Page 3 | Kids doing 'lockdown' exercises in school

cantsleepwontcry · 2023-09-07T05:42:45+00:00

1st day back yesterday for my year 12 Comes to tell me they did a lockdown exercise.... teacher blocked the door with chairs and they basically had to hide under desks, behind furniture until the threat was over I'm quite surprised and upset that they feel the need to teach this in UK schools now.

GCSister · 07/09/2023 07:34

Sometimes the kids don't even realise they've done one.
According to my DS he's never done a lockdown drill but I'm a governor at his school and know for a fact he's done a few as it's reported at governor meetings.

He told me they were all told to go inside because there was a dog in the playground though 😝

Dontstoptherain · 07/09/2023 07:35

@TheLongGloriesOfTheWinterMoon yes that’s clearly what I was laughing it, safety protocols, yeah hilarious that! Nothing at all to do with your overreaction about a cow! 😂

Forgotmylogindetails · 07/09/2023 07:35

Wouldn’t you rather your child knew what to do if something awful happened ?

its the world we live in now and personally I think it’s best that our children are prepared.

TheLongGloriesOfTheWinterMoon · 07/09/2023 07:35

Qilin · 07/09/2023 07:33

I've taught for over 25 years and never had a lockdown drill in either of the two secondary schools or two primaries I've worked at over that time.
I've been at my current school for nearly 14 years and we haven't had one.

We do have a lockdown (or intruder) alarm which staff have heard. Very few of our rooms are actually able to lockdown. Several have a wall of windows and few lock from the inside. This isn't something the school could actually change easily either. In some rooms there aren't enough tables to hide all children under.

We do have security walls, fences and locked gates around the grounds, and all the doors into school all on fire safety safety doors, with release catches and are alarmed.

Show quote history

What do the children know to do if the lockdown alarm goes off?

LadyMacbethWasMisunderstood · 07/09/2023 07:36

I thought you meant they were doing a Joe Wicks workout!

No, I think that’s fine, so long as there were no dramatics about it; which I’m sure there weren’t.

GCSister · 07/09/2023 07:36

@Qilin do all children and staff know what to do if the alarm goes off?

medianewbie · 07/09/2023 07:38

My kids are 16 & 18. Neither has ever done a drill. You can walk into all schools & playground areas. I've just walked into 2 University campuses this week, including attending Induction Lectures (not registered at Uni).

Qilin · 07/09/2023 07:38

You're a teacher who has never done evacuation or invacuation drills?

Our evacuation policy for fire drills is practised regularly.
We have a large scale evacuation policy too which staff are aware off, with an agreed offsite location known. We don't practise this with the children, it wouldn't be feasible. Our eldest children are 7y and to traipse several classes of children a fair distance to our safe location would only happen in case of emergency, due to the necessary risk assessments needed at other times.

We do have an invacuation policy, but it involves returning to the classroom, shutting doors and that's it really. It isn't something we practise as it works exactly the same as end of playtime, etc really. Staff know the policy. As said - many of our rooms aren't actually suitable for hiding under desks, etc.

Idtotallybangdreamoftheendlessnotgonnalie · 07/09/2023 07:38

A lot of children do this but they won't realise they're doing it.

TheLongGloriesOfTheWinterMoon · 07/09/2023 07:39

Dontstoptherain · 07/09/2023 07:35

@TheLongGloriesOfTheWinterMoon yes that’s clearly what I was laughing it, safety protocols, yeah hilarious that! Nothing at all to do with your overreaction about a cow! 😂

https://www.theschoolrun.com/lockdown-procedures-primary-schools

It's standard practice in primary (especially in rural areas) to tell the children it's a cow/cows during a lockdown drill.

If you read the above, it explains what would happen. The children would stay in their classrooms. It would end there.

Your ignorance is quite shocking.

Lockdown procedures in primary schools

Invacuation and lockdown procedures in UK primary schools explained

https://www.theschoolrun.com/lockdown-procedures-primary-schools

TeenLifeMum · 07/09/2023 07:40

My dc did this at primary in the West Country. Had to use it one time when a random dog wandered into the school. Felt a bit overkill but dc were excited.

TheLongGloriesOfTheWinterMoon · 07/09/2023 07:40

Qilin · 07/09/2023 07:38

You're a teacher who has never done evacuation or invacuation drills?

Our evacuation policy for fire drills is practised regularly.
We have a large scale evacuation policy too which staff are aware off, with an agreed offsite location known. We don't practise this with the children, it wouldn't be feasible. Our eldest children are 7y and to traipse several classes of children a fair distance to our safe location would only happen in case of emergency, due to the necessary risk assessments needed at other times.

We do have an invacuation policy, but it involves returning to the classroom, shutting doors and that's it really. It isn't something we practise as it works exactly the same as end of playtime, etc really. Staff know the policy. As said - many of our rooms aren't actually suitable for hiding under desks, etc.

Invac is a lockdown drill.
The term invacuation rather than lockdown started to be used a couple of years ago for obvious reasons.

You are clearly doing lockdown drills from what you've said.

TeenLifeMum · 07/09/2023 07:41

And am I the only one who misread and thought they’d had to do Joe wicks?

Lonecatwithkitten · 07/09/2023 07:41

My daughter is second year uni now she did lockdowns from reception at school. It was an all through school so in reception she was told bad dog, by the time she left in year 11 she knew and understood the threat could be a gun or a knife.

Dontstoptherain · 07/09/2023 07:43

@TheLongGloriesOfTheWinterMoon that isn’t what you said though. You didn’t say “they may tell young kids it’s just a cow” you said that in rural areas they may need to perform the lockdown procedures “for a cow”. You also didn’t says lesser version” of the lockdown procedures, when the OP was talking about hiding under desks.
Don’t start trying to change your narrative 3 posts down the line!

YourNameGoesHere · 07/09/2023 07:43

Qilin · 07/09/2023 07:38

You're a teacher who has never done evacuation or invacuation drills?

Our evacuation policy for fire drills is practised regularly.
We have a large scale evacuation policy too which staff are aware off, with an agreed offsite location known. We don't practise this with the children, it wouldn't be feasible. Our eldest children are 7y and to traipse several classes of children a fair distance to our safe location would only happen in case of emergency, due to the necessary risk assessments needed at other times.

We do have an invacuation policy, but it involves returning to the classroom, shutting doors and that's it really. It isn't something we practise as it works exactly the same as end of playtime, etc really. Staff know the policy. As said - many of our rooms aren't actually suitable for hiding under desks, etc.

It sounds like you are infact doing lockdown drills and your school has procedures for such situations.

Trixiefirecracker · 07/09/2023 07:44

Personally I’m actually okay with the school not doing them, not particularly’proud’ of it (ridiculous leap as usual on MN) but kids live very rurally and it’s extremely safe here. They would absolutely know what to do if a cow wandered on to the playground. 😂 Once they had a badger caught in the football nets. Would that count?

saraclara · 07/09/2023 07:45

TeenLifeMum · 07/09/2023 07:41

And am I the only one who misread and thought they’d had to do Joe wicks?

No, you're not!
I thought this was going to be a thread where someone was complaining that the schools PE teacher was being lazy!

GCSister · 07/09/2023 07:45

Qilin · 07/09/2023 07:38

You're a teacher who has never done evacuation or invacuation drills?

Our evacuation policy for fire drills is practised regularly.
We have a large scale evacuation policy too which staff are aware off, with an agreed offsite location known. We don't practise this with the children, it wouldn't be feasible. Our eldest children are 7y and to traipse several classes of children a fair distance to our safe location would only happen in case of emergency, due to the necessary risk assessments needed at other times.

We do have an invacuation policy, but it involves returning to the classroom, shutting doors and that's it really. It isn't something we practise as it works exactly the same as end of playtime, etc really. Staff know the policy. As said - many of our rooms aren't actually suitable for hiding under desks, etc.

So you are doing them. You just call them something different 🤷🏼‍♀️

LadyMacbethWasMisunderstood · 07/09/2023 07:46

Snap @TeenLifeMum

YourNameGoesHere · 07/09/2023 07:47

Trixiefirecracker · 07/09/2023 07:44

Personally I’m actually okay with the school not doing them, not particularly’proud’ of it (ridiculous leap as usual on MN) but kids live very rurally and it’s extremely safe here. They would absolutely know what to do if a cow wandered on to the playground. 😂 Once they had a badger caught in the football nets. Would that count?

As a previous poster said the biggest threat in most schools is an angry parent. Even leafy middle class rural idylls are not immune to those so yes every school should have a policy in place should one turn up.

crumblingschools · 07/09/2023 07:48

When a teacher was stabbed by a pupil earlier this year not only did their school do an invacuation, other local schools including Primary did too as didn’t know where the teenager was

Stroopwaffels · 07/09/2023 07:48

We have had this thread before. It is not a "UK thing", certainly not in Scotland where my kids go to school. We also don't have the 10 foot high fences around all schools which many posters seem to think are compulsory.

Trixiefirecracker · 07/09/2023 07:50

TheLongGloriesOfTheWinterMoon · 07/09/2023 07:39

https://www.theschoolrun.com/lockdown-procedures-primary-schools

It's standard practice in primary (especially in rural areas) to tell the children it's a cow/cows during a lockdown drill.

If you read the above, it explains what would happen. The children would stay in their classrooms. It would end there.

Your ignorance is quite shocking.

Show quote history

That specifically says if you actually read it ‘At the moment, the Department for Education doesn’t compel schools to have an invacuation and lockdown plan’ so it’s not ‘standard practice’ , it’s entirely up to the school to decide their own level of risk. It also says later on that rural schools may not feel the need for it.
So actually who is being ‘shockingly ignorant’?

Tessisme · 07/09/2023 07:50

I'm in NI and have never come across this and am now wondering if I should have. It makes sense. I was in primary school in the 1970s during the Troubles and an armed man ran into our playground and fired a shot into the air. The playground was empty at the time, but it was terrifying. Thankfully those days are (mostly) gone, but there are other possible life threatening emergencies. Where we live, there's every chance it would be a cow to be fair! There was a toxic spill last year in a nearby car park. All windows had to be closed and parents were advised of routes to steer clear during pick up, while emergency services sorted it. So stuff does happen, albeit not specifically a lockdown situation in this particular case.