THE owner of a Winwick nursery says it now boasts ‘the ultimate security system’ to keep children safe following a £40,000 investment.

All children, parents and staff at Winwick Pre-School Nursery on Myddleton Lane have given electronic thumb scans, which were converted into unique barcodes by EasyDentic technology.

The technology ensures people are logged before they are allowed into the Ofsted-registered nursery, which has 150 places for children aged six weeks to five years old plus after-school and summer holiday clubs.

Based at the old Winwick Hospital Catholic Church – now a converted Grade II listed building – owner Paul Wright believes his nursery now has a security system to match the quality of learning it provides.

He said: “I’m really excited about this system. It’s not cost effective but we’re safeguarding our children and you can’t really put a price on that.

“It really is the ultimate security system.”

The entry/exit thumbprint device has replaced a former intercom system, which involved parents waiting outside until a member of staff was able to buzz them in.

Seven unique points in people’s fingerprints are transformed into a series of numbers, which would be useless to anyone accessing the system and can’t be hacked, stolen or copied.

The equipment means staff can keep a record of times when children, parents and staff come and go and can also prevent people who ‘tailgated’ parents into the building from being able to get back out.

Mr Wright added: “It is illegal for anybody to take thumbprints apart from the police, so this technology takes a seven-point picture of a thumbprint, which it turns into a biometric barcode.

“The barcode can’t be converted back into a thumbprint and it can’t be used by anybody else.”

The Easydentric corporate security technology is linked to a 20-camera colour CCTV system at the nursery, so everybody within the site can be tracked.