Lockdown drill at daycare

[kmmr]

My DS is 3 and goes to a daycare which posts little updates online during the day about what they are doing. Yesterday we got one showing them doing a lock down drill.

Photos of the kids going to the store cupboard, and then hiding quietly until there was a knock on the door and they were allowed out. It was just, weird.

I'm very about it. I can see in theory it may be needed, but surely its more likely to just make them fearful of things that are so so very unlikely.

I've tried to hide my fear of spiders and generally not build phobias into my son, and I just feel this is a bit off. I don't know what they said to the kids and I don't want to ask my son so I won't know until next week.

Is it weird? Or am I over thinking it. I'm in Australia for full disclosure. No gun problem and in a secure building with card only access for parents.

We did lockdown procedure at our school this week - it involved the children coming inside quickly quietly and locking the doors.
No hiding in cupboards though - that seems extreme.
I think it is important that they children know the drill - and it might be needed if a dog appeared on the school field, or if an emergency services helicopter needed to land etc - not necessarily for anything terribly sinister.

Can you imagine the outcry if there was an incident and the training hadn't been done? Is that a chance you'd like to take?

They need these drills if they are at risk of experiencing these things in real life

Its no different to a fire drill

I think in most schools its hide under desks. I guess nurseries don't have desks.

I'd ask the centre.
I'm in the UK and this isn't something all schools do, but I happen to know of a few that do. It is so that in the event of a threat, the kids know how to go back inside quickly and safely. Like a reverse fire drill.
Without trying to scare you, it's possible there may be something the school have been alerted to. Maybe one of the children has a parent with a restraining order or suchlike. The school are unlikely to be able to breach confidenciality but can put measures in place to keep children safe.

they need these drills just as much as fire drills. it's not just for an intruder with a gun.
it can be really useful if someone tries to enter the building who shouldn't (And could become angry and aggressive) e.g. a parent who is not allowed contact, somebody who is u see the influence of alcohol or drugs.

I'd rather my child was shown how to hide once or twice than that they didn't know what to do in the event there was an intruder. It really isn't that unlikely.

I suppose so. I guess I just need to talk to them and see what they tell the children to make sure it's not scaring them.
Maybe it's just a bit confronting to see the pictures. I think they did something similar last week as my son was telling me about walking down the stairs to the carpark, although I didn't see anything online.

I think all schools do this.l teach in a comprehensive and we have lock down drills. It’s government advice. Kids go under the tables, and if the door is lockable we lock it.

Would it be better not to have them and then be unprepared should such an incident happen?

I know our local council told all schools they had to do a lockdown practice.

I live in the US and my children have been at school when a lock down occurred (not for practice).

It was so calmly done that my children didn’t even think to mention it to me when they got home (thankfully it was a false alarm).

It was calm and wasn’t frightening precisely because the teachers and students have practiced it.

Just like fire drills.

Surely they should have checked with the parents first?

Pinksta Why should they check? They don't check for fire drills.

The nursery DD works at also has lockdown drills. It's like a game.

It seems excessive for a nursery setting in the UK. Most nurseries are pretty secure, and don't let anyone unknown through the front door, so I struggle to see why it would be needed. Its not something I would like to see done with such young children unless there was a very good reason.

Why would they check with parents? It's not optional. You can't withdraw your child from a fire drill, this is no different.

My mum is a head teacher in the UK and her school has just had a lockdown practice. It was the first one they have done so maybe its new worldwide.

How public are the updates - would a disgruntled parent now know exactly where to go to inflict maximum damage. Do they change the drill?

At schools that do the drills in this country "the bad guys" would know to knock down any locked door, drop to the floor and shoot. Much better to do the terror drills - RUN, HIDE, TELL - rather than lets all just gather together, keep quiet and hope.

It seems excessive for a nursery setting in the UK. Most nurseries are pretty secure, and don't let anyone unknown through the front door, so I struggle to see why it would be needed. Its not something I would like to see done with such young children unless there was a very good reason

I agree. The chances of such an attack on the nursery are so absolutely minimal and I don't agree with filling small children's heads with all kinds of imaginary fears. Bad enough having to teach them about real dangers like fire

I remember my school regularly doing this after Dunblane happened. I think it's sensible, think how unpredictable kids can be, knowing they've been shown exactly what to do in an emergency is comforting.

Sadly this is becoming the norm now. There was one at my daughters school last term. Think it was called an "invacuation" though rather than lockdown.

I work in the nhs, not a school, but we have an obligation under the civil contingencies act to have major incident policies in place and to practice them (major incident covers all sorts but does include terrorist attacks/shootings etc) - there is probably similar in place for schools/nurseries.

I think the mind automatically goes to school shootings etc when we think about lockdown drills but they could cover all sorts - as a previous post has mentioned it could be as simple as a dog in the playground, or something like a chemical leak from a nearby factory leading to people having to stay inside and close all doors and windows

They did a bomb drill at my dc's primary school My son was genuinely scared - they had to run as fast as they could to the other end of the field while the fire alarm sounded in bursts, and then be counted.

It's in a small town primary in the rural South West.

I was . I guess they may have had a bomb threat, but I doubt it. It's SUCH a low risk environment, I thought it was really silly to frighten the kids over something so unlikely.

Because, as OP says, the likelihood of a shooter or terrorist is no way near as high as a fire and the psychological damage this could cause may be disproportionate. I don't have a totally firm view either way tbh, but I would at least want a heads up so I could think about how to manage any worries or questions my kid has as a result.

Maybe they made a game of it? I would find that pretty disturbing to see too but it is very sadly a good idea to be prepared.

Read on a website this am (probably the DM, sorry folks) about a primary school that went into lockdown today after reports of someone with a shotgun or air rifle in the field next to the school. Probably innocent but who would want to take the risk because things happen, many years ago I worked in a nursery , one afternoon a mad idiot in the flats opposite took random pot shots with an air rifle at our parents waiting to come in and collect children at home time, luckily all the children were inside , and the angle of the building meant he wouldn't have been able to see them in the garden anyway, but it was a horrible experience .