School gates open all the time. . . . .SAFE??

[maltesers]

A good number of parents have commented recently about how the school gates are always open so any one can walk in. We are concerned about child abduction possibility .
My sons school is a boarding and day prep school in the cathedral grounds of a busy city. They have had some break ins and thefts last term, and have tightened security with door codes. However, these doors are only locked after school hours. School gates remain open all day and evening . IMO i think any person could walk straight into the school buildings and commit a crime.
What are your opinions please.

I'd be more concerned about a child escaping then about theft to be honest. You should mention this to the shool and hint at the bad publicity.

yes thats true BELLE . . .a child escaping. . .especially under 6 yrs olds . . . .(age range is 3-13 yrs.)

I'd definetly have words and drop the hints "child, escape, road, car, missing, litigation" into the conversation.

If OFSTED were to turn up and the gates were unlocked, potentially allowing a child to leave the grounds, then they would fail immediatley! Safeguarding is of paramount importance, the children's safety should be their primary concern.

Desolationangel that's not quite true. My local school has no fence at all on the playground for historic reasons and hasn't failed an ofsted inspection. I'm not wild about this admittedly and would prefer fences.

My dd's school don't lock the gates. There are playground helpers who are with them in the playground during breaks and lunchtimes and no child has every escaped.

I'll admit that when dd1 was starting school I was a bit concerned that she might wander off but she didn't and neither has dd2.

All doors are locked during class time and nobody can get into the building without being buzzed in.

Regarding Ofsted reports. The last one the school had said pastoral care was excellent and all other areas , but health and safety was slightly lacking.. . . i reckon now its the gates and the pond which is not fenced.
I think i will say something at some point.
The pre-prep department aged 3-7 are completely fenced in in their own grounds , so they are safe as safe . Its the 7 yrs and up that are the concern.

It is my understanding, (I may be wrong) that Safeguarding is a liminting factor in your OFSTED, if it is unsatisfactory then no other judgement can be higher than that.

The school up the road was caught out as the gates were not locked when children were out on the playground, potentially allowing a child to leave the grounds. Maybe they had a very strict team!

Sorry my earlier post was misleading, it's the limiting judgement bit, so even if teaching etc is outstanding and your safeguarding is unsatisfactory then that's all you get, not necessarily a fail .

Your school sounds fab. Why the obsession about locked doors? Love the unfenced pond - don't try to spoil it. Seriously, I love schools like your school - if you want a school that ticks every health and safety box then head for the state sector.

There have been new rules recently which means that gates are required to be locked when children are in the playground. If they haven't implemented new safety procedures with the new guidelines that came out they do risk failing an OFSTED visit.

Our school never used to lock any gates. But since the new rules they now only have one gate open during school hours (the others are all locked 15 mins after school starts and opened again 15 mins before it ends). The one remaining gate has to be locked during all play times.

I don't think Ofsted will fail a school because gates are unlocked.

In fact I am sure they won't. Yes safeguarding is crucial, at our school for example people have to wear badges identifying them (so anyone suspicious would quickly be questioned).

But the gate to the school (is this what you mean OP?), tho shut and latched, is never locked unless the school is shut. How could it be? How would staff, helpers, visitors etc get in?

You can't get into the building beyond reception without someone buzzing you in, but that's a different matter.

In our School, the main gate to main reception is open, but the only place you can get to through that gate is main reception or the car park, you can't get onto the playgrounds because of locked gates between the front of school and the playgrounds. So visitors etc can get in but kids can't get out unless it's through the school building and out of reception.
Does that make sense? Hard to describe!