To think it's very depressing that school children need to learn this

[Eastie77Returns]

DD's school is producing a video showing children what to do in the event there is an intruder in the school and they need to go into 'lockdown'. I found out as she has been asked to take part in the video production.She is in Y7.

DS is in Y4 and he told me they did a practice drill at his primary school where they followed the steps they needed to take in a similar situation.

Honestly it makes me feel very sad. I understand in the current climate it's necessary and in countries like the US it's standard but I never thought I'd see something like this here.

It's definitely depressing, but it's entirely necessary unfortunately.

You should be delighted. They’re keeping your children safe.

Yes, it is a shame.

But, as we know from the case in the papers this week, it is a genuine (if very small) risk.

How have you got a child in Y7 and never realised this happens at schools in the UK? It's standard practice and has been for decades. Just like fire alarm practices and about as likely to happen.

A colleague of mine ended up "invacuating" when at a meeting in a school when an angry and very unstable parent turned up and was threatening to self immolate in the carpark. I've also seen news reports of schools going into lockdown because a person is outside with a knife threatening to harm people
. A more rural friend tells me her kids did it when a herd of cows somehow got through the fencing onto the school field. Although this also seems to be the "story' told to kids in more rural areas to practice lockdowns, a fierce dog is the one my kids' have had to practice for

I wish more places would do this. It will likely never be needed, but like a fire drill, it’s worth knowing what to do.

One school a month in England has an intruder (usually an angry parent )

My kids schools were doing this 10 years ago so better late than never. They are told it’s because of reasons like chemical spills, swarm of bees, dog in the loose, escaped prisoner (there’s a prison 3 miles away), escaped animal from the zoo… but by secondary school the kids were calling them school shooter drills because kids know of these from US news.

It does freak you out a bit doesn't it? It would be a bit fucking odd to be 'delighted' about it.

And I would disagree that it has been standard for 'decades' in the UK. I'd say it became a part of my children's school lives a few years ago.

I think there is something about the 'drill' for an intruder that's particularly unsettling as they essentially have to 'role play' what would happen - getting down under desks, turning off the lights and stuff. A fire drill where everyone walks out to a specified place doesn't feel anywhere near as unsettling.

My sister and her family spent a year in Washington DC about 10 years ago. Her 5 year old was taught how to stand on a toilet in case of a school shooting - he was told that if someone saw his feet they might shoot through the door so that was why the children should stand on toilets (in the event of an active shooting scenario).

Google Dunblane. 16 children and a teacher died. There have been lockdown drills on and off since then.

More depressing is that these procedures have actually been put into practice in schools.

Weapons.
Dangerous parents
Fights
Risks in the surrounding area.

Just be thankful it isn't guns like the USA.

Maybe because it's never happened at their school. None of my kids' schools have had these drills either.

Yes my child in year 1 has this. They’re told it’s in case a wild animal is loose in the school. They had to do a lockdown for real sometime before Christmas, and the children were told it was another practice. My DD came out “so and so is always crying loudly when we do these, she will make us get eaten by the wolf!!”
I believe they all huddle behind the teacher’s desk in the corner, and the doors are locked with blinds drawn.

Mine did this in primary years ago. I’m from NI and we did it decades ago. It’s a good thing and helps keeps pupils safe.

Just another unfortunate consequence of moving from a high trust society to a low one.

Society has to be taught to cope with what’s out there, and that includes children unfortunately. Still very rare incidents in most places in terms of actual humans with weapons, but it’s no bad thing that schools have something in place to cope with the unexpected. Anything that can help children during a difficult situation, take away the paralysing fear that might occur, become organised under adult supervision has to be good.

It hasn’t been standard for decades, or at least not where I grew up (London). Didn’t happen at my school or any of my ones my friends attended.

I also have several friends with kids who are now late teens/early 20s and they have no recollection of it happening where their children were at school.

Yes, it’s delightful that children have to learn to cower and hide under tables in their school, a place that should be synonymous with safety, in case of an intruder.

I’m not saying it’s not a useful exercise.

I’m saying it’s sad children have to learn how to do it. It’s not something I would want my 8 year old to practice in an ideal world but I understand it’s necessary.

As a child growing up near a nuclear sub base, we practiced drills to do with nuclear explosions. My teacher got exasperated with me when I asked 'how getting under my desk, in a classroom with massive windows would protect me from anything never mind the fall out from a nuclear blast!'

And Wolverhampton nursery. And southport.

its essential.

Not sure children in schools but children in nurseries too!

I don’t think any adult in this country needs to Google Dunblane…

DS is 18, he did lockdown drills throughout his time at primary school, the children were told it was in case there was a dangerous dog in the playground.

They had to do the drill for real at least once, usually an angry dad.

Yes and despite all the patronising responses saying how necessary they are, there should be proper research done on unintended consequences on young people's MH of making them have to worry about every terrifying but vanishingly rare eventuality life could bring.
If behaviour is good in a school and the worst did happen the teacher could just yell 'get under a desk and stay quiet, now!' and the kids would do it. They wouldn't need to be on a constant high alert- think of the effect constant cortisol has on developing brains.