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The use of Lanyards in Educational Settings

The use of Lanyards in Educational Settings

Educational settings have always had safety measures in place to protect their staff and students and you may primarily associate lanyards, which are straps that are typically worn around the neck with some form of pass attached, with teachers or education providers. However, the last year has been different from previous years due to the Covid-19 pandemic and identification has become a top priority for many school and university governing boards across the country and not just for their employees. They are now having to consider every single person that is on-site at any one time, and the access they have to varying areas of the premises. It is also vitally important to maintain the classroom and year group “bubbles” to keep everyone healthy and reduce the risk of transmission. With social distancing now part of our everyday lives, education providers are having to adapt and change to these unprecedented circumstances and ensure they adhere to their risk assessments and the comprehensive procedures that will have been put in place to protect their staff and students.

For many nurseries, schools, and universities, plain or customised lanyards have been an effective solution to the restrictions in place. As most lanyards can be easily purchased in large amounts, it is also an affordable solution for many educational boards that are struggling financially from the impact of the last year. So why are they so effective?

Students

Although they are less useful for the younger students and pre-school settings that have small children, from primary schools to universities, lanyards for students may be something to consider. In order to implement groupings and bubbles and continue to keep those separate to minimise contact, lanyards can be a useful tool. Different coloured lanyards provide an easy, visual identification and you can take that a step further depending on budget and have them branded with the specific bubble the student is in, “year 10” for example. If an educational setting doesn’t need help with the social bubbles and it is more an issue of allowing access, then having lanyards with “student” branded across them is an inexpensive solution.

There is no need to purchase accessories if lanyards are clearly branded, but having students design their own passes or badges to attach to the lanyard is a fun way to get them used to the idea of wearing them and will make them more inclined to continue to wear them.

Staff & Visitors

The use of printed, branded lanyards can be used to identify staff in the same way as we recommended for students in the above paragraph. Although staff lanyards should generally be used to carry identification badges as an extra layer of security.

Although many schools, universities and nurseries will no longer be allowing visitors access to the site, there may be exceptions to this rule and if so, those persons need to be able to be easily recognised by faculty and students alike in order to minimise contact. Visitor identification badges are the prime security feature used by many organisations. Visitor ID can play a prominent role in keeping your premises and staff and students secure. If all visitors are required to wear an ID badge, it is easier to identify those that should not be there. Lanyards are the most practical method for carrying ID badges and as they are worn around the neck, they ensure visitor ID badges are easily visible, making safety and security as straightforward as possible.

 

Lanyard Safety

As you can imagine with anything worn around the neck, lanyards are often seen as a health and safety issue. Especially where children and students are concerned. However, all our lanyards here at Only Lanyards are fitted with something called a breakaway or a safety break. The safety break keeps lanyards from being a choking hazard, when pressure is applied to the lanyard, the breakaway clasp (usually worn at the back of the neck) pulls apart. This clasp is made with plastic and compromises a male and female part to be joined together, this means that rather than breaking, it just pulls apart, enabling you to fit the parts back together and continue using the lanyard. This is a brilliant safety feature, especially if lanyards are being worn in environments where they may get caught or if they are being worn by students.

 

Environment

Most lanyards are reusable, and although that has traditionally been one of their benefits, during this pandemic this is proving somewhat of a problem. However, some companies have now introduced wipe clean PVC lanyards. These can be repeatedly sanitised for continued use, making them Covid secure. These are particularly useful in younger educational settings, where sanitation may be somewhat lacking!

If you are unsure of wipe clean lanyards, then some lanyard companies are offering single use lanyards. However, despite the threat of the coronavirus pandemic, climate change is also a real threat and something we should still be keeping in mind, so it is always better to try re-use lanyards if you can, or choose an eco-friendly option if you do purchase single use lanyards.

By using lanyards to help security measure, education boards can hopefully provide some much needed reassurance to both educators and parents that the health of their staff and their children are a top priority, as well as adhering to any risk assessments implemented due to the pandemic.

If you are interested in purchasing lanyards for your school or university, then we would love to hear from you. Even if you are unsure of what it is you would need, we can guide you through the process. Feel free to contact us directly by phone on 01765 233 144 or by email at hello@onlylanyards.com.