When a day nursery offers multiple sessions, the period of time where parents drop off and collect their children can be very busy especially if one member of staff is continuously leaving the room to answer the main door. The challenge for Alison Huntley, owner of Tigers Day Nurseries, is how to manage this busy period with minimal impact on staff time, while making sure security procedures are adhered to.
Tigers Day Nursery offers three sessions; a full day, a morning and an afternoon, and has up to 150 children passing through its doors every day. The nursery in Thatcham has 11 rooms for the children and is spread over two different levels. It also has a dedicated training centre, which is often used by other nurseries in the area. The main door to the nursery was previously locked at all times for security. If parents wanted to drop off or collect their children, they would ring the bell and a member of staff would come and answer the door. As not all parents collect at the same time, inevitably there would be times when parents would have to wait until a staff member was free to come and let them in. Add to this a number of professional or service visits during the day, and staff spent a considerable amount of time running up and down the stairs answering the doorbell.
To simplify this process, but without compromising on access control security, the nursery added Codelocks stand alone keyless locks to all the doors on the main internal rooms. The locks operate with a four or five-digit code that is only known to staff. The main door is now left unlocked during the day so that parents can come straight into the building and wait directly outside the room their child is in. Each of these rooms has a glass window so staff can clearly see who is waiting and there is a bell to attract attention.
Parents are pleased they no longer have to wait outside and they are reassured that security is better than ever. Access remains restricted for parents and visitors and if staff do not recognise the person standing at the room door, they do not open it. The nursery operates a password system so that other members of the family or friends can be authorised to collect the children. The code for the door is never given to parents or to any work experience students. Regular changes to the access codes on the locks ensure they remain effective. If a member of staff leaves, the codes can be changed immediately so that security is not compromised.
Nursery owner Alison Huntley has extended the use of push button locks to all other doors including the staff room and training centre at the Thatcham nursery. As the locks have been so successful, Alison has also installed CL2255 electronic mortice latch locks at its new site in Swindon. The push button locks have enabled the nurseries to control its access issues while making improvements to security. The new routine is much more convenient for everyone; staff no longer have to leave a room in order to answer the main door and parents do not have to wait outside. The locks are easy to fit and easy to programme, and make a huge difference to the smooth day-to-day running of the nursery.
“We are very happy with the coded locks. They serve their purpose very clearly in terms of the security of the nursery. They are simple to use and fit. It’s easier now for the staff to manage pick up and drop off times.”
“It’s definitely helped the parents too, not only with their peace of mind, that their children are in a safe environment, but also for busy parents that need quick and easy access when picking up their child.” - Jane Tubb, Operations Manager at Tigers, on the CL2255.
02, Dec 2016
