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.

Perhaps it’s a decision taken by school leadership as it seems schools in the same location (e.g. London) approach this differently.

I’m certain the school my DC attended in East London up until 3 years ago didn’t do this. I know some parents actually asked the HT what the safety protocols were in case of an intruder as the school was overlooked by a housing estate with high levels of crime and on one occasion a man who was being chased by the police ran into the playground. On another occasion a woman was shot dead outside the school and the children were sent home early as part of the school entrance was a crime scene. Despite this there were no drills or anything.

It's sad but necessary. When my daughter was a student teacher her school had 2 men barge in - the police thought they were running from gang members. No one was hurt but luckily the children all got under their tables with little prompting as they had practised . It shook them up but she was very proud of them - Y2 class

I’m in the south west and multiple local schools have done it here (maybe all part of the same management?).

Another one here who’s DC have had this at their school. Not that I heard of it from either my DC or the school, it was one of the other mums.
I asked DC about it and they didn’t seem remotely bothered. Makes me wonder how much of the ‘procedure’ they even took notice of, tbh

DfE guidance (non statutory) is definitely that schools should be doing this (it's contradictory for Early Years settings as one doc says do and one says plan but don't practice). Guidance is here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/emergency-planning-and-response-for-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings
There's also a document called 'Protective security and preparedness for education settings' which you can Google.
We did an invacuation a few weeks ago in a nursery because a nearby building had a gas leak. Lasted about 20 minutes while the gas company came and gave the all clear. Staff followed the policy and did what they'd practiced and most of the children probably didn't notice.

Well it's obviously because of that guy all over the news at the moment isn't it

Decades? I was at school up to 1997 and never had this. DC have never done it at their primary.

My children's school and nursery had a practise last week, we did get told the law had changed?

Exactly, and that man was stopped on a whim by police officers. Had they not spotted him there’s a very good chance he’d have carried out his desire to murder 30 little children. A sliding doors moment by just a few seconds.

I’d be slightly annoyed if my kids schools weren’t doing this, because in the worst case scenario the last thing needed is panicking screaming kids drawing attention to whichever classroom they’re in.

If a school hasn’t bothered doing an invacuation drill, ask them to do it. And if they refuse, speak to the LEA.

Unfortunately, we had to do a real lockdown in my old school. Someone entered the school with a knife and was threatening to stab people. The kids had no idea that there was a real threat. They just did what they had practiced.

Not this again.

It's not about a mad man with a gun.

It's about a stray dog.... A ambulance helicopter landing ... Vehicles through the site etc.

Sometimes I wonder whether all these shooter drills in the US might not be counter-productive.

Everytime you do a drill, you reinforce the message that these school shootings Are A Thing. The angry troubled kids in school are taking part in these and must think, “This is how I get power, this is how I get people to notice me.” Could it not be too much?

You don’t have a successful diet by talking about cake all the time. Do you get a peaceful school community by doing shooter drills all the time? You are sowing fear on the one side, and notions of evil on the other.

What good is it to tell children to stand on the toilet seats, if the shooters themselves have been taught this tactic at school?

But all so heartbreakingly sad. Fuck the gun lobby.

They will have to soon. So don't worry.

My toddler has just gone through it recently. He found it a great game and made us do it at home so he could practice hiding from a “naughty lion”. I doubt you’ll have any problems from your kid if you don’t get anxious yourself.

Precisely. Adults go up the wall and the kids just shrug. We could learn from their example!

It makes sense. 17 years back we had a teenager bring a knife into secondary school looking for another pupil and all the classes were locked for about half an hour until he was found. It was very unorganised and I think people would've been less worried if it had been practiced in advance.

In the years of schooling my two they had three real lockdowns!
A man somehow got out of a police car and ran onto the primary school
playground right past my daughter about to swing her cricket bat. Helicopter up and full lockdown for that one.
second was a man waving a knife outside the high school looking for some pupils. Full lockdown.
last one was someone on the field they couldn’t identify.

ita good to practice so if it does happen the children are well aware what to do

Is it really? In the UK?

How often are schools getting intruders?

Genuinely asking because I am astounded to hear this.

We had to use the protocol about 6 months ago. There was a medical incident/issue so all students stayed in their current rooms for 2 more periods until the paramedics/air ambulance/supporting police had left.
Gave medics space to work and maintained the privacy of the individual needing medical care.

There was no ducking under tables etc, but was a clear, stay in your rooms, just wait it out.

The students were great and very respectful. It was useful to have a protocol to draw on.

Relax, it’s normally an out of control parent that causes a lockdown. Literally happened in a school near me a couple of weeks ago. Mum going crazy in reception and then got her child to give her access to the main building. Nutter could have had a weapon so the whole school had to lockdown.

Unfortunately this isn’t particularly unusual. It’s good the kids are prepared.

Will be intrigued to see if they do. Not happened in the first 5 years. Is it very new that it's a requirement? Not sure I'm bothered whether they do or not. I think our school would do a good job of making it seem not scary if they do bother.

I know, thank fuck he hadn’t bothered to wash his hands.

I dread to think. Our school has locked gates and lockable doors in all places but if you really wanted to get in then you could.

I agree, people should be encouraging their schools to do the drill so the kids understand what to do in any potential danger. It’s so sad, they’re barely innocent these days.

Thinking about it, we had fire drills - but no lockdown drills for the kids. Just additional instructions to staff about what to do in emergency situations.

I actually put in a complaint, because most of my staff were in classrooms with no external windows. (We had "light wells" in some rooms and there was a sealed skylight above my desk.) I was told that our doors were thick enough to keep us safe until emergency services got to us.

ETA East central Scotland.

This topic comes up several times a year on MN.

My Dcs (aged 14 and 12) have been at the same school for 10 years and 8 years and they do a 'lockdown drill' every term. They do a fire drill every half term.

It first came about when the police were chasing someone and he had ingress to the primary section of the school and ran through the school with police chasing him. The entire primary section of the school were evacuated to the local cafe and were given hot chocolates with marshmallows. It's still talked about as the most wonderful day ever.

Since then it's happened in real time when an angry parent jumped the school fence to search for his kid as part of a whole custody dispute and when there was a sadly disturbed person at the bus stop who started waving a machete around.

The lockdown drills are SO organised now and my Dcs take them in their stride. It;s not like a fire drill- there is a silent alarm that comes out flashing on the computers and everyone knows to drop to the floor, go under the desks and curtains to outside access areas are all shut.

The DCs are totally blase about it. I did not even know it happened until another MN thread when I said 'Oh! Do you know what a lockdown drill is?' and the Dcs were like 😆WTF mum?

These kind of drills are sadly essential. What also needs to be a priority though is better security around schools. Far too often main doors are inadequate and perimeter fences are not high enough