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

I worked in a London school from 2012 - 2018. We did lock down drills as standard. We also did fire and bomb in the building drills.

Except that since there has been no other incident involving a school shooter in the U.K.
Were not the US! Thanksfully

I don't think you need to worry with nursery children to be honest. You can just tell them that we are going to play a game and when I say, see how quickly we can all get under the table and pretend to be sleeping mice, or whatever it is. There are also a lot more adults in the room!

This has been happening for at least 10 years in my experience. We tell the children it's in case a dog or a swarm of bees get into school or into the playground.

It’s also quite good skills for them to learn on taking action in emergency situations.

I remember drills happening at secondary school after 9/11. So 2001.
It was to prepare for potential chemical attack on local city ( not even a big one), or bombing, or anything else. We were to take a book to hall and close windows on the way. Then sat in hall for 20mins until all clear given.

Fire drills were different as obviously taken outside to wait

the children were told it was in case there was a dangerous dog in the playground.

I remember reading on the news that a school somewhere in the Midlands had to do it for real because there were two potentially dangerous dogs loose outside the school. They couldn't let the children out at home time until the dogs had been dealt with.

Can someone explain to me why it’s a necessity?!?

That you know of! Turns out my kids had been doing “dog in the playground” drills for years before I found out anything about it, because the school hadn’t mentioned it to parents.

I would hope they make it fun, easy and not too scary. Usually anything to get out of lessons is fun anyway, something a bit different. In the 1980s we were in fear of nuclear attack - I didn't know anything about it as I was too little. It can be done in an age appropriate way.

I don't really get it, school intruders aren't a new thing, Dunblane was 29 years ago. And better safe that dead

This has been happening for many years in UK schools - eldest is 18 and these drills were definitely happening when they were in infants, so well over a decade, probably much longer.

Why is this remotely terrifying? They are schools, not Alcatraz !

We get training on it at work (university/college). Run, hide, tell.

I don’t really get why it’s necessary tbh

That's not the point she's making. I'm sure most people are supportive of drills and other policies that keep their kids safe. It's possible to support the drills whilst still being horrified that we live in a world where this is something our children are at risk from. For that reason, I wouldn't describe myself as "delighted" about it either.

We've just had notification that our nursery will be doing this! How on earth they are going to talk about it in an 'age appropriate way' without terrifying them about something (even if they use the animal escaped lie) I have no idea. I'm worried we are in for nightmares to be honest.

During lockdown drills in the previous school I worked in, they used to put a team together to try to get in so that any weaknesses could be found. It was usually made up of willing sixth formers and they found some amazing ways of accessing the site/buildings that never would have been found otherwise.

You'd be surprised. Last time I spoke about it with others, about a quarter had not heard of it and no one realised just how many died.

Doesn't happen in my DC's London (Zone 1) schools. One primary and the other is a very cenrally located Secondary. It doesn't happen the school my sister works at or the one the SiL teaches at.

Doesn't happen at any of the schools my [19] neices and nephews attend.

Doesn't happen at any if the schools my friends kids attend.

Where are these drills happening?

What I find terrifying, as school staff, is that I've never found a school I couldn't get into, fast, with ease. I'm a fairly chunky and inflexible woman - padlock holes in fences make them a 2 step climb.

That, and that anyone with an interest in causing damage, will know well from the media that the kids are all under the tables in the classrooms...

I think of these things every lockdown practice and look around the classroom, working out my best method of incapacitating an angry bloke who has a weapon. I'll not have my kids hurt while I can still stand, so it's a termly reminder that one day I might need to choose between being a human shield and one to one combat.

They are worrying, but I'm glad we do them.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/school-lockdowns-can-traumatize-young-students-report-finds/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37489107/
Seems they might in USA - though stakes there are so much higher there and here they seem much more low key.

I suppose it's more worrying - though again it's usa - that kids who've experienced DV - or trauma of some sort could be impacted.

https://www.thetrace.org/2022/10/lockdown-drills-trauma-domestic-violence/

I would have thought though in UK school some kind of cost/risk/benefit evaluation must have been done - and thought it must be worth doing this.

It's not unusual at all. My school has had drills with and without pupils. We've had a number of lock down incidents, student with a knife, intruder on the grounds at risk of harming themselves etc. It's sad to think this is necessary but it is.

Well it used to be what they children should do in the event of a nuclear disaster during the Cold War

and then what to do if air raid during 2WW

This is the modern day equivalent