Visitor management systems: Enhanced security, streamlined operations

Schools can be incredibly busy places with hundreds or even thousands of staff, students, and visitors on site every day. Keeping track of everyone on campus and remaining confident they are where they need to be might seem almost impossible.

Visitor management systems can significantly ease this burden, tracking staff and visitors, and ensuring all visitors have up to date working with children checks, and other relevant documentation and permissions. Teacher registrations can also be stored in your visitor management system.

​Read the latest print edition of School News HERE

Many systems now go beyond simple visitor management and include a range of features to simplify tasks and improve operations. Contractor and volunteer management, casual and relief staff tracking, staff and student sign in and out, emergency response, and key and asset tracking can all be done through some platforms.

Systems can be configured with customised welcome screens, to offer visitors a warm welcome, conduct an induction if necessary, and share any information guests may need while on your school grounds. Staff and visitors to your school can check-in independently, so front desk staff do not need to pause other tasks to sign people in.

Moreover, systems can remember visitors and store their information, meaning regulars to your school, for example relief teachers, will not need to complete a lengthy sign-in process each time they are onsite. Your system can be configured to conduct an induction for staff members as necessary.

Typically, the system will include hardware like a tablet or computer, for people to sign in and out. Multiple devices can be set up throughout your school, and systems can be tailored to suit your school’s size and locations. One system can even span multiple campuses.

Is your system fit for purpose?

Your school may already have a visitor management system, however it is important to consider if it is still fit for purpose, or if it is being used to its full potential. New buildings, a change in roll size, increased visitors on site, and changing regulatory and compliance obligations may all impact your visitor management system’s usefulness. Talk to your existing system provider to determine if upgrades are needed, or if new features are available that your school isn’t using.

If you do decide to upgrade your system or change providers, ensure this is communicated to your school community. Staff will need to be provided with training to ensure they can use the system to its full potential, and families must be given sufficient information about any changes to school communication or policies and procedures.

Also ensure enough time is scheduled to migrate data from one system to the other, with minimal disruption to school operations. School holiday periods might be a good time to change or upgrade your system to ensure it is fully functioning when students are on campus.

Importantly, any new or upgraded visitor management system must work in conjunction with other systems your school uses, for example, student management system.

Laura Hunt, General Manager at Passtab said changing circumstances in schools, particularly around child safety and compliance, have made it essential to update visitor management systems. “Following the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, schools are under increasing pressure to ensure all staff, contractors, and volunteers have valid Working With Children Checks and receive appropriate child safety inductions. These measures can be complex and dynamic but must be executed quickly to maintain front office efficiency.

“Schools must also be prepared to demonstrate compliance at any time, creating a need for systems that can manage these requirements seamlessly.”

Smoother operations and sustainability wins

Beyond organisation and compliance, visitor management systems can contribute to your school’s sustainability efforts. By digitising sign-in processes, and document collection and retention, schools can significantly reduce their reliance on paper-based solutions, which will in turn reduce waste. This will lead to smoother workflows and free up physical storage space, as documents will not need to be stored as hard copies. Digital storage is also useful when retrieving documents, as they are all stored securely in your visitor management system.

Emergencies in schools can be stressful, but visitor management systems can simplify your response. A range of features around emergency management are available, including up to date lists of staff, students and visitors on site, alerts sent to select staff members in case of emergency, and the ability for multiple staff to work on personnel lists at once.

The latest innovations

Technology is always advancing, and recent technological advancements have significantly enhanced the efficiency and functionality of visitor management systems, particularly in school environments.

“One notable development is the widespread adoption of QR code technology, which gained familiarity during the pandemic,” Ms Hunt said. “QR codes provide schools with a cost-effective alternative to traditional iPad kiosks. While iPads remain valuable in many visitor management setups, QR code posters offer a flexible and affordable solution, enabling schools to easily expand the number of entry and exit points covered by their system without additional hardware investment.

“Another major advancement is the rise of facial recognition technology, which ensures precise identification of visitors, matching profiles seamlessly to critical compliance requirements such as Working With Children Checks. It also delivers a fast, frictionless sign-in experience, eliminating the need for scan cards, PIN codes, or manual verification processes.

“These technologies not only improve security and compliance but also streamline operations, helping schools manage their visitors efficiently while enhancing the overall user experience.”