  |
|
 |
|
|
|
'We need your fingerprints if you want to pick up your children,' nursery tells parents Matthew Hickley A nursery has told parents and staff they will need to use a fingerprint scanner to gain access to the building. They must press their finger on to an electronic pad every time they arrive at one of two private nurseries in Kent. The door will only open if they are on the biometric database. Critics have condemned the use of such technology in a nursery. They warned that children will grow up thinking it is normal to provide a fingerprint to get into a building - without appreciating the dangers of a surveillance society. Campaigners claim the systems will encourage staff to rely on fallible technology instead of memorisingparents' faces - potentially leaving-children less safe, particularly if the scanner breaks down. Bosses at Springfield Lodge Day Nurseries, who look after 279 children at two sites in Swanscombe and Dartford in Kent, defended the system, which went live yesterday. They claimed it would improve security while helping staff monitor the number of children and carers in the building at any one time. Each child's family can register up to three guardians whose fingerprints will be scanned and loaded on to the database. No prints will be taken from children themselves and parents can still make emergency pick-up arrangements with friends or relatives using a password system.
|
||||
