To think it's very depressing that school children need to learn this

I teach at an inner-London primary, and it’s very much part of our safeguarding policy now. Depressing but, sadly, potentially necessary.

They don’t have to use procedures that involve children hiding under tables. They really don’t . That is silly- and potentially frightening for small children. . I don’t care if the government recommend it - they recommend all kinds of ridiculous things - eg sending asylum seekers to Rwanda.

I'm a nursery teacher and we do this too, weve even needed to use it once.

Unfortunately, 'child with knife' is also not an uncommon scenario.

Again, don't be silly.

The government recommendation is that schools have a procedure in place for various scenarios. It's not hysteria, it is utterly common sense.

Schools do have to use lockdown procedures occasionally.

I think it's a good idea. The school will be talking to the dc about it in a calm, non scary way so that if something happens (much more likely to be an angry parent than a stranger with a gun) then the children won't panic.

Personally I think the drills are completely ridiculous and no I wouldn’t want my child doing them. Thankfully she’s at a school that doesn’t buy into the hysteria.

We have 3 different drills at our Primary:

The fire drill (evacuation) which takes the children from classes to the school playground/field.

The lockdown which takes place when the children are in class and involves locking the doors and moving away from windows/under tables.

The invacuation that takes place when the children are outside (ie lunchtime) and involves either bringing them inside to classes or going to their class space on the playground for a head count.

We do all 3 a couple of times a year. The children barely notice, and do them as a matter of course, including the nursery. They all have their place, and aren't necessarily for 'depressing' reasons - ie we had to do invacuation recently when one of our automatic gates failed and we needed to be sure that none of the children had escaped!

The lockdown drill is explained to children as 'someone coming into school who shouldn't be there' - our children are taught to challenge any visitor that isn't wearing a visitors lanyard and photo badge - as a few of our Governors have discovered! We've never had a child scared of it in all the years we've been doing it (and in this day and age when so many parents complain about every little thing, we've never had a parental complaint either).

Don’t be silly.

I agree that it’s sad they’d need to but sensible that they do these drills.

"Most schools didn't have secure fencing and keypad entry system prior to 13 March 1996 either but they all do now."

I was teaching at the time and I remember the school installing keypad entry and lockable doors soon afterwards.

My child’s school doesn’t but I wish they did

Sorry which stone have you been living under? It has started here.

Look up recent history- Dunblane. Can you be so ignorant?

Never mind what happened with the girls killed at the Dance class.

Complaining about a drill that would safeguard your children in an emergency ?

Our children’s nursery is next door to a migrant hotel with hundreds of residents. They do these drills. With 0-4 year olds.

I think about it all the time. If they were in the garden then they can’t grab them all. Who would they grab. It’s terrifying.

That's so strange. Why would you complain? It's different from a fire drill where you have to leave the building. If there is a threat you need people to stay put. And they need to know what to do.

It does not benefit anyone to hide yourself from the reality of the modern world.

What is more likely...

1. An irate parent shouting at the headteacher, and they want the children out of the way.

1. The school burning down during the day.

To my knowledge we’ve never had a drill like this in my kids’ school in south England and I’d be horrified (/complaining) if they did!

It’s not really that different to a fire drill. How to act in a dangerous situation…I don’t get the issue.

No, OP as I said on a pp the first I had heard of lockdown drills on MN I asked my 2 Dcs if they knew what it was. They were like 'Yeah mum. WTF. Of course we know what they are!'. They had NOT told me. It's as much a bread and butter event as the fire drill. And we are in a very rural school. And as I have said we have had 3 occasions IRL to use it in the past 10 years. (angry parents- police chase- man with machete outside the school)

People are making too much of it IMO. Do your children come home and tell you every time they have a fire drill? of course not. Because it's normal.

Dunblane was 1996. Lock down procedures are not new.

My DC never had to do these drills at school. And they went to London schools until recently. I assume the staff were trained.

I work in early years and lockdown practice is now part of our policies,like a fire drill. Tend to practice without the children inside although when they’re outside we practice getting them in quickly
very very sad part of life now…..

I’d agree depressing but necessary. The sentencing of the young man who killed his family and planned to massacre a class of school kids made me think about how important security is at school.