Schools and colleges need systems that actually work when it matters
Walk into almost any school in the country and you will find a fire alarm panel somewhere near the main entrance, probably in a cupboard, possibly with a handwritten note stuck to it. Whether the system behind that panel is still fit for purpose is another question entirely. A lot of schools are running on equipment that was installed ten or fifteen years ago, maintained by whoever was cheapest on the framework, and has not had a proper review since the building was extended or the sixth form block was added.
That is where we come in. At 24/7 Protection we work with schools, academies, colleges and universities across Lancashire to make sure their fire alarm and CCTV systems are genuinely doing the job they are supposed to do. Not just ticking boxes, but actually protecting the people inside.
Fire alarms in schools are not straightforward
People sometimes assume that a school is a relatively simple building to protect. It is not. Most school sites have grown organically over decades, with new classrooms bolted onto Victorian originals, temporary buildings that became permanent, sports halls added in the nineties, and a reception area that has been moved twice. The result is a building that does not follow any logical plan, and a fire alarm system that may have been extended piecemeal to cover each new addition without anyone ever stepping back to look at whether the whole thing still makes sense.
We carry out a proper survey before we recommend anything. We look at where your detectors are, what type they are, whether they are the right type for the space they are covering, and how the zones map onto the physical layout of your building. We check whether the panel is capable of supporting the system connected to it and whether your call points are positioned where people can actually find them in a hurry.
One of the most common issues we find in schools is inappropriate detector selection. Smoke detectors in a cookery room or a science lab will activate when there is no fire, leading to evacuations that disrupt lessons and, over time, teach pupils and staff to treat the alarm as background noise. That complacency is genuinely dangerous. We specify the right detector for every location, whether that is a heat detector in the kitchen, a multi-sensor in a corridor, or a beam detector in a hall with a high ceiling.
Everything we install meets BS 5839 and we design to the category appropriate for your building. Addressable systems are our default recommendation because when a detector activates, you and your staff can see exactly which one it is. That matters when you have a duty of charge of hundreds of children and you need to know whether the alarm is coming from the science corridor or the boiler room before you decide what to do.
False alarms cost schools more than most people realise
Every time a school evacuates unnecessarily, you lose learning time, you stress your pupils, and you erode the confidence that staff and students have in the system. Repeated false alarms are one of the most common reasons schools contact us. They are also one of the most fixable problems once someone takes the time to look at the system properly. If your current system is causing problems, speak to us before you resign yourself to it.
CCTV in schools is about safeguarding first
Schools that have CCTV tend to think of it as a security measure, and it is, but it is also a safeguarding tool and increasingly an expectation from governors, parents and Ofsted. Cameras at entrances make sure that people entering the site are seen and recorded. Cameras covering external areas deter vandalism and support the police when incidents do happen. Cameras in corridors and communal spaces give pastoral staff the ability to investigate reported incidents with something more reliable than conflicting witness accounts from twelve-year-olds.
We design school CCTV systems with the ICO’s guidance front of mind. Cameras go where they are needed and nowhere else. We do not put them where pupils have any reasonable expectation of privacy, we make sure signage is in place, and we help you put together a data retention policy that keeps you on the right side of GDPR. Schools have been caught out on this before and we want to make sure you are not one of them.
The cameras we install produce clear footage in all conditions. Good daytime images are the baseline expectation. What separates a decent system from an inadequate one is what you get at dusk, at night, and in low winter light. We specify cameras with the sensor size and lens to do the job properly in your specific outdoor environment, not whatever happens to be the cheapest option that week.
We take over existing systems too
You do not need to be a new client to work with us. If you have an existing fire alarm or CCTV system installed by another company, we can take it over, audit it, bring it back into proper maintenance, and look after it going forward. We have done this for a number of schools in Lancashire where the previous provider had become unreliable or unresponsive. We take on the paperwork, the history and the responsibility, and you get a service that actually shows up when you need it.
Get in touch to arrange a free site survey. There is no obligation and no sales pitch. We will come and look at what you have, tell you honestly what we think, and give you a clear picture of where your systems stand.