Williamstown High School beefs up security against trespassers
A school in Melbourne’s inner west has been forced to beef up its security against intruders who entered during teaching hours.
Victoria
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A high school in Melbourne’s west has been forced to call police and beef up its security measures after multiple incidents of trespassers.
Williamstown High School Bayview campus principal Karen Anderson warned families in a recent newsletter that trespassers had entered school grounds and the school’s atrium during the day and “refused direction” from multiple teachers.
“We contacted Victoria Police, identified the trespassers and are taking the action we deem necessary against them,” Ms Anderson wrote.
She also wrote that classrooms and student toilets at the school’s A wing and B wing were now being locked when not in use, with external doors remaining open.
“This recent measure in relation to student bathrooms is one we see as necessary at this point in time.
“Any student requiring immediate toilet access during class time (feel they are not able to wait if the toilet is in use), can report to reception (with the blue lanyard) to ask for a bathroom to be unlocked. Our duty of care to your child is paramount,” Ms Anderson wrote.
The Williamstown High Bayview campus, which services year 7 to 9 students, is open to Bayview Reserve on one side and is not fully fenced around the perimeter.
Although the inner classrooms are fenced, some of the campus is accessible by members of the public using the reserve and the Jawbone Marine Sanctuary.
The oval on the reserve, which is used by the school, is also jointly used by the public.
It comes after several schools in recent months have locked children out of bathrooms.
Parents at Parkdale Secondary College said they were alarmed late last year after their children had been locked out of the bathrooms during class hours, after complaints of vaping and other anti-social behaviour.
Koo Wee Rup Secondary College parents were sent also a letter last year saying school wide toilets had been locked, with students asked to “request an access card to use the toilet”.
Originally published as Williamstown High School beefs up security against trespassers
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