Security and Door Access Upgrades and Improvements at St Teresa’s, Darlington

The Client

St. Teresa’s Catholic Primary School, Darlington

The Brief

To update and upgrade the security facilities at the school and nursery.

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The Activity:

We were invited by long-term working partnership with T. Manners and Sons Ltd., to support the upgrade and alterations to St. Teresa’s Catholic Primary School and Nursery, part of the Bishop Hogarth Catholic Education Trust, for safeguarding compliance and enhanced site entry and exit security.

With the nursery extending to its own secure entrance and exit, it was vital to ensure the safety of the attendees, carers and staff, as well as visibility and traceability, as part of the school’s duty of care requirements.

The works were focused on upgrading the school door access, perimeter security and CCTV surveillance systems, as well as support for installations carried by other third-party contractors, such as the new fire alarm solution (CDS), entrance building works (T Manners and Sons Ltd.) and new fencing and gate works (Middleton Forge). 

Tomlinson Longstaff designed the project requirements and managed the project progress, overseeing each element to ensure compliance and suitability, alongside CDS, IES and providing temporary electrical supply for site cabins used by T Manners and Sons Ltd. during the external works on the new entrance.

Within the job specification, we included, sourced and installed a CCTV solution that consisted of 19 x Paxton 10 cameras around the perimeter (CCTV system installed by working partner IES).

The original door access system was upgraded to Paxton 10, with video entry on the new gate and an additional door was added to the secure door entry system along with a fire relay (fire system installed by working partner CDS). A fire relay is installed to ensure the lock to the door is released in the event of a fire.

The nursery with its new secure entrance now has its own video entry system linking to a receiver inside so that staff can be sure who they are opening the door to by not only speaking to them but visually seeing them too. These systems are paired with maglocks on the doors which release when entry is granted, and wall mounted manual call points to release the locks in the event of an emergency situation.

Where possible we utilised Paxton systems and accessories to each security point to be accessible through the same app, for ease and further security protection.

The Result:

The new entrance to the nursery not only allows for safety of the youngest attendees of the school, but also provides staff with a smoother and more bespoke care service to the children and their carers, and ensures compliance to safeguarding requirements. The main school provides an exceptional level of care and security for the main primary school, offering peace of mind to the families and carers of the pupils, as well as assurance to the Trust that the duty of care requirements are not only being met but being excelled.

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