Your 8-Point School Inspection Checklist

Site assessments that cover natural surveillance, access control, territoriality and other CPTED concepts will help to protect your campus, students and staff.

Your 8-Point School Inspection Checklist

4. Do staff members have the physical ability to stop visitors from entering? If a truly menacing visitor approaches — someone with a weapon, for example — who is supposed to stop them and how? Is the receptionist supposed to firmly order them out of the building or tackle them? As unrealistic as these expectations might be, most schools have nothing better in place. To truly stop someone from entering:

  • Can receptionists instantly lock the front doors electronically with the push of a button, or must they run to the door with a key?
  • In a state of higher security, can a visitor speak through an intercom before being allowed into the building, or must the receptionist talk to them directly through the door?
  • Once the visitor enters the lobby, what stops them from continuing into the rest of the school? Is there a second set of locked doors? Do they need to be buzzed through?

5. How well can people see what’s going on inside the school? Some school designs incorporate many niches, cul-de-sacs or other features that can hide illicit activity. Many times, such locations can be exposed by installing convex mirrors, or in some cases by cutting holes in walls. Especially with new construction, look for ways to mitigate or eliminate such features in the design stage. Commonly, school staff are obliged to stage at certain locations in order to police the halls. The fewer niches, the fewer staff will be obligated with this non-teaching duty. Office configuration and the installation of internal windows can make internal surveillance much easier.

6. Are there identifiable or predictable trouble spots or high risk locations?

  • Where do fights occur? Are there environmental factors that contribute to the conflict? Cafeterias, for example, are often noisy and crowded.
  • Are there rooms that are left unlocked and unattended, such as boiler rooms, closets, storage sheds or classrooms?
  • Are there particular walls that attract graffiti? If so, what impedes surveillance of this location? Can lights or security cameras be installed here? Is the material used to construct the wall easy to spray paint? Is it difficult to clean?
  • Are there piles of cigarette butts at certain locations?
  • Does bullying get reported in particular bathrooms or locker areas?
  • Ask bullying victims, “Do you av
    oid certain locations at school, and if so, why?”
  • Where do most accidental injuries occur?

7. Do staff members have immediate lockdown and evacuation capabilities in classrooms and other locations? In many schools, classrooms used to have two doors — one to the adjacent hallway, the other to the outdoors. Out of concern over too many access points, which made it hard to control access into the school, many newer schools then removed the second door. Unfortunately, this eliminated a critical escape path for evacuations. The right balance may vary from school to school.

  • Can an emergency exit door be installed?
  • Would an emergency exit window be a reasonable compromise? (.i.e. http://grahamthermal.com/gt9-1-1.html )
  • Are doors normally kept shut and locked?
  • Would the teacher need to step into the hall with a key in order to lock the door during an emergency? Or can she simply pull the door shut?
  • Are there blinds on the windows to block the shooter’s view during an emergency?

8. Is the overall school climate pro-social? This can be largely subjective. Ask a wide variety of students:

  • “Are you treated well here, and respected? By fellow students and by staff? Are there people who stand out as treating you disrespectfully?
  • “Do you feel alienated at school? What do you think is behind that?
  • “Are there people here you’d feel comfortable talking to if you had a serious problem?”

Also, ask staff how they are treated as well.

  • Look at the number of referrals for fighting or other disrespectful behavior.
  • Ask “Is this a good school? Why or why not? If you could improve it, what would you change? What do you think of your teachers?”
  • Note messages on the walls. To what degree do posters tell students what not to do? To what degree do posters validate them or offer opportunities for pro-social activities?

Tod Schneider is a consultant, presenter and writer on Safe, Healthy and Positive Environmental Design for schools, and a Second Step Violence Prevention Curriculum Instructor at the primary school level. For more details, visit www.safeschooldesign.com or contact him at todschneider@hotmail.com or by phone at (541) 543-1774.

If you appreciated this article and want to receive more valuable industry content like this, click here to sign up for our FREE digital newsletters!

Leading in Turbulent Times: Effective Campus Public Safety Leadership for the 21st Century

This new webcast will discuss how campus public safety leaders can effectively incorporate Clery Act, Title IX, customer service, “helicopter” parents, emergency notification, town-gown relationships, brand management, Greek Life, student recruitment, faculty, and more into their roles and develop the necessary skills to successfully lead their departments. Register today to attend this free webcast!

Get Our Newsletters
Campus Safety Conference promo