School lockdown procedures - is this happening everywhere?

[HappyMum123456]

We've received information from DDs school about lockdown procedures and upcoming practise drills. She's in year 6. Is this happening everywhere? I would have lost the plot when I was her age but thankfully she's way more resilient. I've spoken to her and given the example of a dog sneaking into the school grounds (so as not to cause her any alarm) but she's come home today talking about intruders and guns which I'm assuming has come from other kids rather than the teachers.

We do have a procedure but we don't practise.

Been done for as long as I can remember. There’s always talk of wild dogs etc but obviously the kids know what it’s really about. Our head got really carried away one year and said it was in case there was a swan on the playground!
kids take it in their stride.

Yes, ours practice it twice a year, right down to reception. Sensible really.

I remember hearing about UK schools doing lockdown drills when DD was a baby and thinking how awful, the kids must be terrified.

Then I realised that when I was at primary school in the early 90s, maybe there wasn't a dangerous dog in the playground that for some reason meant we needed to hide under our desks...

Yes my dc have been doing them for years here, along with the fire drill. Hopefully they will never need either but at least they are prepared.

My youngest is in year 11 and they practice these regularly and have done since primary school. It's not nice to think about but it's good that they do them just in case.

Yep, we've got two levels and in a couple of years we've used the lower level twice so it's really important.

Yes and we had to put it into action too.
Intruders, or chemical spill on the busy road near the school or ay other many reasons why staff and students would need to be contained inside or to classrooms.

It's useful, like fire drills to know what to do in an emergency. It maybe unlikely in a sleepy rural school but perhaps a visit to a different country or city and it'll be a different matter and when something is drilled into you you panic less.

I work for a MAT. Our schools all do these - some play it as a game, and the quietest class gets a reward. Some explain the dangerous dog on the playground scenario. Lockdown doesn’t always mean hiding under desks, step one is just everyone inside the building with all doors and windows closed.
Reasons for why we want everyone indoors can include things like the air ambulance needs to use the field/playground to land, a large fire/other large emergency services presence nearby and we don’t want the children to gossip/be distracted/see something they shouldn’t, an angry parent attempting to access the site and police may need to be called.

I had this in the 80s when I was at High School (3 years before I joined there was a bomb threat and the Head actually had a heart attack and died on the playground in front of the school so they took it very seriously). My children have had it through their primary and secondary schools, it scares the crap out of me, but they're very prepared. We're in NW England btw.

Yes this has been a thing for at least 20 years.

I work in a very rural school. We do it. We tell the kids it’s in case dogs get in who might bite. It’s highly believable because we do have a farm dog near school who goes wandering occasionally and isn’t very friendly, and we’ve locked down twice because of him so they totally buy into that story!

Only once has anyone asked why we have to keep clear of the windows. They think we lock the doors so younger children don’t go out by mistake.

Yes it's in response to Southport I believe

They don't tell the kids what's going on. They often pretend there is a dog in the playground.

I remember reading about an incident when a school had to go into lockdown because there really was a dangerous, or potentially dangerous, dog loose. Somewhere in the Midlands, I think.

I mean they've all had to refresh the policies and tell parents of the policy

@inappropriateraspberry rural schools aren’t exempt from possibly needing lockdown. One local village school often gets farm animals taking over the playground, so if have cows with their calves children would be called back into classrooms. Obviously would be a level one so no need to hide under desks.

With the joy of XL Bully dogs, I would assume schools would implement lockdown if one of those dogs was loose in the playground

Our school has been doing it at least since my daughter started, 6 years ago.

No, it's been normal for at least a decade.

I would be questioning why schools aren’t doing drills after Southport.

@stargirl1701 not much point having a procedure if you don’t do drills. I assume you do fire drills. Children need to be able to recognise the difference in alarms otherwise they might head in the wrong direction

Our school uses a wild dog as the example of why they'd do a lock down and along with people letting their dogs jump at my kids when we're walking or playing on the oval its my kids scared of dogs. Intruders I could show them the statics and how rare it is, them using the dog as a reason effects my DC regularly.

Yes. Standard. Dts are much older now but they had practice
Drills from yR back in 2014. It's to cover anything from a dog loose in the playground through to the worst.

Been part of the drills for at least 20 years to my knowledge. And don't think it's overkill, my dc's school had to put it into action as a guy was running down a neighbouring street with a rifle having shot his wife! kids were held at school until 5pm then parents were told to collect as already dark, last child wasn't picked up until after 6.30pm I was told.

Better to be safe!

We were doing them in 2012 (and many places were before then).

DD started college this week and they had one today! Much confusions has initially when everyone assumes on was a fire drill the find doors locked