PARENTS have backed controverisal plans to introduce fingerprint scanners to improve security at a Watford nursery.

Fingerprint scanners will be installed at 50 kidsunlimited nurseries across the country, including one in Printers Avenue, Watford.

Parents and guardians nominated to collect children will have to register their fingerprints with the individual nurseries. These prints are then turned into a unique binary code that can only be used by the kidsunlimited system.

No personally identifiable data will be stored on the system, and no “human” can read the information – in the same way credit card pin numbers are protected.

Parents will be able to enter and exit the building by placing their registered finger on a reader, enabling the nursery to monitor who is on the premises at any time.

The system is already in use at six sites across the country – in Cambridgeshire; Wilmslow, Cheshire; and Notting Hill, London. It is not known when the system will be introduced in Watford.

Currently, parents use a generic code to gain access the building, but kidsunlimited decided to install the fingerprint readers in response to feedback from parents about security issues.

Mothers at the Watford nursery yesterday (Thursday) were pleased safety remains a top priority.

Alpana Vyas, 32, of Rickmansworth Road, said: “In this case, it’s not Big Brother gone mad. It’s a good idea. Security is a big issue.

“The nursery always stresses that we don’t let anyone into the building.

“I would be uncomfortable to give any more information than required. It’s personal information, but in this case it’s for a good cause. If it was any more than that I would question it.”

Ami Martin, 26, from Hemel Hempstead, however, thought fingerprints were a step too far.

She said: “I would like to go in with my own code. It would be much more easier. Fingerprints are too much.

“It’s quite a safe area here at the moment. I’m a young parent so I think older parents might say it’s a bit extreme.”

Lee Pearson, kidsunlimited chief executive, said the new entry system would allow staff to focus on the needs of the children, rather than recognising individual parents.

He said: “With our continued commitment to the provision of excellent security, technology and educational programmes at our nurseries across the country, we aim to remain at the forefront of innovative childcare and to challenge traditional views of the sector.”

The technology will be provided by Honeycomb Solutions, who specialise in security systems for nurseries.

George Bathurst, managing director of Honeycomb Solutions, said: “This cutting edge system will revolutionise the way we keep our children safe by ensuring that only authorised people can get into the classroom.”