The first thing I noticed when I went back to visit my old state school in north London was the new electronic gated fence. A permanent police officer had been stationed on-site and shiny new CCTV cameras shifted their glassy eyes across the playground. A blaring siren signalled the beginning of the day.
My old school is not unusual; our learning environments are undergoing an intensive process of fortification. Over 450 schools now have a dedicated police officer on-site and many have introduced screening wands and arches. New powers for teachers to stop and search students without consent are used on a daily basis. CCTV cameras are fitted as standard.
It is a given that no teacher, pupil or parent should ever feel under threat in school premises – the question is not whether security matters, but how best to achieve it. I'm worried that, by eroding our sense of community, authoritarian measures may be undermining the security they are designed to protect.
via Rowenna Davis: Turning schools into prisons isn’t the answer – Schools, Education – The Independent.
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