Out of hours and lettings
Your buildings are empty for more hours than they are full, and let to strangers for some of the rest.
Two different problems that look like one
A school is unoccupied for around two thirds of the year, and occupied by people who do not work there for a surprising amount of the remainder.
The empty-building problem is theft and damage: lead, copper, catalytic converters, laptops, and the broken window that costs more than what was taken. A conventional alarm tells somebody a contact opened, and the response is a guess.
The lettings problem is the opposite. The building is occupied, legitimately, by people who should have access to two rooms and frequently have access to everything because the alternative was giving somebody a key.
They need different answers, and most schools have neither.
Verified response rather than a guess
Video verification
The activation arrives with the footage that caused it, so a monitoring agent can see whether it is a person or a curtain.
Talk-down
Agents can speak to the site, which resolves a good proportion before anyone is dispatched.
A documented sequence
Talk-down where available, then the contact list, then emergency services if nobody can be reached.
UK monitoring
Verkada states its UK monitoring is NSI Gold certified and ICO registered.
Access that expires by itself
Time-limited credentials
Saturday, nine until one. Not Sunday, not the science block.
Only the doors they need
Hall, foyer, accessible toilet.
A record
Who arrived, which door, when they left.
No key to lose
Which removes the rekeying conversation entirely.
Alarm part-setting
The occupied part is off, the rest of the site is armed.
A caretaker who can go home
Which is usually the actual business case.
The fortnight that costs the most
- Confirm who is on the alarm contact list, and that they answer in August.
- Check the part-set arrangement covers holiday club and summer works.
- Contractors on site during the holidays need credentials, not a propped-open door.
- Camera positions that cover the roof, the plant compound and the bike sheds — the actual targets.
- A written escalation: who is called, in what order, and who can attend.
- Test it before you break up, not in the second week.
The building earns money when you are not in it, and that is when it goes wrong
Lettings, holiday clubs, exam halls, contractors and the sports hall on a Saturday. The security question is never who is in the building at eleven on a Tuesday morning.
- Access on the booking, not on trust. A hirer’s credential works for their slot and stops afterwards, with no key to get back.
- You see it without driving in. Alerts reach named people, and the footage is already in the browser when they open it.
- The car park is where the incidents are. Vehicles, the bin store and the back gate account for most out-of-hours damage in the schools we survey.
- A record for the hire agreement. Who came, which door, what time — the thing you need when a hirer disputes the damage.
Questions we get asked
Can we part-set the alarm for a letting?
Do we need monitoring?
Sources
Everything on this page is taken from these. Checked 25 September 2026.
Start with a survey, not a quotation.
We walk the site, look at what you already have, and tell you what would genuinely help — including where the answer is that you do not need anything.
Book a free site survey Call 01727 822 833Tell us about the site
Send us a few details and an engineer — not a call centre — will come back to you within one working day.
This is not a monitoring centre
If you are dealing with an incident now, call 999. This line is monitored during office hours.