Access control for schools, colleges and universities

What is school access control?

School access control replaces keys and keypad codes on the school's doors with fobs or cards that the office can issue, change and cancel. Each controlled door has a reader beside it and an electric lock, wired to a door controller that holds the list of who may open it.

It covers the main entrance, so nobody walks in unannounced, and the internal doors that need protecting: the server room, the finance office, the exam store, the staff room and the doors between the public areas and the classrooms. Every opening is recorded, so the school can see who went where and when.

How school access control works

1. 1

   Fob at the reader

   A member of staff or a student holds a fob or card to the reader beside the door. There is no code to remember or share.

2. 2

   The controller checks it

   The door controller checks the fob against its list of who may open that door, and at what times. The list is held in the controller, so the door keeps working if the network is down.

3. 3

   The door releases

   For a valid fob the controller releases the lock for a few seconds and logs the entry. An unknown or cancelled fob is refused and logged too.

4. 4

   The office manages it

   On a networked system the office adds, changes and cancels fobs for every door from one PC in Norpass3, and runs reports from the same place.

From one door to the whole site

A small school can start with a single entrance. NanoQuest combines the reader and controller in one IP65 unit, holds up to 500 users and is programmed with a master card, so there is no PC or software to run. At Orchard Junior School it replaced a keypad whose code the children had learned.

A larger school, college or campus needs central control. Networked CRC22x door controllers run over the school's IP network and are managed in Norpass3, our licence-free access control software, so the office adds and cancels fobs for every door from one PC and can report on who went where.

The two can be mixed. At Lydney Primary, a networked controller with proximity readers covers the main entrance and NanoQuest controllers protect internal doors to restricted areas, all on the same staff fobs.

Who gets in, where and when

• Staff: the whole site, with the server room, finance office or exam store limited to the people who need them
• Students: the buildings and doors they use, at the time periods set in Norpass3
• Contractors and lettings: fobs that open only the doors they need, cancelled when the job or the booking ends
• Visitors: signed in at reception and given a pass, covered on our visitor access control page

School access control hardware

• Standalone door controller: NanoQuest combines reader and controller in one IP65 unit for up to 500 users, programmed with a master card
• Networked door controllers: the CRC221-1 and CRC221-2 hold up to 65,000 cards and connect to Norpass3 over TCP/IP or RS485. Both are designed and manufactured in South Wales
• Readers: the wall switch proximity reader fits a standard UK back box; the slim mullion mount reader suits door frames with no room for a back box
• Exit devices: the proximity free exit device opens the door from inside with a wave of the hand, and fits a standard UK back box
• Software: Norpass3, licence-free, on a PC in the school office

Locks, door closers and power supplies come from the installer, chosen for each door.

Fire alarm and emergencies

Each CRC22x controller has a fire alarm input. Wired to the school's fire alarm, it releases the doors that controller holds, and maglocks release when their power is removed. Agree the release arrangement with the fire alarm installer and the school's fire risk assessment before commissioning.

Norpass3's optional RollCall mustering uses the entry records to show who is on site, which the office can check against the register at the assembly point.

Managing school access in Norpass3

• Add and cancel fobs for staff, students and contractors from one PC, with no locks to change when a fob is lost
• Access rights and time periods per door and per group, so a contractor's fob or a lettings fob works only where and when it should
• Reports on who opened which door and when
• Door alarms when a controlled door is forced open, reported to the Norpass3 PC
• Card & PIN on the doors that need a second check, such as the server room

The controllers store up to 1,700 events themselves, so nothing is lost if the network or the PC is down; the events upload when the connection returns.

Fobs, cards and readers

Proximity fobs suit most schools: they are cheap, hard to damage and there is no code to share, unlike a PIN that pupils copy. For doors that need more security, smart cards and readers using MIFARE DESFire are much harder to copy than 125 kHz proximity fobs.

For the gates and the car park, see vehicle access control for schools and campuses. Our guide to access control for schools covers the options in more depth.

What affects the cost of school access control

• The number of controlled doors, and whether they need a reader on both sides
• Standalone NanoQuest doors or a networked system managed in Norpass3
• The locks and door hardware, and whether any doors need replacing
• Cabling to the doors and the network, and interfacing to the fire alarm
• Whether the school already runs Norpass3. It is licence-free, so there is no software licence to buy either way

We supply through installers and distributors, so the price comes from the installer after a site survey. Our sales team can help put the equipment list together, or introduce an installer near you: sales@nortechcontrol.com.