Never has there been such a powerful move forward in the childcare sector than the arrival of facial recognition-based entry.
‘The Guardian’ is a totally hands-free admission system that uses facial recognition technology to allow entry to families when they arrive at the door, with total security.
Designed by T-Scan in Australia specifically for childcare centres and early learning facilities, the contactless system is a new standard in frontline protection for staff and children in health and safety.
The Guardian is purposefully designed to:
- keep children and staff safer than ever
- keep tabs on everyone who enters the building
- control who can enter, on which days
- boost health by reducing virus transmission
- smooth the flow of traffic at drop off/pickup
- remove the hassle of forgotten pin codes
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How does it work?
The weatherproof titanium terminal is mounted on the entry wall at adult height, and connected to the existing door locking system. “It doesn’t scan children, which helps with any parental safety concerns for child privacy,” says Chris Coppin, T-scan Director.
Access is only granted on acceptance of the person’s identity and confirmation that it’s their correct enrolment day.
Coppin says centre operators “love the security enhancements and easy operation for parents, as well as the visual statement that the centre is responding to today’s health and safety climate”.
How facial recognition entry changes the future of childcare
Facial recognition to protect young people is revealing its importance, but it doesn’t stop at front-door security. The Guardian also helps centres reduce wasted time for staff, and sick days for both children and employees.
The key benefits include:
Easy to use
Upon arrival, parents and staff face the terminal screen and the door is unlocked automatically by The Guardian system.
Installation is simple, with fitting and connection, onboarding and database setup taken care of by the manufacturer, T-Scan. Full training and ongoing support is included.
Coppin says they can also work with existing pin-pad entry systems to make transition easier for parents and staff. “So far, we have seen an incredible uptake for this service by centre parents once they know this solution is available,” he says.
Safety for families and staff
The Guardian is a more secure entry system than pin codes because it eliminates the possibility of codes being shared, and staff can set permissions for families so they can only be granted entry on their enrolled days.
Staff can instantly access data on every person to enter the facility, and update child and family details quickly and easily, which is imperative with changing court orders and family situations.
These features can also help centres improve their National Quality Standards rating in the Children's Health and Safety area.
Contactless entry reduces virus transmission
Contactless entry is also safer for everyone’s health, by eliminating keypads that every family touches on arrival. In our more virus-aware world, this helps to adhere to Covid-19 health and safety guidelines, and reduces year-round transmission of common illnesses like colds and flu.
Secure online system
Facial images are stored directly on The Guardian stand-alone terminal, which safeguards data privacy for families and staff members. The system and software help ensure centres adhere to strict Australian privacy laws.
Smoother drop-off and pickup times
The one-second scanning speed dramatically increases the flow of foot traffic during peak times and makes drop off faster and easier for families.
No more pin codes
Hands-free scanning frees up valuable staff time which is famously eaten up helping families with forgotten pin codes.
The cost of safety
One thing that surprises many childcare operators is the cost of The Guardian entry system.
Coppin says to keep expenses down for childcare centres and their families, they don’t charge any upfront cost at all for The Guardian.
“We look after everything for the centre, including centre contact lists and setup,” he says. “We install at any centre, anywhere across Australia. The Guardian is for everyone.”
T-Scan is currently offering a 20% discount on The Guardian for centres enquiring through Childcare4sale. To find out more about The Guardian, and secure a 20% discount, click here for more information.
