireless technology specialist CDN Networks, features 20 state-of-the-art IP audio speakers located in and around the school’s premises. These have been linked together via a secure network and connected to a central control point in the office, where an operator can implement a partial or full-scale school lockdown at the touch of a button, depending on the level of the threat or violence.

Improved levels of protection in the advent of an emergency is one of the benefits provided by a cost-effective, easy-to-use solution that allows the school to broadcast in real time a variety of important audio evacuation and safety messages during an intruder alert, informing pupils about what is happening and guiding them to a place of safety.

It also allows the senior leadership team to be able to rapidly place the school in either a partial or full lockdown; triggering full access control capabilities and locking down doors depending on the location and nature of the threat. This ultimately helps to deter any would-be intruders and prevent them from gaining access to key parts of the building.

The flexibility and versatility of using IP networked speakers allows them to be utilised by the school for other applications such as public address (PA) or broadcasting music, while in-built system scalability can easily accommodate any expansion and change in the school’s future requirements and infrastructure.

IP-based technologies are at the cutting edge of reliable, efficient and future-proof networking solutions, providing a wide range of security and operational advantages for schools. They deliver significant financial benefits thanks to simplified installation, cabling routing and network infrastructure configuration, while state-of-the-art control technology offers a whole host of quick and easy to use functions and features at the user’s fingertips – all of which is available and managed from a central point.

“We need a reliable, accessible and cost-effective lockdown system, engineered specifically with the objective of enabling us to swiftly relocate students and staff away from potential dangers during any emergency situation and keep them safe.”

— Helen Atkinson-Smith, Headteacher

Headteacher Helen Atkinson-Smith said schools face various risks posed by intruders or emergency scenarios, necessitating the implementation of lockdown measures, evacuations, or timely warnings to keep children, staff and visitors as safe and secure as possible.

She added: “Netgenium’s solution meets our needs and with the easy-to-use partial or full-lockdown features and ability to deliver audible and targeted alerts, it’s both easy-to-use by the team and a highly effective communications system. We are very pleased with its all-round capabilities and have already used it to deal effectively with a couple of incidents and keep the pupils safe.”

Photo caption: Netgenium’s IP (Internet Protocol) audio lockdown system protects pupils and staff at Burnley Brow School in Oldham