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

It’s due to become law that schools must have a procedure and practice it (under Martyn’s law).

Just thinking that I grew up in a dangerous city/country and don’t remember ever having these drills; however the dangers were more in the streets with drug guns than people trying to get into schools. I was let out to play on the streets and never got involved with the wrong crowds and knew how to keep safe.

Saying all that I am a bit paranoid with the kids so I guess it affected me

Not every school practises with the children, precisely because of concern about frightening them, but each school has a plan and at the very least teachers will have done drills to make sure they recognise the alarm, that internal doors' keys will turn in the lock, etc etc. Sadly this week has shown exactly why it is necessary.

My kids do it on primary and secondary, it is part of the modern world. Much better than during my school years when we had to do bomb and gas attack drills, wear gas masks and be taught how to assemble a gun.

Do drills make you worry a lot about the thing you’re doing a drill for? I didn’t do lockdown drills as a child but obviously we did fire drills - it didn’t cause me any undue worry and anxiety around the chance of a fire, and I wasn’t on constant high alert for it.

It's not new - lockdown alarms and drills have been a thing since just before covid - so 5-6 years here. Suddenly came in from nowhere - not something that was around before.

I was not sure they were nessary at all - though recent new events locally and nationally maybe they are useful to have a plan and practise it.

Kids initially to hate them or not take them seriously and supply teahcers often ignore them but now they're just like fire drills occuring every so often and being background noise to their lives.

Though only time it's been used at their school- they had some expelled year 7 vandalising cars in school carpark next to school not even in the school building and it was mid morning so kids weren't likely to interact with them - so not sure why police were just called and normal day got on with - rather than disruption and multiple e-mails to parents.

Was on a thread saying similar few years ago - there posters were saying Teacher unions had been asking for them and there were suddenly lot of pro posters and few of who it emerged though course of thread worked for companies selling training round lock down drills.

What about at their dance class?

Children being prepared could save their lives. They aren't trained to cower. They are taught these drills in the same manner as fire drills. Not through fear.

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/teen-boy-arrested-school-lockdown-34723906

This happened just 4 weeks ago.

I have a year 7 and a year 11 and this week was the first lockdown practice they have ever done, so it’s not standard practice everywhere

It is sad but the reality we are living in; it is not as safe as it used to be.

Its very sad.
I moved to the States in mid primary school and remember vividly the lockdown drill we did for intruders/armed. It completely terrified me. The only thing that made it palatable was that we also had a drill for what to do if a bear came on campus so I put them both in the same box of "things that will never happen" in my head.

Our high school had both a real bomb threat and an incident of a pupil bringing a gun into school. Both events that had practices in place prior to them happening. Scotland though so maybe because of Dunblane it became a reality for us. Primary schools also have these drills. Not unusual at all here.

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

Yes and despite all the patronising responses saying how necessary they are, there should be proper research done on unintended consequences on young people's MH of making them have to worry about every terrifying but vanishingly rare eventuality life could bring.
If behaviour is good in a school and the worst did happen the teacher could just yell 'get under a desk and stay quiet, now!' and the kids would do it. They wouldn't need to be on a constant high alert- think of the effect constant cortisol has on developing brains.

DS is 18, he did lockdown drills throughout his time at primary school, the children were told it was in case there was a dangerous dog in the playground.

They had to do the drill for real at least once, usually an angry dad.

Not sure children in schools but children in nurseries too!

And Wolverhampton nursery. And southport.

its essential.

As a child growing up near a nuclear sub base, we practiced drills to do with nuclear explosions. My teacher got exasperated with me when I asked 'how getting under my desk, in a classroom with massive windows would protect me from anything never mind the fall out from a nuclear blast!'

Society has to be taught to cope with what’s out there, and that includes children unfortunately. Still very rare incidents in most places in terms of actual humans with weapons, but it’s no bad thing that schools have something in place to cope with the unexpected. Anything that can help children during a difficult situation, take away the paralysing fear that might occur, become organised under adult supervision has to be good.

Just another unfortunate consequence of moving from a high trust society to a low one.

Mine did this in primary years ago. I’m from NI and we did it decades ago. It’s a good thing and helps keeps pupils safe.

Yes my child in year 1 has this. They’re told it’s in case a wild animal is loose in the school. They had to do a lockdown for real sometime before Christmas, and the children were told it was another practice. My DD came out “so and so is always crying loudly when we do these, she will make us get eaten by the wolf!!”
I believe they all huddle behind the teacher’s desk in the corner, and the doors are locked with blinds drawn.