The safety of pupils and staff and the security of the premises is always a priority for schools, however, their budget often gets in the way of this being done properly. With limited funds, the question soon becomes “what can we afford to take care of?” rather than “what is the most important thing to take care of?” which sets a dangerous precedent moving forward.
As it’s coming up to the end of the financial year for schools and other educational establishments, we wanted to write yet another blog to help them make the most of their limited budget. So here it is, how to make your school safe and secure as cost-effectively as possible.
How to make your school safe and secure
If you don’t know where to start when it comes to allocating the rest of your budget to your security or health and safety measures, here are the main 4 areas that you need to look at first.
1. Minimise slips, trips, and falls
With so many people navigating through the hallways of schools – not to mention many potential obstacles such as bags and coats and the cold and wet weather being brought in from the outside – there is no surprise that slips, trips, and falls are the most common type of accident that occurs in educational establishments. To protect against this, you should allocate some of your budget to anti-slip measures. Not only are they cost-effective, but they are quick and easy to put in place and they will minimise this risk to your staff and pupils’ safety.
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2. Safeguard against other common injuries
Following slips, trips, and falls, the most common accidents and injuries in educational establishments are trapping of fingers in doors and walking into glass doors or floor to ceiling windows. You may think that you don’t need to address these issues but you should for two reasons: 1) the safety measure for finger trapping will completely eliminate this type of injury from occurring, and 2) DDA manifestations on glass windows and doors of a certain height are a legal requirement. Learn more about finger guards and DDA manifestations here.
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3. Secure your windows
When thinking about how to make your school safe and secure, securing your windows should be at the top of that list. With so many glass windows that can easily be smashed, it makes sense to spend a significant proportion of your budget on securing these potential points of entry. The good news is is that you don’t have to. Security window film is an inexpensive yet incredibly effective solution to strengthening your existing glazing. Not only does it deter attempts to break the glass and delay entry, but it also makes your premises far more energy-efficient too.
Read for more advice/support:
- Increase Your Comfort and Energy Savings with Thinsulate Window Film
- Bomb Blast Window Film: Everything You Need to Know
4. Use your budget cost-effectively
The last tip on how to make your school safe and secure is to use your budget cost-effectively. It sounds strange (because that’s what everyone will be trying to do) but it’s not that easy. It’s easy to get caught up in allocating money to safety and security measures that you think you need or to the areas that are the easiest or cheapest ones to sort out first, but that’s not being smart with your budget. The key is thinking about what your main weaknesses actually are and then investing in the cost-effective products that protect and strengthen these areas first.
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Do more with less
You don’t always need more money to sufficiently protect your people and your property, you just need to be smart with the budget that you do have. If you allocate it to the right things, such as the main causes of injury and security breaches, then you can rest easy that you have your immediate weaknesses covered until you have the budget to sort out the rest.
WE AT APPLIED PRODUCTS OFFER A RANGE OF HIGH-QUALITY SAFETY PRODUCTS TO SCHOOLS IN THE UK…
If you need any help or advice on what products you need to ensure the complete safety of your staff and students, don’t hesitate to get in touch; we’d love to help! Applied Products has a large range of specialist products that will help you keep your premises and everyone in it as secure as possible.
Applied Products – [email protected] / 01792 895730
