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.

Lots of schools do these, kids take it in their stride, it us who get upset

v necessary in my opinion

It's been standard in most schools since Dunblane and the machete attack in the nursery school where Lisa Potts was injured.

A lot of the time though it's not been obvious. It's played out with the children as what to do if a dog gets loose in the playground or the likes.

I worked in schools for 20 years going in and out of different schools each day and in each LA area I worked in the schools did the drills. Some are just more open about it than others.

DD once came home full of excitement as they'd practised what to do if a lion got loose in the playground (we life relatively close to a wildlife park) and a keeper with a dart guy had to come. DS - two years older at the same school, and who also took part never mentioned it, and when asked could only remember a kid in his class knocking over a pencil pot that day 😂

We've not done a lockdown drill for years (the kids thought it was great fun to doss about under a desk instead of doing maths) but we do occasionally play the lockdown alarm and the fire alarm in registration so that kids know the difference between the two. It would be pretty bad if there was a lockdown and kids piled outside thinking it was a fire drill.

My school has gone into lockdown a couple of times, I know teachers in other schools who would say the same. It's rare, but it happens, so it's something schools need to be prepared for. When talking about it to the kids they always jump straight to 'school shooter' so I make sure to tell them that we haven't had school shootings in the UK since the 90s (and thank god I can continue to tell them that).

Because, police will take a minimum of 5 minutes to arrive, unless they happen to be near already. We have a lot of trouble around the school frequently; a lot of drugs; a lot of gangs; a lot of serious violence. Then there are angry parents looking for kids in SS care; angry and violent parents going for staff. Generally, a lot of angry people. With very little to keep them out.

The last time I broke in to a school, it took me around 45 seconds to get from out of school grounds to the first classroom. It would have taken about 30 more seconds to be in that class, if I didn't care about breaking things...

This timeframe means if someone gets in with serious intent, no one can get there fast enough to help. Which means I choose between watching my kids hurt or taking on an intruder alone, should that happen. Which is quite terrifying to consider in full.

It is unlikely, but unlikely things happen. I have seen enough serious violence to know how fast it happens when it does.

This is quite surprising. No doors on the classrooms. I teach reception and our lockdown place is in the children’s toilets. There’s no locks on the cubicles but that’s the best we have so that’s where we go.

We did this at school in the 90s. If schools weren’t prepared you’d be moaning too

I’d be asking all those schools why they’re potentially putting the children at risk by not doing these practices. I suspect they are, but sugar coating it as something else.

At my kids rural school it’s a “dog loose in the playground” drill done a couple of times a year, and they’re all completely non-plussed by it. Really, it’s a good thing to show children how to stay calm and composed in an emergency situation.

My dc did that at primary. It was always pitched as a dangerous stray dog entering the school rather than a gunman. In our area, a dog is more likely. Parents get up in arms about it but dc aren’t phased.

We were doing this when I was in year 7 (2000) and when my brother was the same age (late 90s). We were given the example of Dunblane, and there was no sugar coating it - we knew exactly what it was for.

Sorry but I have 4 children, the eldest being 20 and they have never ever had to do this....fire drill yes, intruder no

The only time I've been in a school when the lockdown had to be activated has been angry threatening parents. That happens far more often than many people realise I think.

It's not just about shooters.

It came up at a gathering after the horrible events in Southport so was discussed between the adults who own the 19 kids (they don't go to 19 different schools by the way!!)

It's been relatively common topic on here over the years and it's always piqued my interest that my kids schools don't do it so I've asked about.

I wouldn't be sure enough to bet my life on it, but it's not common practice in my neck of the woods.

You're missing the point. On purpose I suspect.

Has everyone just missed Nicholas Prosper being sentenced, stopped on his way to a primary school to kill 5 year olds. This isn’t something that just happened in the past!

I was at a school nearby when Nikki Conroy died. My school also had zero gates and security and you could walk in off the street.

www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/remembering-nikki-conroy-people-classroom-28901522

It is a shame, but necessary.

In spite of the security at the secondary school where I worked, a strange man got in - he timed it for when the pupil doors automatically opened at lunch hour.

It turned out he wasn't dangerous. Apparently, someone had dropped litter in his garden and he was certain that our kids were the culprit. (Maybe; maybe not. There are 3 high schools in close proximity, all with very similar uniforms. Unless you can see the tie or it's a senior with a blazer you can't tell.)

He tipped a bag of rubbish inside the school. Unfortunately for him, he was then surrounded by large number of children taking his pic, pointing and screaming "Paedo!"

The depute had to rescue him. I think that by the time the police took him away he was relieved.

However, it was a salutary lesson. The building was a new build with state-of-the art security, but he still got in.

Every few months there are threads like this with parents saying that "every school in the UK" does this regularly.

Just popping on to reiterate that it's not common practice in Scotland and never has been. That's not to say the teachers and staff don't plan and run scenarios, and modern secondary schools I have been in have doors which can be locked to seal off parts of the building or corridors. But Scottish kids don't practice for it.

Really surprised that some people with kids haven’t heard of this - youngest DC are GcSE age and it’s always been a thing here . Wondering if it’s location specific - we are easy access to the motorways and commutable to London I guess

I will double check. Definitely not happening at DC's secondary school though as we discussed it very recently.

As I say, It's not just the two schools my kids attend either. None of my siblings have had this at their kids school (I've asked!) and I've asked friends too... and yes it's very surprising central London schools don't do this.

We have termly lockdown drills in our secondary school & have had to carry out a ‘lockdown’ previously. My DC’s primary has just this term carried out their first drill. It shouldn’t have to happen, but it’s the world we live in. Practice & preparation helps so much if ever needed.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5f6337d98fa8f5106083ed6a/Self-assessment_emergency_incident_planning_checklist.docx

here's the government schools emergency planning checklist that shows that schools in England need to have lockdown procedures that are communicated to staff and pupils.

I have been a school governor for over 30 years, schools started doing these post Dunblane... for us it is the dog in the playground. Over the years we have had parents kick off on-site usually about other parents rather than school staff. My favourite, two mums fencing with umbrellas over a parking slot, whilst the HT and Ofsted Inspector decided which mum they would be a second for!

I certainly did at a Scottish school and my kids also did before we moved back over the border.

In my work experience Scottish schools do more often than English schools

It's not happened in any of the schools my kids have been in, or that i've worked in (suburban Glasgow).

I think it’s becoming standard isn’t it? Lots of schools have adopted it in our area this year.

It’s horrible but I’m grateful. I couldn’t believe the story about that man who wanted to kill 30 children in a primary school recently to ‘make his name’.
It makes me feel sick to think our children aren’t safe anywhere.

My first ever day as a teacher back in July 1999 I witnessed 2 mums having a punch up on the playground over which of their daughters had come first in a race at sports day.

I should have taken it as a sign and left the profession there and then!