School intruder training

[incognitoe]

DC12's school organised "intruder training", which involved an actor banging on windows and shouting and an alarm going off for around 40 mins, and the children being asked to close curtains of room, get under desks and stay silent for that time, teacher they were with apparently not knowing anything about it. Half the class were crying or not able to breath properly.

Has your school done this? Actor came and met them at the end of the "training" to tell them it was not real.

Thanks

It’s not as rare as some posters seem to believe. It seems to occur roughly
twice a month in the UK.

It often won’t make national news though as usually the suspects are apprehended without any injuries occurring. (If we had more guns over here I’m sure it would be a different story). So unless you are local you probably won’t hear about it.

A quick google showed the following schools who had to go into emergency lockdown after intrusion in 2023 so far:

March - Slough - intruder armed with a knife arrested in secondary school

March - Powys - school put into lockdown after intruder scales fence

April - Kineton in Warwick - masked men in balaclavas on school grounds

April - armed intruder apprehended in a Somerset school

May - Benfield school Newcastle - three men in school grounds

June - Devon - two students and teacher attacked and critically injured. - this one DID make national news - due to the injuries.

So actually, I would be concerned if your child’s school are NOT doing these drills - though I agree that the OPs school went too far.

Why are schools in the UK doing intruder training? Surely the last time an intruder was in a school here was Dunblaine in 1996?

Cross posted. Holy crap! I never knew it still happened so much in the UK! 😳

I was quite shocked as well tbh!!!
I thought it might be one a year or something!

@FuckNuggets you need to read the post above yours.

Yes in UK. One school I know has done it. They were told they have to hide and be quiet because an animal had escaped. They have to move away from windows and further into the building.

I did think it unusual but overall I am grateful that the school is secure and does have this drill. I only know of one school that does it.

Try a week or so ago in Devon.

pf course they’d get told, however they’re sitting ducks with few places to hide in the corridors. Seemingly locking doors does help actually. Plenty of articles and a few studies about it. Being out of line of sight in a locked classroom is key.

My kids’ primary does a lockdown drill, but the children are briefed about it, and they’re given a tame explanation (“we’re pretending there’s a gas leak locally”) rather than saying the drill is about an intruder. At secondary age they wouldn’t need the white lie IMO.

The idea of not briefing the students AND getting an actor in is absolutely horror-inducing.

@coffeecupsandwaxmelts it’s just a couple of days ago. As others have said most occasions don’t make national news unless someone gets seriously hurt

In the UK at a secondary school. Never dine a drill. Pupils are not told of fire drills. We have to treat each drill as if it's the real.thing. I.suppose pupils could have been given a time frame and told if the alarm.webr off they would be expected to do x,y z etc.

I work in a primary school in England. We have done emergency drills . It consists of a bell being rung, and two key phrases . One means inside, doors locked, blinds drawn ,quiet. The other is also students under the desk. However, we never had actors, explained to the children it was coming and what it all means so they know what to do. We used examples as stray loose dog , especially with the younger ones. The main idea is that when the children hear the bell/phrases they know what to do, are used to it (just like with fire drills), and cause less panic while also keeping them safe.

I work in a UK prep school.
We do this once a year - one simple procedure to evacuate school and another one to bring everyone inside together.
Parents are informed and we do an assembly to explain to the children what we want them to do. It's made into a challenge for the children, which they enjoy.
Our reasons for implementation would include: intruder or other human threat, air pollution, dangerous dog/animal or any police call telling us to keep the children safe.
Only last week some random bloke was wandering our grounds - harmless as it happened 🙄 but he could easily have had a weapon on him and bad intentions.

Sorry, meant to say - we'd feel we'd failed if we had tearful children and angry parents as an outcome from this exercise - and certainly nobody banging on windows!

@toomuchlaundry

The slightly implausible excuses are quite nice actually. Towards the end of primary mine were getting the message of what it was really about, and when they are proudly proclaiming they don't believe about the bees then parents could have those conversations. The stated reason is one the younger ones will just buy, and the older ones can cling to for as long as they need to.

Whereas an intruder rattling the windows shoves it down their throats, ready or not.

sorry @Jellycats4life I didn't mean to quote you, it was a general point.

Just asked my youngest and her primary school do lockdown drills. They are very efficient too by the sounds of it. Into the nearest classroom, blinds closed and under desks. Whilst it's sad they have to do this i really appreciate it being done. If she hasn't mentioned it before it must be seamless and not a big deal.
That does sound a bit much at your kids school OP but better it's done than not!

What do you suggest we should have done the afternoon a gang of drunks with knives came onto our school premises, chased two teachers out of the gate and then started towards the classrooms?

Said "oh how inappropriate" and let them in? Or what we did. Lockdown and call the police.

Ours was Kent, 2019.

Intruders don't make the news. Because, funnily enough, drills, and the children knowing what to do, means they stay as intruders, not as mass murderers.

This.

Lockdown drills and the intruders that necessitate them are a normal part of UK school life. Parents, children from other schools looking for a friend (or enemy), curious local nutters, ex students - it happens all the time, usually without any serious consequences because staff and children know how to challenge them safely. But sometimes there is malicious intent so we need to practice what to do in that unlikely event.

We had someone with mental health issues and with a sharp weapon ran across the playground , a weirdo that was stalking a teacher, very distressed or abusive parents because their kids went into care for example, and yes two dogs. All these incidents were in a span of about 15 years, but they do happen and it's good for staff and children to know exactly what to do if something happens.

If there’s an emergency like a fire they have drills for that, however my children (4 of them) in 3 seperate schools have never done lockdown drills, Scotland also. Doesn’t seem to be a thing here from reading other Scottish posters. I’m glad as my youngest(asd/adhd) would really struggle with it, especially in the circumstances the op reports.

I can’t imagine a head teacher thinking that is ok. We also don’t have perimeters the primary school you wouldn’t go onto the grounds during school but I often cut through secondary with the dog - through the carpark and only whilst kids are in school Doors of school are locked etc. i suppose if there were incidences of intruderS in other schools locally things might change Re lockdowns but I hope not. Feels pretty safe here for now at least. Such a worry sending your child to school not knowing if they will be safe there.

@Shopper727 have you asked your children? Most children (apart from those in OP's scenario) take lockdown drills in their stride, it is parents that seem to have the most issues with them. But if children are initially brought up with scenario of strange dog on the premises (or cows in our rural schools) then they don't seem to worry about them, whereas parents probably envisage American shooter scenario

"I can’t imagine a head teacher thinking that is ok. "

If I were a HT I'd be taking to the streets and protesting to make damn sure the children in my care were safe, and if there was the slightest chance they might not be, that they, and the staff, knew what to do to make them safe.

It does seem to be that most posters in Scotland think that schools there don't do drills.

Appalling.