School security - question for teachers/school staff

[TangoCharlieWhiskey]

Hi all,

I've not been on for a while so hi!

I seem to remember that there was guidance that all staff should wear ID when on school premises for safeguarding/security reasons... I think it was brought in at the same time as making sites secure with regard to whom can enter etc...

I would like to have something to refer to when writing to our school, as the head hasn't worn any form of ID since they joined the school, but I'm struggling to find anything.

Thanks all

Oh the problem with getting an ID badge is that HO only do them 3 days a week for an hour... at school time and as we are right on the outskirts it's a nightmare to get to and you then need staff cover. As there were 10 members of staff needing badges last year, they arranged for the guy to come out to the school.

"Good to know that its best practice to wear ID but not enforced in any way." It isn't best practice it's simply the way some schools choose to work and no better than schools that choose not to hang name tags around their staffs necks.

In our MAT we all wear lanyards with the name of the school (they have our 'beepers' on for getting in and out of security doors)

Where I used to work we specifically didn't have either our names or the school's name on the badges that let us through security doors - if someone loses it, it tells anyone who finds it which school they can get into.

We don’t wear them as staff, but we are a small school. The children know to challenge or tell us about anyone they don’t recognise. Red lanyard means they must be supervised, Green means they are OK to be alone at school with the kids about as they are DBS checked and vetted. The children know the different colours and are reminded about the lanyards for visitors.

My job takes me into many, many schools. Every single one has a staff lanyard of one style or another, then variations on lanyards or stickers for visitors. One has colour- coded lanyard AND sticker with photo for visitors. I also wear my own distinctive lanyard. I end up looking like a festooned Christmas tree!

@Herland our school is about to have a big building project done which has to start before the summer holiday - there has been a rigorous risk assessment and part of the school is being closed off so that the builders can't come into contact with children. Also have to ensure they have a fire exit etc - it's complicated! Luckily the layout of the building allows for it.

I'd be surprised if workmen were freely wandering around a school when children were on site as that would seem to be a major safeguarding breach if they were unsupervised?

My school has over fifty teachers/TAs - I don't suppose most parents, especially those of children in the lower years, know who everyone is, but I wouldn't expect to be challenged by a parent if I wasn't wearing my lanyard.

All contractors who come into school when children are there have to have DBS clearance. THis is why the same firms tend to be used across a local area as we can't just phone up Bob the builder and ask him to come and fix a leaking toilet! Their identity and clearance is checked before they come in the school. If there is EVER a time when a non cleared worker is used, they have to be accompanied at all times by a member of staff ( which is a complete pain!)

We have a sign in the entrance informing parents that all contractors have been dbs checked but I wonder how many actually read it.