NEWS A school in Wales is considering electronically tagging its pupils to prevent them leaving the school grounds during break times in an attempt to improve safety.
Dyfrig Ellis, head teacher of the Lonlas primary school near Swansea, got the idea for the scheme after seeing a demonstration of the technology at an IT conference and is now trying to set up a meeting with the supplier and the Local Education Authority (LEA).
If it gets the go-ahead, the school plans to run a trial to evaluate the tagging technology. This would involve children wearing a wristband connected to a central control system, which would alert staff if any child wandered off the school premises.
School governor Robat Powell told silicon.com the use of the technology would help improve the safety of the school's 350 pupils and 60 nursery children.
"One of the reasons we are interested is because of the difficulty in employing enough lunchtime supervisors. We are a large school with an adjoining playing field and there are many entrances and exits," he said.
An LEA spokeswoman said no discussions have yet taken place but it will meet with the school if it plans to go ahead with the scheme.
Plus: Read silicon.com's leader article on the trend toward using technology for surveillance in schools.
Comments
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1. Carol Cordle
I am 64 years old and i have 10 grandchildern and 2 greatgrandchildern. and i try to tell them that i seen this coming in 1990, and i study the bible i dont just read it and i am so thankful for people as Irving Baxter that tell the truth and help some from being so decived, Thank GOD FOR his work and others. HIT THEM HARD WITH A LOADED BIBLE. Thank you
2. Aden Brill
So, "the use of the technology would help improve the safety of the school's....children". For God's sake, safety against what? Probably only the stupid twisted minds of people these days!
3. Mark
I think this money would be better spent on lets think maybe some books, or pens and pencils something the pupils will actually benefit from, like upto date IT equipment or better school meals, better gym equipment. im sure the money would go to better use elsewhere.
i expect hospitals will be doing it soon, to make sure pateints dont leave before they are supposed to. rather than spending it on some more nurses or beds, or maybe a new cancer unit.
Priorties need to be looked at.
lets face it, if i was still at school wanting to go off site when at school i would simply take the wrist band off and give it to a mate and say, look after that for me, until i get back with a four pack from the off-license.
4. anonymous
One name springs to mind George Orwell, if my children went to that school I would pull them out sraight away!
5. Finbar Dineen
I've found a lot of schools are looking at some really inventive solutions to solve their day to day problems, but they are held back by the administrative IT systems they have to use. Often, more often than not, these IT systems are dictated by their LEA. The main problem this school will face will be in linked the RFID tags to their back end office and administrative systems. I find Capita an other companies that manage and sell such systems are very expensive to wor with for even simple modifications to their database (starting at £5,000 just to directly link to the DB). Basically, good luck to the school, but I hope their LEA is up to the job and they aren't tied to admin systems such as SIMS.
6. anonymous
Unless you willing to permently attach these wristbands to the children, then all thay have to do is take them off and leave them with there mate or somthing, then scarper.
You might as well put all the money in a big pile and burn it!!!
Along with the morons who keep comming up with these stupid ideas!!!
7. anonymous
Rather wasting money on technology, recruit more staff to keep an I on the kids. Are the kids in Wales criminals?
8. Iain Benger-Stevenson
Surely, if a child were kidnapped, by the time anyone reacted to the alarm, the victim would have been bundled into a car and whisked off to its fate. Perhaps a tracking device would be a better investment.
Both my sons, in their twenties, survived school and university, so, perhaps the country is not teeming with child-abusing crazies?
9. anonymous
I always thought the aim of a school is to educate pupils. My son's school alows children out at lunch time and break times. They are taught how to behave in a public place - and expected to avoid dangerous situations.
If the aim is to reduce truancy then if they make the school an enjoyable experience then the kids will want to stay in.Surely the money spent on this expensive tagging system should be better spent on teaching the kids how to behave, and who they can talk to outside school rather than turning the school into a prison camp.
10. David Hudson
Instead of adopting negative attitudes about the concept of tagging infant and primary school children, take a little extra time to read the article thoroughly. The idea is to stop these particular age groups going 'walkabout' which unfortunately they do all to often.
Fortunately due to attentitive teaching and security staff most children are recovered immediately, but some are not, leading to anxiety for all concerned and sometimes unfortunate consequences, road accidents etc.
If tagging of young children saves just one from death or injury it will be worth investing in this system.
11. paul exton
big brother here we come.
this is just the beginning of an ever encroaching surveillence society.
the day will come that every person will be forced into being tagged. already some people are being tagged under the skin with a microchip.
12. anonymous
this is a good way to employ technology for the good. expecially for nursery children. not to reduce staff but for added security. i have four grandchildren and any thing that adds to their security must be a bonus, and welcomed. there has been reports in of children going walkies from nurseries, this would be the first alert. staff to. it appears that some other people who have commented on this issue value goods being taken from a shop more than our children they are worth more than any item in any shop!! protect them any way you can.