Nottingham's new premier nursery, the Applegarth Day Nursery, is the first in the region to have connected its CCTV cameras to the Internet to enable customers to log in via a secure Internet connection.
Mums and dads, with access to the Internet at home, work, abroad or through their mobile phones, will be able to see live video of their children learning and playing at the nursery.
Cameras in each room of the nursery (and the areas for older children) are connected to a video server which both digitally records and connects to the Internet. Parents with permission from the nursery can then view live video from the rooms their child is in via a secure, encrypted Internet connection.
Nottingham's new premier nursery, the Applegarth Day Nursery, is the first in the region to have connected its CCTV cameras to the Internet to enable customers to log in via a secure Internet connection.
Mums and dads, with access to the Internet at home, work, abroad or through their mobile phones, will be able to see live video of their children learning and playing at the nursery.
Cameras in each room of the nursery (and the areas for older children) are connected to a video server which both digitally records and connects to the Internet. Parents with permission from the nursery can then view live video from the rooms their child is in via a secure, encrypted Internet connection.
Teletoddler chose Microtec Security to carry out the installation. “We needed a company with national cover and excellent experience in all aspects of security, not just CCTV,” says Mr. Bathurst. “We also know that we can rely on them to do a fast and professional installation to a fixed cost, even when schedules are very tight,” he explains.
In turn, Norbain SD was selected to supply the required CCTV equipment and give advice on which cameras would be most suitable for the task. “We regularly use Norbain because of the flexibility of their returns policy and the next day delivery,” comments Graham Alexander, Director of Microtec. “This allows us to cut our costs and means that we don't need to hold any stock.” On Norbain's advice, 15 Vista fixed internal dome cameras and three dome cameras were selected.
Great care was needed when positioning the cameras. If they were positioned, like many CCTV systems, on the ceiling, they would be too far away from children playing on the floor below and you would see the tops of their heads rather than the expressions on their faces. “Enabling parents to see their children playing happily was the whole point of the system,” explains Mr. Bathurst. “So whenever possible Teletoddler always positions cameras at about six feet from the floor.”
“The 3-gimble solution provided by the Noobain's dome camera, was necessary because of the wall mounting of the cameras,” explains Jon Ward, Internal Sales Engineer for North West Accounts at Norbain and the primary contact for the project. “The camera module needed to be capable of moving horizontally and vertically, as well as freely swivelling to any angle required to ensure the correct image was captured. The internal dome cameras proved ideal due to their very flexible lens size, price point and specification. “Jon's advice and knowledge of the available solutions was key in the success of this type of project and typical of the level of service we receive from Norbain”, compliments Mr. Bathurst.
Special emphasis is being placed on security. The password protected area of the website is encrypted and Internet servers at the school are protected by a firewall and high specification security software. This warns the nursery of any suspicious behavior.
Mr. Bathurst added: “Our company has been founded by people who have an understanding not only of new technology but also of running early years facilities and looking after children. Our aim is to bring educators, parents and children closer by facilitating better communication.”
Teletoddler has seen strongly increased demand for places at schools and day nurseries where parents can tune in to live action of their children. Mrs. Norma Leslie, the nursery Director of Operations and HR, said: “As well as the obvious advantage to parents, this system allows my staff and I to show our pride in our standards of care.”