In and out of school violence is a fact of life in many modern educational settings. One if four teachers experience weekly assaults from pupils while between-student violence, gang-related issues, drugs and sexual violence incidents are all to common.
Providing security in educational settings poses unique challenges and requires often a sensitive approach and a special set of skills. Protecting an educational establishment, such as a school, a university or a further education college, involves several objectives, which often require careful balancing:
- protecting the premises and property from theft, damage and vandalism, whether opportunistic or pre-planned;
- protecting the students, teachers and other staff from external threats;
- monitoring, reporting and managing anti-social behaviour and other potential internal risks to safety and security.
Security provision in educational institutions require managing a diverse range of threats and risks, including but not limited to:
- interpersonal violence,
- drug-related risks,
- theft from person and from premises,
- anti-social behaviour including vandalism and harassment,
- gang-related violence,
- sexual assault risks and grooming by adults,
- extremism and radicalisation.
The specific needs will depend on the type of the establishment (e.g. primary school vs. university) and the specific premises (campus-based, inner city site, rural location in extensive grounds etc.). Security requirements during daytime hours of operation will differ significantly from what is needed at night-time and during the holiday periods. Different sites (e.g. libraries, sports facilities, computer labs, chemistry or biology research areas, reception/general entrance areas, residence halls etc.).
Blink Security will work together with our clients to create a comprehensive security guarding solution suitable for each individual site.
Our operatives are at the heart of successful security operations:
- fully SIA qualified and extensively trained;
- subject to an enhanced disclosure and barring service (DBS) screening;
- wide range of diverse backgrounds to reflect the diverse nature of the communities we protect;
- trained and experienced to minimise anti-social behaviour and de-escalate potentially violent incidents;
- trained to observe and listen to signs of gang related issues with on-going in-house training supplemented by training provided by outside agencies;
- certified first-aiders able to provide you with additional peace of mind and assistance when it comes to first aid cover;
- provided with ongoing, sector specific training in areas such as section 93 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 (DoE for head teachers on the use of reasonable force in schools, and the searching, screening and confiscation of prohibited items).
- familiar with legislation with regards to young persons including Section 5 of the Protection of Children Act 1999 as well as United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989.
We find that a visible presence of security staff provides a friendly reassurance to students, teachers and visitors while acting as a deterrent to anti-social behaviour and potential hostile reconnaissance from outside.
