Axxon One VMS Safeguards the Pupils of The Blue Coat School
School security is a top priority for The Blue Coat School. The implementation of the Axxon One VMS software has significantly enhanced the safety and security of students, staff, and visitors. The comprehensive security solution for schools includes advanced surveillance and monitoring capabilities, ensuring that every corner of the campus is protected.
Client
The Blue Coat School was founded in 1722. It is a leading co-educational independent day school in Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK. With a strong tradition of academic achievement, the school offers an outstanding educational experience for all its pupils.The Blue Coat School thriving community gives children every opportunity to achieve and excel. The goal is to prepare them to engage effectively with the dynamic world unfolding around them, equipping them with the skills and confidence to grasp their opportunities, and the knowledge and sensitivity to recognize their responsibilities. The school is considered one of the strongest academically in the area.
Challenges
Ensuring education security involves more than just installing school cameras. It requires a holistic approach that integrates various security systems for schools and effective access control. By leveraging these technologies, The Blue Coat School wanted to create a safe learning environment where students can thrive without concerns for their safety.
Large Site
The site dominates 14 acres of Edgbaston in Birmingham. There are 12 main school blocks and various outbuildings.
One-Way Traffic
The main entry to the site has automated vehicle and pedestrian gates linked to access control in school and intercom systems. The exit gate is free egress. Issues have arisen when people enter through the exit gate.
Parking Issues
Local residents and employees of local businesses have been using the car park as a free facility either to go to work for the day or just to go shopping. Monitoring of parking by parents was also an issue, for instance, double yellow lines and disabled bays were being used illegally.
Public Use of Sports Center Until 10 pm Every Day
External sports groups use the pitches, swimming pool, and sports hall throughout most days, evenings, and weekends. They have coded access rights, but further monitoring was needed.
Safeguarding
Although the gates are closed for the majority of the school day, there are periods of time when the automatic time zones will hold the gates open for parental access.
Private Residences
There are several properties on site which are privately occupied, and, as there are people on site during evenings and weekends when the site is quieter, extra protection was required.
Solution
AxxonSoft video management software was chosen by Lexicon installation company as the best tool to solve all the tasks. Moreover, as the total cost of ownership and ROI are always key points when considering a purchase, it was instrumental that with AxxonSoft and Secure Logiq there are no annual fees, no software upgrade fees, and no maintenance fees. Therefore, the proposed solution provided the client with the lowest total cost of ownership when compared to other leading professional VMS solutions.
Software and hardware
- Axxon One video management software.
- Secure Logiq Qube workstation.
- 17 cameras (12 x 4K cameras, 3 x 3 MP cameras, and 2 x 2 MP ANPR cameras for access control purposes — Wiegand protocol for integration with Paxton System).
Results and Benefits
The new CCTV in school provided the client with many benefits, including high-resolution images that allow identification of individuals and vehicles around the site, and high-end artificial intelligence (AI video analytics) that allow:
- Tracking of humans and vehicles (even by color).
- Motion detection by direction of travel.
- Loitering detection.
- Detection of left and removed objects.
- Face search — upload a photo to the system and search for the person.
- Search for the video of a vehicle by the license plate number.
The new school security system enables the facility to deny access to any vehicle previously not registered on the system. If a vehicle tailgates in through the entry gate, the exit gate will not open unless the license plate is recognized. This gives the school a chance to challenge a trespassing vehicle or issue a parking fine.
“AxxonSoft VMS software has been fundamental in our commitment towards safeguarding our pupils, throughout our campus. Its intuitive interface and powerful analytics allow us to search for humans and cars, as well as faces and registration plates. This enables us to find any incident within seconds as well as receive real time alerts,”
“This has been a challenging site to cover, but we are extremely pleased with the results for the client. The school security cameras system will become a crucial part of the way the site operates, both for security reasons and as a management tool. The system has already proved its worth following a recent incident when we were able to identify the perpetrator within a few minutes despite being given a 12-hour window to search through and no description. This was all due to the power of the analytics. On-site staff who have responsibility for the system are very impressed with its capabilities. Further expansion of the camera system is planned in the future,”