Why Two-Way Radios Are a Key Part of School Safety
The safety of children in schools today is an emotive issue. The themes run along a spectrum from unsubstantiated scaremongering to the laissez faire depending on your world view.
Security of course is only one aspect of a school or college’s responsibilities and is made up of a number of strategies; awareness training, I.D. badges, CCTV, and fencing are all synecdotal mechanisms of safeguarding staff and students, but to bring all these parts together requires effective communication.
However, it’s not simply the obvious concerns that need addressing, sometimes it’s simply the mundane day-to-day that needs attending to.
The importance of effective communication cannot be overstated, whether that is inter-classroom, to janitorial staff, for leaders and management teams, to call for first-aiders, or extracurricular activities such as sports days and events management, the most effective method of communication, is not a mobile phone, it is a two-way radio.
The mobile phone is clearly a fantastic tool for many situations, but for the effective running of a school or college, it can’t hold a candle to a digital two-way radio.
The advantages are manifold:
- Instant connectivity, no delay, waiting for a connection to be launched.
- Reliability, radios don’t suffer from coverage or network issues.
- Ease of use. Press a button to talk, let go to listen.
- Durability, radios are protected against water (some have IP ratings that makes them almost totally waterproof) dust and vibration.
- Robust, build design makes radios less likely to be damaged from drops and heavy handling plus they won’t bow out of shape like a mobile can!
- Multiple tasking, communicate with numerous operatives simultaneously.
- No call credit required.
- Additional, actionable features such as Man Down, Lone Worker and Emergency Alert
- Longer battery life.
- Privacy and Security. Radios function on a private network, with encryption features designed for security. Crucial when dealing with personal or confidential information within an education environment.
Colleges and schools NRC already contract to use radios for a multitude of purposes, when ‘on call’ staff who need to be alerted immediately to classroom incidents, or site staff for janitorial and health and safety communiques. Others use them for range and coverage, due to their crystal clear reception, while others have used them for everything from college discos to charity events, whole school fun days and summer camps.
Radios should be the go to solution for your staff and students’ security and peace of mind.
