Visitor management in schools has always been important to a school’s overall security strategy against unauthorised access. Many schools still use paper and pen to sign in guests. However, a modern school sign-in system transforms security and makes managing and recording access by staff and visitors much more straightforward.
The benefits of visitor management and registration include:
- Enhanced safeguarding protection for students and staff.
- Making the essential tasks of school administration and visitor control streamlined.
- A professional first impression on the front desk to create a vision of modernity when a visitor arrives.
Learn more about the key benefits of having a modern electronic system to record site visits to a school.
Importance and Advantages of Visitor Management in Education
Electronic visitor management is becoming increasingly popular in schools across the UK. They offer many benefits, from enhancing the school’s image to prospective parents to improving safeguarding precautions.
1. Enhancing Safety and Security
Any school’s top priority is the safety of pupils and staff. Visitor registration ensures that everyone entering the school is accounted for and authorised to be there.
These systems make it easy to spot anyone who shouldn’t be on the premises by requiring visitors to sign in and wear ID badges. This is particularly important in preventing unauthorised access to sensitive areas or protecting children from potential harm.
A visitor sign-in solution like an InVentry console is most valuable in emergencies, like fires or lockdowns. They provide an accurate, real-time list of everyone in the building.
This feature helps staff ensure that everyone is safely evacuated or accounted for. This level of detail can be lifesaving in critical situations.
2. Streamlining Administrative Tasks
Gone are the days of messy sign-in books and time-consuming paper processes! A modern visitor management solution automate many administrative tasks, freeing staff time for more important duties.
These systems make the process smoother and more efficient, from quickly checking in visitors to automatically notifying staff of their guests’ arrival. This is done with electronic alerts or emails to the member of staff expecting a guest’s arrival.
They also help with record-keeping. Schools can easily access visitor data and logs, track frequent guests, and generate reports. This is particularly useful for fire drill records or monitoring contractor visits.
3. Creating a Professional First Impression
First impressions matter, and competition to attract parents is fierce. A sleek, signing-in process gives a more professional and modern image than a dog-eared visitor book. It shows parents that the school takes safeguarding seriously and that technology is at the forefront of its approach to education as soon as you enter.
For guests, the visitor experience becomes quicker and more pleasant. No more waiting for someone to greet them or administrative staff struggling to find who they’re meant to meet.
The system can notify the relevant staff member immediately, which makes visitors feel welcomed and valued when they enter the door.
4. Boosting School Reputation
A school’s reputation for safety can be a significant factor for parents when choosing where to enrol their children.
With professional visitor management and straightforward visitor access protocol, schools demonstrate a clear commitment to the importance of how they approach the safeguarding of pupils.
This emphasis on security can ultimately lead to higher enrolment numbers, as parents are likelier to choose a school that prioritises their children’s well-being.
5. Ensuring Compliance With Regulations
Schools have a legal duty to safeguard children and protect their data. Electronic visitor management helps meet these obligations.
A visitor management system provides access control and automatically checks guests against approved lists or integrates with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) to ensure all adults visiting to work with children have the proper clearance.
Additionally, they aid in complying with data protection regulations and schools’ GDPR policies for data retention. They securely store visitor information and can automatically delete data after a set period, ensuring schools don’t keep personal information longer than necessary.
This digital approach is far more secure and compliant than traditional paper records.
6. Improving Communication and Coordination
Electronic visitor management enhances internal communication within schools.
When a guest arrives, the system can instantly notify the relevant staff member via email, text, or online alert to their computer via their unique network ID. This reduces disruption and waiting times, as teachers or administrators know when their guests arrive.
These systems provide a centralised way to manage visitors for larger schools or those spread across multiple sites in a multi-academy trust. Staff can quickly check who’s on-site at any time. This is particularly useful for senior leadership and administration staff.
7. Supporting Health and Safety Measures
Since the 2020 pandemic, global health concerns have become a rising issue.
School visitor registration can be used to implement and track health screening procedures. They can be configured to ask visitors about recent travel or symptoms. Some systems can even integrate with temperature checks, although adding such features inevitably adds to the hardware and running costs.
These systems also support contact tracing efforts if needed. Staff can quickly identify who was on the premises on a particular day in case of a health incident, aiding in swift and effective response measures.
The most straightforward visitor management solutions use a signing-in app on an iPad or tablet. The iPad can then be kept behind the reception screen and handed out to visitors when they arrive. These solutions are the most cost-effective, particularly for smaller primary schools with an annual subscription, the only cost after the initial setup and integration with the school’s MIS.
Final Thoughts on the Benefits of Visitor Management in Schools
Visitor management in schools provides a modern solution to school safety challenges by enhancing security, streamlining administrative tasks, and creating a professional atmosphere.
Further, they help schools meet legal requirements and create a welcoming environment for visitors.
Mark Friend, BSc (Hons), is a Company Director at Classroom365 and has worked in technology for nearly 30 years. His IT career started with Rothschild Bank in Sydney, Australia, before working as a Global VPN Project Manager for the British Council. Mark has 20 years of experience in the UK education sector, helping schools integrate the latest tech into their curriculum and ICT vision.