Common questions about installing, configuring, and using DMS School Guard.
DMS School Guard is a site-wide lockdown alert system designed for schools, colleges, and business premises. It allows authorised staff to instantly trigger a lockdown or emergency alert across every connected device on the network simultaneously.
When activated, all screens on the network display a clear, unmistakable lockdown notification so every member of staff knows immediately that they need to follow your site's emergency procedures. Once the situation is resolved, an authorised user can issue an all-clear signal, again reaching every device instantly.
School Guard is primarily designed for schools, academies, colleges, and other educational settings. However it is equally suitable for any business premises that requires a rapid site-wide alert capability — such as office buildings, healthcare facilities, or leisure centres.
A fire alarm uses a single audible signal that tells everyone to evacuate. School Guard is a software-based alert system that delivers a visual notification to every screen on your network with specific instructions — for instance, a lockdown message telling staff to secure their rooms rather than evacuate. This makes it ideal for scenarios where evacuation would be dangerous, such as an intruder on site.
School Guard complements your existing fire alarm and other safety systems — it does not replace them.
No. DMS School Guard runs entirely over your local network (LAN/Wi-Fi). It does not require an internet connection to function. This is an important reliability feature — your lockdown system will still work even if your internet connection fails.
DMS School Guard requires:
For full detailed requirements, please refer to the Installation Manual.
The server component typically takes 15–30 minutes to install and configure on a straightforward network. Installing the client software on individual PCs can be done manually or via your existing software deployment tools (such as Group Policy), which can significantly speed up the process across a large number of machines.
For a typical school of 50–100 PCs, a complete installation is usually achievable within half a day.
Yes. The School Guard client installer is compatible with standard Windows software deployment methods, including Group Policy (GPO), Microsoft Intune, and other third-party deployment tools. This allows IT administrators to push the client software to all machines on the network without visiting each one individually. See the Installation Manual for the silent install command line parameters.
You may need to allow the School Guard server and client applications through Windows Firewall on the respective machines. The installer will prompt you to do this automatically in most cases. If you use a third-party firewall or a managed network firewall, you will need to allow the specific port used by School Guard on your local network. The port number is detailed in the Installation Manual.
Any user with the Trigger permission (assigned by your administrator) can initiate a lockdown. To trigger an alert:
The process is deliberately simple so that it can be activated quickly and without error in a high-stress situation.
Only users with the All-Clear permission (typically a senior member of staff or administrator) can cancel a lockdown and send the all-clear. To do this:
If an alert is triggered accidentally, an authorised user can send the all-clear immediately using the steps above. We recommend that your organisation has a clear procedure for accidental activations — for example, a verbal announcement over your public address system alongside the all-clear notification — so that staff understand the situation quickly.
To reduce accidental triggers, you can configure School Guard to require a confirmation step before the alert is broadcast. This is enabled by default but can be adjusted in the settings.
Yes. Administrators can customise the text displayed on all screens during a lockdown alert. This allows you to tailor the message to your organisation's emergency procedures — for example, specifying "Secure your room and do not open doors" or similar instructions relevant to your site.
Custom messages are configured in the School Guard administration panel.
School Guard has three main user roles:
This allows you to give front-of-house or reception staff the ability to trigger a lockdown without granting them full administrative access.
Users are managed through the School Guard administration panel, which is accessible to Administrator accounts. From there you can add new users, assign roles, reset passwords, and deactivate accounts for staff who have left. You do not need to visit individual PCs to manage users — it is all handled centrally.
School Guard is designed to scale with your organisation. Licensing is based on the number of devices (PCs) on which the client software is installed. Please contact us at support@edusoftware.co.uk to discuss the right licence for your site size, or to enquire about multi-site licensing.
If some client machines are not displaying the alert, work through the following checks:
If the issue persists, please contact support@edusoftware.co.uk with details of the affected machines and your network setup.
Try the following steps:
If the service still will not start, please email support@edusoftware.co.uk with the error messages from Event Viewer.
Our support team is happy to help with any questions not covered here.
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