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Original poster

Does your primary school have lockdowns drills?

182 replies

Frostythesnowman1 · 28/01/2025 16:23

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

OP posts:
fanaticalfairy · 03/02/2025 10:23

CharityShopChic · 02/02/2025 22:16

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.

Show quote history

our primary school has locked gates at perimeters, locked external doors- and we're in a leafy lovely village school And they also have invacuating procedures. has anything ever happened in the 120+ years that requires it? No. But they drill anyway. Just like there's never actually been a fire, but they drill anyway...

Lancrelady80 · 03/02/2025 20:32

fanaticalfairy · 02/02/2025 20:07

Well, it's not unusual.

Show quote history

So it seems, but it's not something I've ever come across.

It's not at all a bad idea though. Perhaps less immediately useful for tiny two class schools though, where we're all together 95% of the time and there are no extra safe spaces or doors with internal locks.It would certainly give everyone food for thought about what the child in the toilet should do, or the TA and child in the broom cupboard (aka "intervention room").

I wonder if this will ever become statutory?

TickingAlongNicely · 03/02/2025 21:08

Events in Sheffield today demonstrate why Lockdown procedures are practicised.

crumblingschools · 03/02/2025 22:26

@TickingAlongNicely and the court case in Wales. In fact they said the school did go into lockdown as the attack took place

HPandthelastwish · 03/02/2025 22:35

It's not just for the children to practise being quiet, it's for the staff in the classroom and the staff outside the classroom who have very separate roles to play to put that into practise.

For teachers in the classroom this includes messaging the office with an update register and details of any child who was outside the classroom.

For PE teachers they could be in an equipment cupboard with 30 students as that's the only safe space. I mean the cupboards are huge but it's not ideal. With no laptop or wa to contact the office.

There are many many step to a lockdown process and everyone needs to practice, the SLT and front of house staff more than anyone.

crumblingschools · 04/02/2025 07:49

After the news yesterday I will be amazed if lockdown drills don’t become compulsory in schools

AliceMcK · 05/02/2025 20:48

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