Window Protector Case Study: Inset Unit with Integrated Blind at a Children’s Mental Health Facility Speak to us about your Project

Product: Inset window protector with integrated blackout blind and ventilation

Challenges: Ongoing glass breakages, privacy concerns, early waking, frustration, and lack of safe light control

Solutions: Bespoke inset window protector with integral blackout blind and secure ventilation grille

Outcome: Improved sleep, reduced frustration, safer environment, enhanced privacy, and staff reassurance

Background

A specialist NHS Assessment and Treatment (A&T) centre for children with complex needs in the Midlands sought urgent support with window safety and light control in one of its ground-floor bedrooms.

The ward houses three long-term patients with profound learning disabilities, mental health conditions, and behavioural challenges such as autism. While there was no suicide risk, the environment still required careful design to minimise frustration, injury, and inappropriate use of furnishings.

The bedroom in question had become a hotspot for repeated glass breakages. Previously fitted with detachable anti-ligature blinds, these had been removed after being pulled down and used inappropriately as weapons and contraband stash points. This left the young person without any control over privacy or daylight. Her bedroom window faced a courtyard used by staff and accessible from outside the unit, leaving her exposed during the day and frequently waking early due to sunlight.

To quickly secure the space, staff had fixed a polycarbonate sheet over the lower portion of the window. However, this was a temporary fix and a more permanent solution needed to be found. The top two opening windows were left exposed to allow ventilation, but the patient climbed up and smashed them from the outside using objects passed through the small openings.

The estates team contacted Contour for a better long-term solution – one that would restore comfort, dignity, and security.

The Challenges

Several key factors needed to be addressed for this project: 

1. Inappropriate or Damaged Window Treatments

Detachable blinds had already proven unfit for purpose. With no privacy or light control, frustration increased, impacting mood and sleep.

2. Escalating Risk

Following multiple incidents of internal glass breakage, the Trust attempted a temporary fix by attaching a polycarbonate sheet over the lower section of the window. However, the two smaller top panes remained accessible for ventilation and these became new targets. The patient was able to climb onto the windowsill and reach outside, smashing the exposed glass from the exterior.

This escalation highlighted the limited effectiveness of short-term fixes, as well as the urgent need for a more secure, integrated solution that could restore privacy, reduce frustration, and remove all remaining access to vulnerable glazing.

3. Privacy vs Ventilation

The unit needed a solution that balanced visual privacy with safe airflow, avoiding sealed units that could compromise air quality or comfort.

4. Behaviour-linked Environmental Triggers

Light sensitivity and privacy-related stress were contributing to poor sleep, aggressive outbursts, and general deterioration in wellbeing. 

Solution Implemented 

Contour designed, supplied and installed a bespoke inset window protector tailored to the bedroom’s needs. The unit featured:

• Integrated blackout blind: Sealed within the unit, offering privacy and darkness at night while reducing ligature and tamper risks

• Polycarbonate vision panel: Designed to absorb repeated impact while maintaining visibility and natural light during the day

• Secure grille and integral ventilation: Ensuring fresh air circulation even when the vision panel is covered

• Ligature-resistant construction: Minimising any potential risk of self-harm, even though this wasn’t a primary concern in this case

The integrated blind was the key feature offering the patient autonomy over her environment for the first time since the removal of the detachable blinds.

The Impact

Since the unit was installed:

• Sleep quality has improved, reducing early waking and promoting a more stable circadian rhythm

• Frustration and outbursts have decreased, improving both the patient’s wellbeing and staff safety

• Smashing incidents have stopped - glass is now protected

• Privacy has been restored, crucial for a ground floor bedroom

• Reduced ligature points or removable components, improving safety without removing functionality

• Airflow is still maintained thanks to the secure grille and vent

The improvement was so noticeable that the Trust has now requested quotations for the remaining three bedrooms in the same area.

Conclusion

This project demonstrates that mental health window protection isn’t just about stopping damage; it’s about restoring dignity, enabling better sleep, and helping patients feel more in control.

Contour’s inset window protectors with integrated blinds provide a secure, tamper-proof alternative to detachable anti-ligature blinds, with the added benefits of ventilation, hygiene, and long-term durability.