There are over 50 million students in the United States. If you operate a school of any kind yourself, you know that, in 2021, school security is one of your biggest priorities.
With that being said, making your school safer for both faculty and students can be hard work. Knowing what to do, or even how to get started, can be overwhelming, especially if you’re working on a tight budget.
The good news? We can help you!
In this article, we’ll give you 8 tips and tricks that you can use to make your school safer. We’ll tell you how to prioritize your needs, what you need to focus on, and even how you can get everyone on board.
That way you can rest easy knowing that you’ve done everything that you can to make your school as safe as possible.
1. Invest in Safer Doors
If you’re looking to improve school safety, the first place you need to look is at your school’s doors. After all, they’re both the entryway and exit for your school, making them an important piece of the puzzle.
Our advice? Invest in safety-first when choosing door hardware. Get doors that are designed to keep your school, and the students inside of it, safer.
2. Have On-Campus Police Officers
While it’s not fun to think about, it’s important to remember that sometimes situations are going to arise. To prevent panic, and to get on top of those situations faster, you need to have on-campus police officers in your school at all times.
That way, should a threat occur, you can make sure that someone is there to confront that threat right away. On top of that, it’ll make your staff and students feel much safer in your school, which of course, can make the education process that much easier.
3. Have Proper First-Aid Standards
No matter what age group your school teaches, you’re going to have students getting banged up from time to time. That combined with other medical situations, is why it’s important to have proper first-aid standards in place.
Something as simple as a dedicated school nurse, and a nursing situation, is more than enough to get the job done. With that in mind, if you have a larger school with more than a few hundred students, more precautions may be required to keep your students safe and healthy.
4. Invest in Proper Employee Training
To piggyback off of those last two points, being prepared for issues to arise is the key to limiting them in the first place. Having your staff trained well for what to do in certain situations will not only get them ready but can also prevent problems from occurring in the first place.
Of course, proper employee training can add up in costs rather fast. But if you make it a priority, you’ll be able to better protect your staff and students, which is the overall goal here. Also, some safety training, like a thorough online CPR course, is very affordable and time-saving, hence they can be a great solution for your staff
5. Have Security Cameras in Place
Another tip for preventing issues from occurring in the first place is to install security cameras around the school. These can deter both students and outside threats from bringing danger into the walls of your school.
They can also help you monitor your school more easily, even in real-time. And should something happen, you’ll have video footage of what exactly went down, which can be helpful for preventing it from happening again.
6. Spend Time on Student Training
Your employees aren’t the only people that need to be trained on proper safety measures. In fact, your students likely outnumber your teachers by quite a bit, making their training even more important in some ways.
To prepare your students for certain things, you need to invest time in that training. Routine training, perhaps monthly, can help you prepare your students for a variety of scenarios.
These training sessions can also help you stress the importance of school safety to both your staff and students, which is always a good thing.
7. Get Outside Assistance for School Security
We’ll be honest. Making your school as safe and secure as you want it to be can be hard work. That’s why trying to do everything in-house isn’t recommended, as it’s likely you’ll miss one or two things that are too important and shouldn’t be skipped over.
Of course, investing in outside help can be tricky, especially if you’re working on a tight budget. But at least trying to bring in some outside help if you need it is very much recommended.
8. Create a School Bus Safety Plan
If your school handles the transportation of students in any capacity, you need to make sure that you have a bus safety plan in place.
Having experienced bus drivers is always a great place to start. Also, buses with proper safety measures, like seatbelts, can help you save lives, too.
All of these tips, combined with proper training of bus safety for students, can go a long way in protecting your students on the roads outside of school.
Still Not Sure How to Make Your School Safer?
As you can see, there’s a lot that goes into improving school security. It takes a team effort, along with a solid plan and room in the budget, to make it happen.
But if you keep these 8 tips and tricks in mind, and prioritize safety, you can get to where you want to be over time.
Looking for more safety advice? Need to make your facility a much safer place? Check back with our blog often for tons of useful ideas and information.
