London East Alternative Provision (LEAP)
At a Glance — Key Metrics
6× faster investigations: 30 minutes of footage reviewed in about 5 minutes
Vape alerts down 90%: 20–30 per day → just 1–2 per day
Multi-site visibility: SLT can review corridor footage from anywhere; classroom access remains strictly incident-based
A School for Second Chances
At London East Alternative Provision (LEAP), students arrive at different points in their educational journey — often after challenges in mainstream settings related to illness, behavioural issues, or other circumstances. LEAP’s mission is to provide a safe, inclusive environment where every pupil can re-engage with learning and move forward with confidence.
For Majed Alom, IT Support Network Lead, that commitment also applies to the technology underpinning safeguarding. When he joined, the legacy CCTV system held the school back. Everything depended on a single on-site desktop operated by one staff member.
“If that person wasn’t around, investigations had to wait. Even when the PC was working, finding the right footage could take half an hour — and if something went wrong, we had to call engineers to fix it.”
It was clear LEAP needed a faster, more reliable way to keep students and staff safe.
The Turning Point
Verkada offered a solution that aligned with LEAP’s safeguarding priorities. By replacing DVRs and NVRs with hybrid cloud cameras that store footage both locally and in the cloud, the team gained reliability, speed, and remote access — all through an intuitive web dashboard and mobile app.
This also unlocked AI-powered tools that turn hours of footage into a searchable timeline, helping staff locate and understand incidents in minutes.
With Active Directory and Single Sign-On (SSO), LEAP can grant the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) access to corridor cameras while keeping classroom footage incident-based, time-limited, and restricted to only those who need access.
“It’s made life a thousand times easier. We can grant access when there’s an incident and remove it immediately after. No one waits anymore.”
Live Face Blur for streams and Selective Face Blur for archives allow staff to share evidence while protecting student identities and supporting GDPR compliance.
Faster Answers, Calmer Classrooms
Before Verkada, LEAP had even considered body-worn cameras to fill visibility gaps. With cameras now in place — and clear privacy safeguards like role-based access — that’s no longer necessary.
When an incident occurs, LEAP uses Verkada’s AI-powered investigation tools to understand what happened in minutes:
AI-Powered Search narrows hours of video into a handful of relevant clips using natural language queries. Staff can type a simple query — “person in blue hoodie” — and immediately find the right clips.
Trajectory Analysis visualises how a person moved through a scene and guides staff toward the next camera automatically.
History Player Search connects every sighting of an individual across multiple cameras into a clear, chronological timeline, eliminating the need to scrub footage manually.
AI-Powered Unified Timeline goes one step further by reconstructing an individual’s full journey across the site in a single, end-to-end view. Instead of reviewing individual clips, staff can generate one map-based timeline of all relevant sightings — especially helpful when incidents span corridors, stairwells, or multiple buildings.
Together, these tools give staff immediate clarity during fast-moving situations. What once took half an hour on a shared desktop now takes roughly five minutes, allowing staff to de-escalate situations quickly and maintain calmer classrooms. Live Face Blur and Selective Face Blur also make it easy to share clips with parents or external agencies while protecting privacy.
Curbing Vaping Without Compromising Privacy
One of the earliest wins came from air quality sensors installed in student toilets to detect vaping. Initially, sensors triggered 20–30 alerts per day throughout the building. Linked to nearby corridor cameras — while maintaining privacy in sensitive areas — staff could identify students exiting immediately after a detection.
Within weeks, alerts dropped to just one or two per day.
“Students realised we could see when and where vaping happened. They stopped trying to test the system.”
Real-World Impact: 16 Hours Shared in Minutes
A recent police request highlighted just how much had changed. Officers needed 16 hours of footage for a vehicle investigation. LEAP provided a secure viewing link within minutes — no USBs, no additional site visits, no delay.
Footage recorded 15 days earlier was easily retrieved thanks to the school’s 30-day retention, with the option to extend up to 365 days.
“The police loved the video quality — they could clearly see the vehicle, and the process was effortless.”
Rapid Rollout and Reliable Partnership
To bring the system online, LEAP partnered with J Brand, who installed approximately 106 cameras and sensors within a single half term at their main site after the initial success of the 39 cameras and sensors at another site . The rollout was smooth; any minor cabling issues were resolved immediately, and the first successful deployment became the blueprint for every LEAP centre.
“J Brand were fantastic — fast, tidy, and on schedule.”
As new centres open, LEAP continues extending Verkada across sites, creating a unified security platform that is simple to manage and consistent across the organisation.
Transforming Safeguarding Across Every Centre
Just months earlier, the safeguarding process revolved around a single desktop and one staff member who knew how to use it. Today, SLT and safeguarding staff with the right permissions can securely access footage from any site or device. The same AI-powered investigation tools are available across every centre, making it easy to trace incidents, share evidence, and respond quickly across the estate.
What once took half an hour now takes roughly five minutes, with evidence shared swiftly via secure links. Recordings are stored safely on-camera and in the cloud.
The outcome is not only faster investigations, but also a stronger culture of confidence, accountability, and support across the school.
Looking Ahead
LEAP plans to expand its use of Verkada beyond video and sensors with:
Access Control to modernise door management and reduce reliance on a single workstation
Visitor Management (Verkada Guest) to unify sign-in and safeguarding logs within the same Command platform
“As we grow, Verkada grows with us. It’s a worthwhile investment that helps us strengthen safeguarding — without adding to our workload.”