Best Practice For School Fencing and Gates

Whether it’s for a new build, or a refurbishment of existing facilities, planning and designing the perimeter and interior layout of a school is an important task that can become complicated without guidance. The Crime Prevention Design Advisor or Architectural Liaison Officer at your local police station is a very good source of assistance on the design of your boundary protection, or additionally, experts at Jacksons can offer a free security review of your site alongside the CPDA and provide you with a range of appropriate options and an indication of the costs, timing and process involved from design to completion of the project.

The School Boundary

Perimeter fencing and gates have multiple purposes, including preventing intrusion, truancy and providing a welcoming and safe environment that doesn’t appear ‘fortress’ like.

We recommend various options for fencing and gates around the perimeter, including Barbican® vertical bar railings, EuroGuard® Flatform and EuroGuard® Regular, paired with EuroGuard® Flatform Heavy gates. Make sure the gates match the fencing, and allow for vehicles and pedestrians. It is always recommended that pedestrians have separate gates to vehicles to avoid accidents.

Inside the Perimeter

To keep people safe within the school site, use a range of products, such as barriers, bollards and verge marker posts to define areas for pedestrians and vehicles. Use a selection of timber fencing and gates around the site to control the flow of people around the grounds and reduce the areas where students can be hidden from view.

Junior schools offering play areas should ensure it is designed so equipment and activities do not interfere with each other and that safe access for able bodied and less able pupils is provided. The fencing and gates to be employed in a play area should at least conform to BS EN 1176 and be RoSPA approved. Jacksons offer RoSPA approved and BS EN 1176 compliant Anti-Trap Bow Top or Playtime® Timber fencing and gates which come in a variety of colours and have the option of soft-closing, self-closing gates.

Noise Management

For particularly noisy areas, such as playgrounds and sports pitches, consider the use of acoustic barriers to reflect or absorb sound. Our acoustic barriers reduce noise of up to 32dB, and with their timber facade, they provide an attractive and extremely secure solution.

Amenities

Jacksons’ flexible, semi-enclosed or fully-enclosed multi-purpose bicycle, waste, recycling, fuel and equipment stores provide an excellent solution to coupling practical requirements and security within a matched design theme.

Playgrounds, sports fields and sports courts all require specialist fencing and gates. Jacksons offer a wide range of ball court, ball stop and sports enclosure fencing and gates designed to minimise the risk of injury, or accidental damage.

In response to the growing trend for schools to provide ‘outside learning areas’ within the grounds, Jacksons offer a wide variety of timber decking and covered learning areas that create safe, comfortable spaces for students and teachers.

Access Control

Decide how you want to allow people onto the site with the application of different gates and controls, such as buzzers, intercoms and key card facilities.

It’s a good idea to have separate entrances for deliveries to avoid large vehicles blocking driveways and car parks which can become a hazard. If this isn’t possible, make sure that delivery drivers have clear instructions upon ordering, or directions to right location are signposted.