Does your primary school have lockdowns drills?

[Frostythesnowman1]

I have twins in year 1

10 minutes before pick up we get a message to say they have carried out a lockdown drill

no warning, no context, no letting parents know how they explained it to 5 year olds so parents can do the same.

apparently they have it every year but “missed” last year so this is our first experience

We do practice them.

And they've been used a few times in the time I've worked there.

Once when there was a police car chase in the village and they were concerned they might bail out of the car and run down the country lane that runs along our field edge the other side of the fence.

Once when we had an air ambulance land on our field because we are the only place in the village when they can land.

Once when there was a swarm of bees.

No we don’t, although it was discussed recently, I think they said we’d get a phone call and be asked to put the blinds down.

Because what if they're in the hall? Or in the corridor? Or toilets?

How would they know what to do?

Announce it across the annoying I'd imagine

Announce what?

Yes, we do it regularly and always claim "dog has gotten into the playground"

I’m 26 and only just realised what the dog on the playground drill was really for

That all children had to return to their classrooms.

It was in reply to a previous comment but I can't tag people

Yes they do. The kids absolutely aren't bothered about it in the slightest.

Ok, but they shouldn't actually all just "return to their classrooms." Should they? They should stay put if in a room with an adult.

But what if they're in a corridor/open space etc ? They should actually go to the nearest room/place where an adult is... which might be the closest classroom, reception, the medical room, library etc.
Otherwise you might have 30 children trying to get to Classroom 10, from the library, through corridors/across open spaces/through halls etc. or leaving the safe place they're in right now, to get somewhere else.

So no, a "return/go to classrooms" won't actually be good enough.

Just as well we don't have them then.

Well, you should have them. Just like you have fire drills. They're important.

If a child gets hurt or killed or witnesses violence in their school because nobody thought it was needed, then maybe the school might take it more seriously.

yes
The school I work in has been doing them for at least 8 years.
(children from age 3years)

Its a normal school procedure, and we dont do it in a way that terrifies the children.....

Its explained as "fire alarm" = danger inside the building, Get out
"Lockdown alarm" = danger outside the building, Stay in.

(Example of danger outside is typically an out of control dog / animal)

Its not a big deal.

I'll write to the Scottisb Government and tell them.

Do.

They'll be the first ones to be blamed if something happens to their kids.

So weird that they had Dunblane and do fuck all about keeping kids safe in events like this.

Many Scottish schools don’t have secure fencing either

And that's a GOOD THING! I don't want my 5 year old walking into some sort of fortress each morning.

It's not true to say there is no security in Scottish schools. Many of the new builds do have some sort of fencing and gates, more to stop break-ins than anything. Thinking of the secondary school my kids are at now, there are gates along the foot entrance and car entrance which are locked at the end of the day when everyone's gone home but during school hours there is nothing to stop me driving in and walking right up to the front door. I couldn't get further than that though as you have to press the intercom and be buzzed in.

At the primary school - 60s build - it's single story. External doors are kept locked, from what I remember they are on self-closing yale type locks so can be easily opened from inside but not outside. Again, if you want in, you have to go through the front door and be buzzed in, but there is nothing stopping you walking right up to the school, or into the playground. The way the school is designed there are NO internal doors on the classrooms so the teachers cannot lock the kids in an individual room.

The Police / Local Authorities have obviously risk assessed the scenarios of needing to lockdown a school in this way and decided it is not worth having drills for. That's not to say that the teachers aren't told what the procedure is, or that the Head doesn't write out a policy/plan for them to follow, I don't know if that happens or not because I am not a teacher. But there is definitely no practising for the kids. Just fire drills.

My dgs is at school in Austin Texas.
I asked him about school drills etc.
He said they practice it but nobody knows if it's a real emergency or not.
A different alarm will sound as opposed to the normal alarms to change classes etc.
Classroom doors lock. Blinds go down. Kids go under desks
He says all school doors to the outside are locked all the time.

Same as CharityShopChic said for our primary and secondary schools. High school is used for community groups so anybody can walk in and the pupils are free to go down the town at break and lunchtimes

I agree. I'm always surprised about threads like this where people think drills aren't a good idea or think that because they're done, it must mean it's because 'they' know something is going to happen, when it's really not the case.

I've worked in emergency response and resilience for decades and have seen and rehearsed the plans for all sorts of incidents, most of which are thankfully very rare or will never happen.

But it doesn't mean we don't need to prepare, its a requirement of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004. A lot of the provisions and facilities can be used for lots of different scenarios, eg a fire at a chemical plant or other hazardous release where local people, which could extend by a few miles, will be told to stay inside with windows closed (which causes lots of fun and games during exercises because there's always a school so parents are asked not to come at pick up time as they shouldn't be outside, likewise the DC). In a real scenario, we'd want to keep the DC at school until we'd risk assessed the situation and provided advice about doing it safely eg staggering pick ups to minimise time outside and making provisions for people who would normally walk home to be transported to avoid exposure to the hazardous material.

A dangerous person trying to get into the school is a reasonably foreseeable event so it's worth practicing so it's familiar to DC. And this wouldn't just be the nightmare scenario of an attacker, far more likely would be an estranged parent attempting to take their child.

Yes, invacuation procedure.

Schools have become much more secure than they used to be. When I was a pupil at primary and secondary, anybody could wander in - and visitors often had to pass through the playground to reach the school office. Dunblane happened when I was at secondary school, and I noticed high fences popping up at lots of primary schools after that.

I like the term "invacuation". I think that "lockdown" will now for ever be associated with 2020, which was completely different.

Yes. But they were across the road from a school for children with Social, Emotional and mental health challenges. Once or twice a year a student at the other school would break into the primary school, and they'd go into lockdown. DD (13, y8) still says the most exciting day of her life was when one of the boys broke in, got on the primary school roof and started a fire.

I'm sure they can - our school was similar- held the local library - doesn't mean you shouldn't find a way to keep children safe. Because it's not going to be the local person who wants to use the facilities for 30 minutes. It's more likely to be a parent, or a car or a spill or an animal or any such thing.

You can think it's overkill, however, when your child gets hurt or injured, because the school had no way of securing them when something like that happens, because they too scoffed and didn't see the need - will you be so blasé about it all?