School fence to keep students in

A SCHOOL in a North Somerset village is planning to install a fence to stop students “escaping”.

Leaders at Churchill Academy and Sixth Form wants to install the 2.4-metre barrier, complete with CCTV and electronic locks, after they identified serious security issues.

The 1,450-pupil school in Churchill Green is currently “highly exposed”, with some fencing and hedging but other areas completely open, allowing visitors to enter without being challenged.

The plans say: “The unsecured, easily accessible school greatly highlights the risk of anyone wandering in off the street and having unfettered access to the student accommodation which poses an unacceptable risk to our young people. This risk is compounded by the fact that vulnerable young people within the school student body are not able to be safely accommodated within the current site.

“The school has a significant number of vulnerable students, whose needs are such that they pose a risk of absconding.

“Some of these individuals have behavioural difficulties, and can run off beyond the school boundary. Others have significant mental health problems and have the tendency to abscond in order to harm themselves. With the current site, students with these needs can currently ‘escape’ the site and be out in the community.”

Some 923 metres of fencing will be installed if North Somerset Council approves the application. Electronic gates and CCTV will allow the school to monitor who enters and leaves.