Security Audit at CPSC

There are so many elements that go into providing an excellent program for young children. Surely one of the most basic is fundamental security. If children, teachers, and parents don’t feel safe at their school/child care center, learning and joyful development will at be hampered while everyone carries some safety worries with them throughout their day.

In the 26 years of CPSC’s operation, we have never had a serious safety issue. Partly it is because we are fortunate to live in a safe community and partly it is because we have practices and policies in place that keep our little community safe.

Recently a CPSC Board Committee initiated a safety audit to review our security practices and policies and to make sure we were doing all we can to maintain the safety of our facility and our community. The committee was composed of two parents and Rachel, our Executive Director. That audit resulted in some revision and fine tuning of our security practices to make sure we are ready for a physical danger such as a fire or earthquake and to make sure we optimize our security practices so that only those with a legitimate reason to be present in the school can gain entry. Our results are listed below.

1) All access to CPSC is regulated either by the staff in the front office or via the breezeway gate code for entry and the camera that monitors that gate. The code is changed on a regular basis to restrict access to current families and staff.

2) Parents are urged not to share the gate code with other adults or children and not to hold the gate for others.

3) There is an alarm system on the gate (a six foot high button that must be pushed to prevent an alarm sounding when the gate opens) to warn us if a child opens the gate without an accompanying adult.

4) Staff members will approach anyone they do not recognize as a staff member or a family member of one of the children authorized by a parent to have access to their child and get them to the office for redirection to a specific classroom or out of the Center.

5) Parents are periodically reminded to be mindful of safety as they park, escort their children from the school to their cars, and merge back into traffic.

6) Fire drills and earthquake drills are held within the school monthly and by the larger community center campus as a whole to make sure the staff and children know what to do in case of this kind of emergency.

7) Emergency supplies are updated annually.

8) Children are taught about personal safety in an age-appropriate manner.

Often the media that surround us encourage us to think of the world as a threatening place. And it is true that there are dangers in any environment from which children and families must be protected. Our goal is to maintain good safety and security practices so that our CPSC children can be free of unnecessary anxiety and feel secure enough to fully engage in their learning, their loving relationships, and their development.