According to a recent report issued by The Department of Justice, the peace of mind of students, parents and staff can often be quickly enhanced by the installation of video cameras as part of a Video Management system.

In a recent survey conducted by the National Association of Child Care Providers (NACCP), eighty percent of their members who attended a seminar on Security and Your Center, indicated that security is very important to their parents. However, when asked to rate the security of their own centers the answers ranged from moderately secure to very secure. It is clear that every center needs to address their security needs. However, figuring out just what to do is less clear.

Childcare center safety and security is not just limited to children. In fact, as owners and operators of childcare facilities, you are responsible for several areas including your physical plant, parents, students, employees, as well as cleaning crews and other vendors - that is a lot of responsibility. It is in your best interest to address your security needs and protect your business, your assets and ultimately yourself. Furthermore, by increasing your security you can often reduce your insurance premiums.

Enhancing the safety and security of your center is easier than you might think. First keep doing the basics: lock your doors, get to know your parents and make certain their emergency contact information is up to date, make sure your smoke alarms have batteries, etc. Second, look to see how you might be able to improve your safety and security. For example, wouldn.t it be great to have an intercom system that would allow you to speak to visitors before letting them into your center? Another way to improve your center safety is with a computer assisted child check-in-out system that will track child movement.

You can also improve the safety and security of your center by installing a viewing system that will allow you to observe your center from your office or remotely via the Internet. By placing monitors in your lobby, your parents and staff can see into the classrooms without disrupting the classroom environment. This can also be a great marketing tool as parents enjoy being able to watch their children transition into the classroom. Viewing systems can also be configured to allow recording so you can keep a record of exactly what occurred at your center. Recording allows you to easily review selected activity with your staff or parents - many directors find this a very useful training tool.

All of these solutions can be very affordable and will help you improve the safety and security of your center.

Compliments of Bruce Loften and WatchMeGrow.
You may contact WatchMeGrow if you would like further
assistance selecting an internal or Internet based
viewing system at 1-800-483-5597 or www.watchmegrow.com.