Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Dangerous person in school?

405 replies

WhinnieThePoohHead · 15/01/2023 15:53

I’ll preface this by saying I know it’s not a AIBU, I just want to use the voting option :)

Met Friends for dinner today. One friend, a teacher, mentioned that her school does ‘lockdown drills’ as well as fire drills. I asked what they’re for and she said in case someone dangerous gets into the primary school. They lock the classroom door, shut the blinds, turn the lights and screens off and hide under their desks silently. My friend told me that all schools do these drills the same way they do fire drills. this is in the U.K.

YABU- yes all schools do this, you’re out of touch
YANBU- schools in the U.K. don’t do lock down drills

OP posts:
Barbbarkbark · 15/01/2023 18:23

It’s very common, all schools should
do this. The children might be told there’s a dog on the playground or something like that at primary so they might not come home and tell you.

Nimbostratus100 · 15/01/2023 18:23

All Uk schools have to do a certain number fire drills and lock down drills, by law

Greyarea12 · 15/01/2023 18:23

I have just asked my dd if her school does it and she said no (Scotland) I wish they did.

Eukanuba · 15/01/2023 18:24

Primary school, yes we do .

Saturdaynoon · 15/01/2023 18:24

Yes, all the schools around here do this. BeReal went off in the middle of a practice recently. That was interesting.

Nimbostratus100 · 15/01/2023 18:25

some schools in the uk I have worked in also have a bomb drill, different to a fire drill in that all bags and coats are taken out with you

Some schools in Kent also have a Montgomery drill

WhiteFire · 15/01/2023 18:25

All my children have them. Locally I've never heard anyone complaining, but I guess a large proportion will remember when a young girl was stabbed to death in a local school classroom.

Oysterbabe · 15/01/2023 18:25

Just asked my two (reception and year 2) and they have both done lockdown drills; blinds closed, lights off, stay silent. I had no idea. How sad that this is something our children need to be taught.

BewareTheBeardedDragon · 15/01/2023 18:25

My kids school, in a safe pretty crime free village, does these lockdown drills. I was slightly shocked when they told me - just in a totally matter of fact way, as it happened to come up, not a big deal and totally normal for them apparently.

BaggieMaggie · 15/01/2023 18:25

My dc primary school does this. I’m not sure the children are aware and it just seems like a normal fire drill to them. The only reason I know is because I volunteered to go as a helper on a school trip and they had a drill whilst I was there. It only lasted five or so minutes and I am very glad that they are doing this as it’s for the safety of children as teachers. I can’t understand why anyone would have a problem with it.

Starjumpfrog · 15/01/2023 18:26

I'm surprised more schools don't do this.
I'm in my mid thirties and we practised this regularly in my secondary school (blinds closed, under desks, doors locked) which was in response to Dunblane.

It all seemed reasonable until me and a friend were walking outside in the school grounds to go to the office when the alarm sounded and we were absolutely terrified. However, I'm still in favour of it as it was reassuring to have a plan in an emergency and both my children have these drills at their primary school.

peeweechigs · 15/01/2023 18:26

Linnet · 15/01/2023 16:33

I’m in Scotland and my children have never done this at either their primary or secondary schools. It’s an all through campus and the school building is locked, you have to be buzzed in by reception. The playground is locked too. The primary school classrooms didn’t even have doors as they were all open off a central corridor but they did have blinds on the windows.

The secondary school part does have classroom doors but you need a pass to get through doors into the corridors for each subject where the classrooms are.

Presumably the doors and gates are open at drop off and pick up and anyone can get in then.

BrutusMcDogface · 15/01/2023 18:27

My daughter’s secondary does it but our primary doesn’t, as far as I know. As a primary teacher I’ve also never done it.

Algor1thm · 15/01/2023 18:27

peeweechigs · 15/01/2023 18:22

Bet they do. It's a standard requirement.

Show quote history

There are so many teachers on here saying their schools don't do this. It's not a requirement.

Ruth98 · 15/01/2023 18:28

BellatrixLestrangesHeatedCurlers · 15/01/2023 17:38

I find this incredibly sad. I never did them at school but things are obviously different now. We did fire drills but that was it. There’s no way there can be as much of a shooter threat in the UK as in the US though?

We didn't do this in my school but we were well versed on it as we had about 5 bomb scares during the time I was there (late 80s) due to the area of the country we lived in. 2000 kids all sitting in the assembly hall for how ever long it took the police to sweep the school. Remember being terrified the first time and then it became a way to skip lessons!

Partey · 15/01/2023 18:28

My sons primary has done this for many years. They had to go into lockdown for real recently when an armed man was sighted near to school. They stayed locked down for a couple of hours and emerged, oblivious to any danger, when the male was apprehended

eleven2023 · 15/01/2023 18:29

My girls are primary age and they have practised lockdown procedures. I was a bit😱 but it does make sense. It's such a shame our kids have to do this.

champagneplanet · 15/01/2023 18:29

My DCs have always said it was for a dog in the playground, I wondered what on earth they were talking about until they explained what happened and I realised exactly what it was for.

icanneverthinkofnc · 15/01/2023 18:29

Are there still schools with open access? I thought all were fenced in, key/buzzed entrances now?

PoIIyPandemonium · 15/01/2023 18:29

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

HufflepuffRavenclaw · 15/01/2023 18:30

Nimbostratus100 · 15/01/2023 18:23

All Uk schools have to do a certain number fire drills and lock down drills, by law

Are you aware that Scotland, N Ireland and Wales, all part of the UK, have devolved responsibility for education and in the case of Scotland and N Ireland, substantial differences in the legal system too? 🙄

CaveMum · 15/01/2023 18:31

Our DC’s primary school (Cambridgeshire) do these drills once or twice a year. We get informed about it after the fact via the school newsletter.

I was at school in the 80s-mid 90s, and can remember “IRA bomb scares” happening several times. No reason why the IRA would think to bomb a school in Bristol, but the threats happened and we had a drill about going to the playground/playing field.

Prescottdanni123 · 15/01/2023 18:31

The senior school I work at doesn't have practice runs but we do have a lockdown alarm that sounds different to a fire alarm and if it goes off, teachers have to lock the doors and tell the kids to get under the desks.

HadEnoughOfBears · 15/01/2023 18:31

neverbeenskiing · 15/01/2023 18:15

Need for it will depend on local threat assessment.

Government advice is that all schools should have a robust and rehearsed lockdown procedure including a seperate lockdown alarm that is distinguishable from the fire alarm, regardless of the schools location.

Scottish government?

LookingforMaryPoppins · 15/01/2023 18:32

gravyriceandchips · 15/01/2023 18:17

@LookingforMaryPoppins how would you raise this. It 1000% not happened and there are 100% no plans for the this

It's not something I have raised, Just recall it being mentioned in a governor's meeting and being quite taken back. I suspect it all fell under the H&S heading, it was mentioned in the same section as fire evacuation procedures.