As a sign of the times, once it was smoking at schools, now it’s vaping. Baxter College in Kidderminster, which is part of the Severn Academies Educational Trust, had come across more students vaping within the toilets. College principal Matthew Carpenter recalled: “Children were worried about going to the toilets because of the amount of anti-social behaviour. The way vapes work in comparison to cigarettes allows them to be used quickly and the low-cost disposable ones are easily hidden or thrown away.”
The school decided on HALO Smart Sensors, supplied by Ecl-ips, a Bromsgrove-based security company. The HALO smart sensors can detect vape as well as THC (the psychoactive compound found in cannabis). THC may be found in some e-cigarettes although this is illegal in the UK. The products is besides a health and air quality monitoring device that can also detect abnormal noise, that could indicate violence or aggression and calls for help. The school also ensured its policies allowed it to take action against those caught vaping and Carpenter said other schools could do the same.
He said: “I would advise planning for how the system is going to be monitored and the subsequent action, reflecting these changes in the school’s behaviour policy. You will receive a significant number of alerts and need to be able to respond quickly. I would also recommend pairing the sensor with a CCTV camera near the entrance to the toilet so you can quickly identify students who were in the toilets and considering a wand-style metal detector to support checking coats and bags.”
Since the sensors were installed, children have been detected vaping and have been dealt with; and the school reports less disruption by pupils, in class and in the toilets.
Carpenter said: “It has transformed the amount of antisocial behaviour in toilets, younger children are more confident in going to the toilets. It has also reduced the number of students asking to go to the toilet during lessons.”
About Ecl-ips
HALO Smart Sensors are made in the United States, by IPVideo Corporation. Ecl-ips is also a CCTV, intruder alarm and access control installer, based in and operating across the West Midlands and surrounding areas. The HALO smart sensor can integrate with the security systems Ecl-ips offers. Visit https://ecl-ips.com/.
For other Ecl-ips case studies from the education sector visit https://ecl-ips.com/case-studies/.
