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 at our primary, its just two quick blasts of the fire alarm so we tell the kids we’re testing that out. All we do is lock doors and windows so they have no idea what’s happening.
In 10 years we’ve only used it twice - once for an angry parent trying to kick the doors in and once for the air ambulance. But we still practice every year.

I've taught for over 20 years and have never done one. We have a policy, so I know what to do - in theory, but it very much depends on where the threat is (inside or outside school) what we would actually do. Unlike a fire where the objective is just to get outside.

I think it's a requirement now. We are due to do our test soon. I can't see it going well tbh 😂

Standard thank goodness. My daughters have been involved in three real ones too so I'm glad they were practised before

All Schools have to have these procedures in place, it is part of the education emergency planning directed by the Department for Education. Schools should all have a yearly practice of the drill as well.

I grew up in Berkshire near Broadmoor and we did Broadmoor drills in the late 80s/early 90s. There was a real escape once and we did get locked down. It was all very exciting, not scary!

When I was teaching 15ish years ago we used the lockdown procedure every few weeks. Gang problem.

Its rubbish that schools need them, and be thankful if your kids school never needs it.

Not in the UK!

my kids don’t do this.

If these happen at our school, we've never been told.

I also remember bomb scare drills at secondary school in the 80s. My school was near an RAF base so it wasn't beyond the realms of possibility that our area might be targeted. Mostly we all thought it was a bit of a lark that got us out of maths....

Watch out for schools practicing lock down drills but forgetting to tell the kids that it’s a drill until the end and then having a frightened kid coming home

Would we be told about it? I’ve not heard of this happening in the UK. I’m pretty sure my child’s school hasn’t done anything like this and I’m really surprised that everyone is saying it’s normal.

Mine are teens. They definitely did them in infants and juniors. Only started in secondary after that teacher stabbing in wales.

And nothing bad ever happens rurally 🙄

Often it is done in a way that isn't newsworthy and they don't tell the parents.

We had an actual IRA bomb scare and had to be evacuated in the late 80’s

DS is Y6 but the school has always done these, I remember it in reception...
They too said it was because of an animal on the grounds, though the older kids have cottoned on by now.

We were never told of the security drills, always heard off our children, though we'd get texts about practice fire evacuations going successfully.

That's good that she's only having her first in year 6.

Several schools have been doing them for years. Google "primary school lockdown policy" and you'll see just how many schools are.

Sadly, my SIL was doing them in her Jewish primary school in London her entire teaching career. She's retired now.

The (very rural) primary school I work in has had to implement our lockdown procedure three times in the five years I've worked there. Not quite sure why pp thinks being rural means you wouldn't need to.

Once was for an angry parent who had climbed the fence and was screaming abuse and throwing things at the windows; once was for two idiots with quad bikes who had ploughed through the staff car park onto the playground; once was because there was a large fire on a neighbouring farm that was blowing embers and smoke onto our site.

None of the kids were phased by it because they'd all practiced it twice a year since they started.

I’ve heard of schools putting a lockdown in place when a child became severely dysregulated in the playground and started to damage property. Obviously in these instances some staff stay outside and the children don’t have to hide under desks. These are normally small schools and HT will think this was the best way to get all the other children into a safe space quickly and not stand staring at the other child.

If something like the Southport attack had happened during school time I would have expected all local schools to lockdown until the police deemed it was safe.

Most parents think of US type shootings when hearing about lockdown drills etc and hate the idea of them, children tend to take them in their stride and even when one is implemented it’s rarely because there is an armed intruder on site.

@ShoopShoopShoopShoop

Because only the staff need to know the procedure. Every time we have implemented it, the children have been oblivious. 5 year olds don't need to know why.

We don’t have them (just the usual fire drills) but we are rural. If a loose cow got into the playground the kids would likely be more able to deal with it than the teachers.