Services · CCTV
CCTV for schools and colleges
PenwinEdu installs CCTV systems in schools and colleges: we advise on where to place each camera and which equipment suits each spot, and we carry out the installation. We work with Hikvision cameras. We have been running the networks of publicly funded private schools (concertados), private schools, universities, business schools and vocational training centres for more than twelve years, and an IP camera is, first and foremost, a device on the network.
Email us at info@penwin.org and we'll walk round the site with you: what is worth covering, with what equipment and what it means for the school's network. The initial assessment is free and comes with no obligation.
Why a school wants cameras
The cameras a school asks for almost never point at the classroom: they watch the building when it is empty. A site with several entrances and open playgrounds is left unattended from Friday afternoon until Monday, and that is when most thefts, damage and break-ins over the fence happen.
The spots that come up are always the same, and they are all outside the classroom.
- Perimeter and fencing, which is usually the way in.
- Entrances to the site and the buildings out of hours.
- Car park, loading area and supplier entrances.
- Storerooms, plant and comms rooms, and cabinets holding high-value equipment.
What we bring: a camera is a network device
Some alarm companies also put cameras into schools and colleges. We come at it from the other side: we have been running these institutions' networks for over a decade. Today we manage more than 300,000 daily connections and more than 1,200 switches and firewalls.
An IP camera is not a separate appliance: it is one more device on the network. Whoever already knows the network is best placed to answer where the cable runs, whether the switch in the cabinet can supply power over the same cable, or which segment the camera is isolated in.
- Cabling and power over the same cable, with the switch sized to match.
- CCTV on its own segment, separate from classrooms and administration.
- A single point of contact for the network and the cameras.
Advice before installation: where, where not and with what equipment
Before installing, we walk round the site with the senior leadership team. A badly placed camera gives a false sense of security: it points into the light or leaves out the door people actually come in through. The useful question is not how many cameras to put up, but what you want to see and from where.
The hardware follows from that: an outside entrance at night, a playground and an inside corridor do not call for the same thing.
- A walk round the site and a point-by-point definition of what to cover.
- What falls within the field of view and what is lost: distances, backlighting, night-time light.
- The right model for each location, not the same camera over and over.
Installation: we work with Hikvision
We work with Hikvision cameras, just as in networking we work with Aruba, Meraki or Ubiquiti: a wide range, equipment for outdoor, indoor and low-light use, and spares available years later.
We carry out the installation ourselves, working around the school calendar: cabling and trunking are scheduled outside school hours whenever the scope allows.
- Hikvision cameras for outdoor, indoor and low-light use.
- Cabling, trunking, mounting, connection and configuration.
- Documented installation: inventory, locations and cable routes.
Familiar with what the law requires
The school is the controller of the footage: there are areas where recording is not appropriate, there is a maximum retention period and there is a duty to inform people with a visible sign.
We do not draft the school's data protection documentation, but we do keep it in mind when proposing the layout: a badly aimed field of view is easier to correct on paper than with the camera already mounted. We cover the detail on our blog.
- The school is the controller; we advise, install and provide support.
- Fields of view and excluded areas, decided before installation.
- Footage deleted within a maximum of one month of being captured (Article 22.3 of Organic Law 3/2018, Spain's data protection act).
Maintenance and the first step
A CCTV installation degrades silently: a camera that stopped recording three weeks ago does not warn anyone, and the school finds out on the day it needs the footage. That is why the system is included in PenwinEdu's 24/7 monitoring.
We start with a free, no-obligation assessment of the site, which produces a proposal setting out locations and equipment point by point.
- 24/7 monitoring with an alert when a camera stops responding.
- Response within four working hours of the report being logged.
- Technical team in Sant Cugat del Vallès (Barcelona), Madrid and Jaén.
Frequently asked questions
Can cameras be installed in classrooms?
It is not usual and it needs solid justification. CCTV in a school is planned around entrances, the perimeter, playgrounds and spaces holding valuable equipment; recording a classroom permanently is hard to defend as proportionate. The decision lies with the school, which is the controller.
And in playgrounds?
Playgrounds, fencing, entrances, the car park and the loading area are where a camera adds most, especially when the school is closed. CCTV signs have to be displayed in the area, and the field of view has to be adjusted so as not to capture more of the public street or other people's property than necessary.
How long is footage kept?
Organic Law 3/2018, Spain's data protection act, requires CCTV footage to be deleted within a maximum of one month of being captured. The exception is footage that shows acts against the integrity of people, property or facilities: it is made available to the competent authority within a maximum of seventy-two hours.
Can a family ask for footage of their child?
Anyone who has been recorded can exercise their right of access with the controller, which here is the school; in the case of children, the right is exercised by their legal representatives. It is not automatic: the request is dealt with within the deadline and anyone else who appears in the same footage has to be protected.
Do there have to be signs?
Yes. People must be informed by a notice in a visible place that identifies at least the existence of the processing, the identity of the controller and the possibility of exercising data protection rights; it can refer to the full information through a web address or a code.
Which camera brand do you work with?
PenwinEdu works with Hikvision cameras, just as in networking it works with Aruba, Meraki or Ubiquiti. It is a wide range, with models for outdoor, indoor and low-light use. The specific model is chosen point by point, depending on what needs to be seen at each location.
Do the cameras run on the same network as the rest of the school?
They use the school's cabling, but they do not share space with the rest of the traffic: CCTV runs on its own network segment, separate from the classroom and administration segments. That way the video does not compete with teaching and cannot be accessed from just anywhere.
Do you work with schools that already have cameras from another installer?
Yes. An existing installation can be extended with new points, and what is already there can be reviewed to see what is still useful and what should be replaced. The first step is to walk round the site and check what the existing installation covers; that assessment is free and comes with no obligation.
Let's talk about your school
Email us at info@penwin.org with details of your school, or fill in the contact form, and we'll reply with a specific proposal.