LEADERSHIP


School security is a vital issue for leadership teams to consider.


Emma Lee-Potter finds out that it is all about striking the right balance


equipment. Research has shown, however, that around 75 per


cent of recorded crime in schools is opportunistic. So by putting the right security measures in place, schools can take effective steps to cut theft, vandalism and arson. While some schools have their own school-based


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police officers, a growing number of schools and colleges are now opting to use security companies and external contractors to safeguard their premises. Security firms usually take on tasks such as fitting


and monitoring intruder and fire alarms and even “static guarding”, where uniformed guards have a permanent presence at schools. Other services can include mobile patrol officers, evening locking and morning unlocking, and key-holding and alarm response. For example, Securitas is used by 134 secondary


schools across the UK. Richard Bedworth, area business development manager for Securitas Mobile, told SecEd: “More and more schools are trying to be proactive with their security rather than reactive but I don’t think there is a one-size-fits-all solution. Every school site is different. “Schools are a target largely because they have a lot


of equipment – laptops, PCs and overhead projectors are the top three – that criminals can easily move on. “Also, very few people walk through the average


business but the footfall that goes in and out of a school is relatively high in comparison. It means that there are a lot more eyes looking around everything. Our advice to schools is to make it as hard as possible to get into school buildings out of school hours.” It is particularly important, too, that architects and


planners give careful thought to security when schools are being built or refurbished. Issues to be considered include providing a secure boundary, limiting access points for cars and pedestrians, keeping buildings simple in order to help surveillance and reduce possible hiding places, and installing good lighting. But while headteachers agree that it is crucial to


keep their schools safe and secure, they are adamant that they do not want schools to become forbidding, fortress-like environments. Pat McGovern, headteacher of Helston Community


College in Cornwall, told SecEd: “We have to keep a balance. We have given the issue a lot of thought here and we want our college to be an open and accessible community resource, where people feel able to come in without feeling intimidated. But at the same time the college has got to be a place where we can keep our students safe.” Like many schools, Helston is a sprawling campus.


Set on three separate sites, it has a main road running through the middle and a staggering 57 external doors to keep secure. Not only that, the college, which serves a large rural area around the town of Helston, has 242 staff (including 103 teachers) and nearly 1,700 students coming in and out on a daily basis. “If we were going to put a security fence around the


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whole place, we would be talking serious money – into the hundreds of thousands,” said Dr McGovern. “But then it would look like a prison camp.


You have to strike a balance. You want to


make the school a safe environment but at the same time you don’t


want kids to feel they are in a prison or to create a sense of fear or threat


SecEd • September 30 2010 ’ “The key thing is that we are vigilant and we keep


a good eye out. We are a uniform school so students are very clearly identifiable and it is very obvious who should be on the site and who shouldn’t. We have also done risk assessments on our boundaries and put the appropriate security measures in place.” These measures include more than 20 CCTV


recording cameras (many of which have voice recorded messages alerting people to their presence). Rather than employing uniformed security guards, as some inner-city schools have chosen to do, Helston prefers to rely on its team of caretakers, who are responsible for security as well as care and maintenance, minor repairs and porterage. They all carry radios and are instructed to respond immediately if there is a security incident. “I think uniformed security would be an over-


reaction here,” said Dr McGovern. “But one of the things that I think is critical is that schools form a really clear partnership between all the law and order agencies. It is not unusual for police community support officers to come on to the college site and we also have a police cadet force run by Devon and Cornwall Police which meets here once a week. “This all helps to get the message across that police


officers are part of the community. They play a positive, supportive role and aren’t to be feared.” Jo Smith, vice-principal of Long Field School in


Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, takes a similar view. Although Long Field has a raft of security measures in place, including CCTV cameras and strict access control, staff do not want students to feel fearful at school. “You have to strike a balance,” said Ms Smith, who


has been at the 800-pupil school for two-and-a-half- years. “You want to make the school a safe environment but at the same time you don’t want kids to feel they are in a prison or to create a sense of fear or threat. “We are very fortunate that we don’t have much


theft or vandalism, perhaps because the school site is so busy and because it’s available as a community facility too. We have CCTV in place, which acts as a deterrent as much as anything. We are based at the bottom of a housing estate so in one respect we haven’t got a lot people passing by, but we have large playing fields, which would be difficult to fence off. We have an environmental area on one boundary and occasionally travelling communities have set up camp there but they have been moved on by the police. “We find that the students themselves are very alert.


It is their space and they are very good at letting us know if they see anything untoward. Also, insurance companies have very tight regulations about computer trolleys having to be locked up and tethered and projectors having to be in cages. Having said that, I know of one school which over two consecutive holidays first had a load of computers taken, then had the replacements stolen.” Like Dr McGovern and Ms Smith, Steve Taylor,


principal of Bristol Metropolitan Academy, says his school has had “the occasional bit of bother” with graffiti but nothing major. Described as “the most improved school in the country” this summer after the number of students achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C rose from 42 to 85 per cent, the academy was built under the Building Schools for the Future programme and opened in 2008. “Our site is pretty state-of-the art,” said Mr Taylor. “In terms of security we have cameras and anti-climb


ECURITY IS a key issue for schools today. From fencing, gates and bollards to uniformed security guards and CCTV systems, secondary schools use a variety of measures to keep pupils and staff safe, prevent criminal and anti-social behaviour, and protect buildings and


balance A fine


fencing. The students’ two entrances are open in the morning and then locked until the end of the day. “The pupils here are very used to the security and


respect the fact that it is there to keep them safe. But it’s my belief that you can’t make a school safe by spending


Taking the lead: HTI A new vision for education


Old ways of doing things are out and we must trust


our vision for education, says Anne Evans


IN THESE strange times of “purdah” before the coalition government unveils the detail of its spending review on October 20, it seems that everyone has a view on education and how to right the prevailing wrongs. The redoubtable John Humphrys concludes that


freedom, discipline and exceptional headteachers are the key to narrowing the ever-widening social gap between rich and poor in his BBC documentary Unequal Opportunities. The irrepressibly enthusiastic choirmaster turned


primary teacher Gareth Malone exposes boys to some Dangerous Book for Boys-style activities to tackle the discrepancy in achievement between boys and girls. Meanwhile, SecEd reveals that the top three


concerns for secondary headteachers are budget cuts, boosting exam results and preparing for a visit from inspectors (Budgets and exams top list of heads’ concerns, issue 258, September 16, 2010). No real surprises, but a rather depressing reflection


of a culture which, through no fault of schools, is too often focused on the immediate necessity of dealing with the here and now. Improving social mobility, boys’ achievement


levels, employability, the quality of teaching and leadership appear nowhere, explicitly, in the list of top seven troubles. Yet these are enduring issues, not only fundamental to giving all children and young people a fair education but also to the wellbeing of society and our economy. In the wider leadership landscape, Oxford


University – also a target of criticism in the unequal opportunities debate – has announced that it is to open a new school of government to give the brightest and best a new style of leadership training for the 21st century. The move recognises that the traditional degree


routes into leadership simply do not equip aspiring leaders with a broad enough set of skills to deal with global challenges. Developing an informed vision means understanding all the complex facets of a


problem – scientific, medical, legal and global, as well as economic and political. Discussing Oxford University’s latest venture,


Wellington College head Anthony Seldon said that a lot of so called leadership is not in fact leadership, but managing the status quo. That is too often true in our own sector, where the operational frequently pushes out the visionary when it is the visionary, plus some joined-up thinking, that is so desperately needed. John Humphrys’ proclamations may be wise and


incisive, although hardly shocking. Gareth Malone’s “out of the box” attempts to engage boys might be inspirational. But simply endlessly recognising the problems or coming up with “on air” solutions which many teachers will view as heart-warming but impractical is not going to solve the big issues we face. None of this is made any easier by current


inconsistencies, incongruities and lack of clarity around policy: elimination of “bubblewrap” culture versus stifling bureaucratic constraints; more money pumped into education versus widening social gap; more business engagement versus lack of employability skills; more freedom and autonomy versus a return to more traditional teaching and a subject-based curriculum; year-on- year improvements in exam results versus ‘dumbing down’ of learning. It is interesting that, as exam boards face allegations


of virtual corruption to boost exam results, one of the fastest growing and most respected awarding bodies is ASDAN, whose skills-based qualifications have done so much to boost the self-esteem and confidence of both less able and gifted children. Our own efforts are similarly focused on an


alternative approach to tackling some of the big issues. Our Go4it award has nothing to do with league tables, but everything to do with celebrating a culture of excitement and adventure in learning. Our new pilot mentoring programme aims to inspire disaffected, deprived youngsters by connecting them with university students from similar backgrounds. Our revamped secondment programme will broaden understanding and leadership skills by hooking teachers directly into some of the big, enduring issues we need to crack once and for all. Oxford University is right. Old ways of doing


things are out. The coalition government has put its faith in the Big Society. I put my faith in Big Thinking, Big Vision and Big Action.


• Anne Evans OBE is chief executive of HTI, an independent social enterprise working to develop exceptional school leaders. Email a.evans@hti.org.uk


money on security kit alone. It’s the ethos of a school and its code of behaviour that have the biggest impact of all.”


SecEd • Emma Lee-Potter is a freelance education journalist.


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