The new round of funding has been announced for schools and colleges to apply for Condition Improvement Funding for 2024 to 2025. The deadline for submission is 14th December 2023 so schools must act fast.
The Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) stands at more than £400 million and supports projects surrounding the maintenance needs of Academies and Sixth Form Colleges across England including installation of protection systems such as the Alertex Lockdown range. You may wish to inform any Academy Trusts that you deal with of this information and direct them to this link for further information and to register to apply https://www.gov.uk/guidance/condition-improvement-fund
In line with Ofsted guidelines, schools must demonstrate that their LOCKDOWN alert sounds distinct to their FIRE alert as one warning means stay inside and find a place of safety whilst the other means evacuate. A school might go into lockdown for any number of reasons and Alertex units not only sound distinct to a fire alert but with their blue flashing beacon they look different. Annunciators are also available if schools prefer a lockdown message to be used instead of a sounder.
Alertex units are battery powered so there are no expensive civil works involved during the installation process which in most cases can be carried out in a matter of hours. With a long radio transmission range, when one Alertex unit is triggered it will activate all other Alertex devices in range to provide a site wide alert. There is an Alertex portal available which enables schools to see which unit has been triggered and has a number of reporting functions and the range includes mobile fobs which can also activate Alertex units during a lockdown event.
