If your primary school (UK) went into lockdown

[RainyWeekend]

Would you do as the school suggest and go to a local named venue for information or would you go straight to the school?

An incident has happened locally and parents were urged not to go to the school. Local schools have gone into lockdown.

But seriously? I really don't think I'd be able to stop myself. Yes yes, I know it it not the right thing to do but how would you be able to keep away?

I feel sick just thinking about it.

If we're talking about the situation today where a teacher was stabbed, I'd point out this is a deeply unusual incident in an English school, and I don't think we can assume it was all easily resolved in a hour.

Is your "right" to collect your child worth putting more people's lives at risk?

My son's school (primary) did go into lockdown last year. Some parents insisted of going straight there, but as the issue was a man running around the local area with a knife and the kids being safely tucked away inside a thoroughly locked school, I'm not sure on the wisdom of this.

Of course it depends on why they have been locked down, but in this example it was clear from the school's comms that the children were perfectly safe and the lockdown was precautionary.

'drama llamas' 🙄

I hope neither you nor me nor anyone else is ever put in the situation where we have to find out how we'd react in such a stressful and extraordinary situation.

Hoping the teacher involved and all the kids and families are okay.

I hope I would stay away. I'm not sure if I could. But I hope I would.

Thirty years ago an ex pupil walked into the school my daughters were at and stabbed three girls, one sadly died and the other two were hospitalised. Thirty years ago. It was about 9.30am.
As the morning wore on towards midday news began to filter through: heads from other schools received telephone calls from the police and education authority.
The police told them the incident was on going but pupils were safe. I was working at a school nearby and the head knew my girls attended the same school, ( I had a non teaching role.) she took me into her office and told me what the police had said. She put the telly on in the staff room and it was on “ Breaking News” the footage showed the leafy Avenue the school is on: Police vehicles, police dogs, armed police, incident units, three ambulances, fire service. Press vehicles, police and news helicopters flying overhead. The police asked parents not go to the school, the pupils were safe and being cared for by staff and support staff, some had been moved to safety to another school across the road.
The road was effectively closed.
Pre mobile phone I didn’t know which building my kids were in. I couldn’t get near the school so I followed police advice. It was awful.

Bloody hell, daffodils.

I hope you’re never put into the situation I was and the parents of the child who was murdered yesterday.
In the incident at my daughters school it wasn’t ‘over in an hour’. It wasn’t a case of “oh the injured have gone now let’s get back to the timetable” as soon as the ambulances and Air ambulance left.
Traumatised kids and staff, teachers barricading the kids and themselves into classrooms with chairs and cabinets. One teacher at the school jammed the door shut ad sat behind it with the kids hiding under the desks.

God, Daffodils that sounds terrifying!

Several years ago there was an event at my dc’s school which led to parents trying to flock to the school.

It was Remembrance Day, there was an assembly and several pupils fainted, and following that more were feeling ill.
School called emergency services, who, because it was in an army town and Remembrance Day, assumed it could have been a terrorist attack, closed down the school and all communications.

There’s another school opposite, who saw ambulances, police cars, fire engines, and hazardous chemical handling units arrive, followed by tons of press vehicles, and started to ring their parents to inform them that something serious was happening (so many emergency vehicles that the bus park and road were absolutely packed). Whilst parents of children in the school knew nothing, but were then given second hand terrifying information (which none of the newspapers reported on at all).

The first I knew was when a neighbour came round white and shaking telling me something had happened in the school, and to get down there. I went but couldn’t get near the school, so waited up the road in my car.

In the end it was found that there was no issue, apart from a few pupils fainting in the very warm sports hall, followed by mass hysteria which made 40 pupils also feel sick and ill.
My dc came sauntering out after 4 (school finishes at 2.50) with not a care in the world. All the parents meanwhile had gone through hell, with zero communication from school, rumours of a terrorist attack, and an impassable road due to the amount of emergency vehicles and press vans.

In a situation like that, whilst I’d love to say I’d be sensible and go to a meeting point, I’d be as close as I could be without blocking the way.

@OnToTheNextOneOntoTheNextOne
from what I’ve seen on the news, it looks like the pupil wasn’t found for 2 hours. So it could be they didn’t know if he was still in the school or near by school.
I think they have to be wary of copycat incidents too, they wouldn’t know if another pupil was going to do the same.

For some reason I thought this happened at a primary school but see it was actually a secondary school...makes sense it took a while to search the building and the children are old enough to cope with that. Sorry if my confusion caused offence.

@OnToTheNextOneOntoTheNextOne the local Primary also lock downed, I assume as they didn't know where the suspect was