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

Sometimes I wonder whether all these shooter drills in the US might not be counter-productive.

Everytime you do a drill, you reinforce the message that these school shootings Are A Thing. The angry troubled kids in school are taking part in these and must think, “This is how I get power, this is how I get people to notice me.” Could it not be too much?

You don’t have a successful diet by talking about cake all the time. Do you get a peaceful school community by doing shooter drills all the time? You are sowing fear on the one side, and notions of evil on the other.

What good is it to tell children to stand on the toilet seats, if the shooters themselves have been taught this tactic at school?

But all so heartbreakingly sad. Fuck the gun lobby.

Not this again.

It's not about a mad man with a gun.

It's about a stray dog.... A ambulance helicopter landing ... Vehicles through the site etc.

Unfortunately, we had to do a real lockdown in my old school. Someone entered the school with a knife and was threatening to stab people. The kids had no idea that there was a real threat. They just did what they had practiced.

Exactly, and that man was stopped on a whim by police officers. Had they not spotted him there’s a very good chance he’d have carried out his desire to murder 30 little children. A sliding doors moment by just a few seconds.

I’d be slightly annoyed if my kids schools weren’t doing this, because in the worst case scenario the last thing needed is panicking screaming kids drawing attention to whichever classroom they’re in.

If a school hasn’t bothered doing an invacuation drill, ask them to do it. And if they refuse, speak to the LEA.

My children's school and nursery had a practise last week, we did get told the law had changed?

Decades? I was at school up to 1997 and never had this. DC have never done it at their primary.

Well it's obviously because of that guy all over the news at the moment isn't it

DfE guidance (non statutory) is definitely that schools should be doing this (it's contradictory for Early Years settings as one doc says do and one says plan but don't practice). Guidance is here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/emergency-planning-and-response-for-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings
There's also a document called 'Protective security and preparedness for education settings' which you can Google.
We did an invacuation a few weeks ago in a nursery because a nearby building had a gas leak. Lasted about 20 minutes while the gas company came and gave the all clear. Staff followed the policy and did what they'd practiced and most of the children probably didn't notice.

Another one here who’s DC have had this at their school. Not that I heard of it from either my DC or the school, it was one of the other mums.
I asked DC about it and they didn’t seem remotely bothered. Makes me wonder how much of the ‘procedure’ they even took notice of, tbh

I’m in the south west and multiple local schools have done it here (maybe all part of the same management?).

It's sad but necessary. When my daughter was a student teacher her school had 2 men barge in - the police thought they were running from gang members. No one was hurt but luckily the children all got under their tables with little prompting as they had practised . It shook them up but she was very proud of them - Y2 class

My first ever day as a teacher back in July 1999 I witnessed 2 mums having a punch up on the playground over which of their daughters had come first in a race at sports day.

I should have taken it as a sign and left the profession there and then!

I think it’s becoming standard isn’t it? Lots of schools have adopted it in our area this year.

It’s horrible but I’m grateful. I couldn’t believe the story about that man who wanted to kill 30 children in a primary school recently to ‘make his name’.
It makes me feel sick to think our children aren’t safe anywhere.

It's not happened in any of the schools my kids have been in, or that i've worked in (suburban Glasgow).

I certainly did at a Scottish school and my kids also did before we moved back over the border.

In my work experience Scottish schools do more often than English schools

I have been a school governor for over 30 years, schools started doing these post Dunblane... for us it is the dog in the playground. Over the years we have had parents kick off on-site usually about other parents rather than school staff. My favourite, two mums fencing with umbrellas over a parking slot, whilst the HT and Ofsted Inspector decided which mum they would be a second for!

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5f6337d98fa8f5106083ed6a/Self-assessment_emergency_incident_planning_checklist.docx

here's the government schools emergency planning checklist that shows that schools in England need to have lockdown procedures that are communicated to staff and pupils.

We have termly lockdown drills in our secondary school & have had to carry out a ‘lockdown’ previously. My DC’s primary has just this term carried out their first drill. It shouldn’t have to happen, but it’s the world we live in. Practice & preparation helps so much if ever needed.

I will double check. Definitely not happening at DC's secondary school though as we discussed it very recently.

As I say, It's not just the two schools my kids attend either. None of my siblings have had this at their kids school (I've asked!) and I've asked friends too... and yes it's very surprising central London schools don't do this.

Really surprised that some people with kids haven’t heard of this - youngest DC are GcSE age and it’s always been a thing here . Wondering if it’s location specific - we are easy access to the motorways and commutable to London I guess

Every few months there are threads like this with parents saying that "every school in the UK" does this regularly.

Just popping on to reiterate that it's not common practice in Scotland and never has been. That's not to say the teachers and staff don't plan and run scenarios, and modern secondary schools I have been in have doors which can be locked to seal off parts of the building or corridors. But Scottish kids don't practice for it.

It is a shame, but necessary.

In spite of the security at the secondary school where I worked, a strange man got in - he timed it for when the pupil doors automatically opened at lunch hour.

It turned out he wasn't dangerous. Apparently, someone had dropped litter in his garden and he was certain that our kids were the culprit. (Maybe; maybe not. There are 3 high schools in close proximity, all with very similar uniforms. Unless you can see the tie or it's a senior with a blazer you can't tell.)

He tipped a bag of rubbish inside the school. Unfortunately for him, he was then surrounded by large number of children taking his pic, pointing and screaming "Paedo!"

The depute had to rescue him. I think that by the time the police took him away he was relieved.

However, it was a salutary lesson. The building was a new build with state-of-the art security, but he still got in.

Has everyone just missed Nicholas Prosper being sentenced, stopped on his way to a primary school to kill 5 year olds. This isn’t something that just happened in the past!

I was at a school nearby when Nikki Conroy died. My school also had zero gates and security and you could walk in off the street.

www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/remembering-nikki-conroy-people-classroom-28901522

You're missing the point. On purpose I suspect.