A lot of schools use the cheap PMR446 radios that are available. They use them to control traffic on-site, control student flow about the buildings, and to announce when students are being let out.
It is all against Safeguarding Guidelines, and this is why:
From my experience, Schools do not know how radios work.
On PMR446 there are “Channels” and “Privacy Codes”.
So you can set your radio to channel 7, Privacy Code 4 (or whatever), and think that nobody else can hear you.
Well, it doesn’t work like that.
Anyone who spent about a fiver on a crap radio can hear what you are discussing.
Everything you say, about every pupil, is being broadcast.
No no no, man, the privacy codes give you privacy!
No it does not. A privacy code (CTSS) will only allow the squelch to be broken by a transmission from a radio using the same code. When you transmit, anyone can hear you. It is designed so other stations do not disturb you but does not work the other way around.