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.

And i would imagine in a nursery they would not be telling the kids ‘the world is full of bad people who want to shoot you to death with guns’ in the same way that a fire drill isn’t sold as ‘the school may burn down at any time and you could all burn to death or suffocate due to smoke inhalation’

Dunblane 1996 a tiny rural village school in Scotland. To those saying nurseries are not at risk and don't need it... Do you think they anticipated what happened?

I'd rather my child's school/nursery was prepared.

Also, they won't be filling their heads with horrible things. It will have been made a game or they'll have put some other spin on it.

We once had a lockdown in school and it was because a fire broke out in an unused building on the premises. It would have been more dangerous for us to leave the buildings we were in as the fire services needed undisrupted access. We were on lock down to keep the area clear not because we were in danger.

Anything can happen - it doesn't always have to be an intruder or other sort of similar danger.

I'm in the UK and this isn't something all schools do It is now, due to lots of school being targeted for bomb threats. Although thankfully all have been false alarms.

Our village schools do this. Sadly it is something which may one day be needed. And id sooner my children knew what to do because it was practised rather than ran round like headless chickens. Imagine a class full of panicking children with only one, or at best 2, members of staff trying to implement the plan and soothe frantic children.

I think this is the health and safety culture now.

Just talk to your kids, reassure them that there's nothing to be scared about, and they'll be fine. Being able to take these things bit a shrug is now part of growing up, sadly. You sound like a great Mum, so I am sure they are in very good hands.

I'm in France. We've had lockdown drills for 2 or 3 years now. As well as fire drills. We're warned in advance of when they are.

DS1 is incredibly sensitive to noise and stress. He's not blinked an eye about it (started school aged 3) and doesn't even mention it in the evening.

They are done calmly and without scaring the DC. I think they're a good thing.

We've also had notices send to us about what we have to do if we are a) in the school at the time of a lockdown or b) standing outside the school gates waiting to pick DC up

I think "Run, Hide,Tell" is standard in schools and workplaces now. But I agree, things like that can be troubling to young children.

In my childhood we were all told what to do in the case of nuclear war (KYAG basically), and I used to worry about getting vaporised. Funnily enough no bomb/terrorism drills despite pretty regular bombings.

I imagine most 3 year olds would love to sit with a bunch of other kids in a store cupboard. It would be an adventure and they don't need to know what they are preparing for. I agree it is probably ott and not needed though.

It's not just for terrorist attacks though - my kids' school had to do it for real a few years back when a parent came looking for a teacher with a knife, threatening all staff members.

The parent had MH issues and had self medicated, it could happen anywhere.

The police came and the parent apprehended, no one was hurt but the practised protocol was used.

I would be pleased that the daycare were practising these things. Definitely a case of better safe than sorry. But I don't think I'd be happy that they posted photos of them 'hiding' etc. Seems a bit counterproductive showing the kids hiding in a cupboard as surely it gives the hiding place away? Is it a public page?

It is important they do this.
It's not just for terror attacks, it's for any time the kids need to quickly moved inside away from a danger.

I would rather kids practise this once or twice and know what to do than there be a mass panic if something did happen.

People need to realise we live in a dangerous world and it's better for our kids to be prepared then not in a serious situation.

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

As has already been posted, the chances of a deranged gunman in this country are incredibly small (although tell that to anyone who remembers Dumblane, or the machete attack in the Nursery in Wolverhapmton), but a parent who has mental health issues, or is under the influence of alchol, drugs or some other substance misuse, or someone who is incredibly angry, and thinks they might 'scare' someone with a knife etc is actually a real, live threat.
It's good the Nursery owners / managers are thinking about it.
Of course the dc aren't told in a scary way. Again has has been posted already. Every building has fire drills - no child gets scared by them. It is the same thing - this is a time to listen clearly to instructions and do exactly what you are told. It's practiced so it doesn't become a panic or frightening situation. We had bomb threat practices when I was at school and the IRA posed a very real threat in mainland UK. It was always considered a bit of a treat as you missed half a lesson.
Does seem an odd thing to post pictures of though.

A local school went into lockdown this week. Someone was running amock with a knife in the nearby streets.

A different local school wnet into lockdown a few months ago when a disruntled ex student turned up on the grounds making threats (they may or may not have had a knife I don't know).

Our rural village school had an emailed bomb threat and many nurseries and schools have outdoor areas which border public places (or where a member of the public could feasibly pose a threat should they wish to) so practising what to do in case of such a situation is sensible and a requirement for many organisations.

We have lock down drills all the time. We have had one for-real lockdown because someone with a gun had been seen heading towards a school in town.
One of the kids at school was expelled three weeks ago for an incident in class where he said to the teacher ‘what do I have to do to get attention round here? Shoot the place up?’ School doesn’t feel very safe to me currently. The teacher is on leave now. I have no idea what additional safety measures they have put in place. I don’t see any.

Pretty much standard practice these days. It can be explained to younger children without alarming them; I wouldn’t tell primary children the horrible truth. I know the statistics on probability, but in 20 years of working with kids I’ve never been in a real fire situation (plenty of false alarms, cookers or children setting off fire alarms) but I have once been in a situation where someone was shooting an air rifle at the classroom windows.

The drill is standard and necessary but posting the details of it online is really stupid and I would take issue with the nursery doing that. Why would you advertise where all the children will be hiding ffs?!

I believe all schools have recently been asked to do lockdown drills - we had a letter about it the other day.

I'm in the UK and our school does these drills. They are taught to keep away from windows, hide faces from the doors/windows but aren't put in cupboards. They practice different scenarios including if they are outside, in the hall or away from the classroom alone. They have been doing them 5+ years including the attached nursery and pre-school.

Their old school didn't practice this. I feel safer now at this school, knowing they have a procedure just in case. Although it did make me teary the first time they described what they were doing. Children know they are doing it incase a stranger or animal comes onsite but it was used to get the children in when the air ambulance needed the field one lunchtime. So they are aware the alarm has other uses as well as the more scary reasons.

I think it’s good they do things like this, it’s preparation for things you don’t want to happen but I would be happy they are trying to help the children be prepared.

Our school have them.

They did this at my DC's (in UK) special needs preschool with a loud alarm for a group of pre verbal 2-4 year olds. I was very

My Daughter was involved in a drill where they had to hide under the desk and be really quiet. I feel so sad that it's necessary in our society today, but I guess I would prefer that they are prepared, in case anything should happen.

They do this at pre school and primary here. The kids don't seem aware of what they are doing or why they seem to think they are just playing some kind of hiding game. I suppose fire drills don't make them fearful either. I wish they didn't have to do it but when they had a bomb scare recently i was glad they had procedures in place.