Insecure playgrounds... do I pursue this?

[KimberleyS91]

TLDR: My 7yo absconded from school and home. School playground isn't locked. Shall I take it further with the council (again)?

I live in Scotland, where school playgrounds don’t have to be locked. It’s council-dependent, with the idea being that children can access outdoor areas more freely. In theory that sounds good, but I’m really struggling with it.

My 7-year-old (suspected ADHD/autism) left school last year during lunch. He walked back into the building, got his bag, then walked straight out through the playground and home. When I wasn’t there, he wandered back towards school, spoke to a stranger, and was eventually walked home by them. He was missing 20–40 minutes before anyone noticed. I was devastated and terrified to send him back, but I worked on my anxiety, raised a complaint to the council (upheld in parts), and pushed for change. Still, the gates remain unlocked.

There are several playground gates with simple bolts my son could easily open, as well as most of the other children, and these gates are frequently left open by adults. The main car park gates stay open outside drop-off/pick-up times. The playground is often used as a public cut-through—I’ve even walked in myself during break time with no challenge, with the children outdoors all playing. The buildings are locked, but that’s irrelevant if the children are outside.

Over summer, my son also ran away from home, which has heightened my fear again. He isn’t the only child at risk, and the open gates don’t keep intruders out either which is genuinely terrifying. Yes, the buildings themselves are secure, but the thought that anyone could enter the playground is extremely concerning. The school dismisses my request for locked gates, citing that there are many children who are coming/going at different times for various reasons, and access is required for delivery drivers, things like that. But I honestly feel like I’m the only one concerned. Should I restart my push for change? Is there any point? I feel like the only one who is panicking about all of this and I'm starting to think the school just view me as an anxious mum when things for my son could have easily been so very different - he could have been injured or worse. I can't even bear thinking about it, and yet it terrifies me every day I send him. I'm from England originally so this whole thing baffles me as school grounds are all secured there.

I'm completely amazed too at some of these replies. It is the schools responsibility to keep the OP's child safe while he is at school, not up to her to try to teach her son not to escape! Gates should be locked and there should be enough staff watching the children to notice if someone is climbing a fence, this is the schools responsibility.

We had a child with SEN who was a runner start at our local primary school years and years ago and as a preventative measure the play ground gates were kept locked at all times through the day. Children went in and out through the school building if they wanted to leave during the day, same as deliveries came in through the front door.

I'm shocked that just anyone could walk through. Even our secondary school is secure now and you have to contact reception to get into the carpark once school has started. They also had a terrorist drill and have had them at our tiny village school.

I can't believe that after a child is missing for 40 minutes without anyone noticing the school still refuse to do anything. I'd be looking to change schools if at all possible tbh OP. This is a huge safeguarding issue (both in him being able to escape and people being able to walk in) and just completely negligent IMO.

My experience is that most schools in my area don’t have gates apart from on very specific parts of the grounds, and there are boundary lines at some points with the usual kind of wooden fence or railing but nothing a child couldn’t swing a leg over if they wanted to. They wouldn’t have to though because they could just go out of the drive, footpaths, fields etc (or out through the woods at our primary) Really not sure fencing and gating an entire site is a reasonable solution especially with how many access points would be needed. Seems like supervisors are the solution and they should be taking better care of him!

Interestingly the teachers union actually brought this very topic up at their Scottish conference in May

Seems complacency has massively crept it

It's crazy that schools have to have those 6 foot fences for safety, but then the gates are left wide open

Is that a Scottish school

A lot of children at our (Scottish) primary school go home for lunch so a locked gate in the playground wouldn't be practical.

I wouldn't say it's "Scottish culture" at all. I live in Scotland and always have and I've never known of any school to have their gates unlocked during the school day including breaks. I've lived and worked in several different Council areas as well. Can I ask which area this is in?

our primary is in England, sorry I didn’t specify but it’s not just about one primary I realise but all of them!

I don’t understand why it’s open at all, English schools have 8ft fences and delivery drivers, parents picking up out of normal hours etc have to be buzzed in, seems to work fine. Children can’t just leave this way

The pathway up to the main entrance to our school is a public right of way that also serves as back access to houses and a hotel so it can't be blocked off.

Completely agree with this!

The irony of this thread is that most English schools tightened up their security and restricted access post the Dunblane tragedy.

OP you'd hate the (English) village school.myndc went to. The school only had an outside play area for Reception children plus a small playground for KS2 which wasn't big enough for all of them. So at lunchtimes all Y1 -Y6 went to the village green across the road where they could run around, use the play equipment and have fun. Obviously under supervision but people walked their dogs there, walked across the green to the village shop etc.

We don't live there any more but it's still used like that, which is how it should be.

I take a short cut through our high school playground to get to the doctor's surgery or gym.
At lunch times virtually all the kids go home or down the town so the grounds can't be fenced in or locked..

Your anxiety and his supposed ADHD diagnosis aside, yes this is unacceptable.

Scottish schools did as well. Most Scottish schools had 6 foot high fences, intercoms and lockable gates installed. The building programme in the easter and summer holidays following Dunblane was huge.

The issue is now (it was raised at the teaching unions annual Scottish conference) complacency has set in and the lockable gates aren't being locked and the fences aren't being maintained as they should.

There certainly aren't 6 foot fences and lockable gates at any schools I've been in.

After Dunblane the gates of our school were opened to let people out for lunch, then locked until 5 minutes before lunch ended when they were opened to let them back in.

That was standard in our area for primaries and secondaries.

I am completely with you OP (also in Scotland).

Our school and nursery has unlocked gates, totally open access and to make things worse it is adjacent to a park and train station so is used constantly by members of the public cutting through, many of them with dogs.

I don't understand the mentality that this is acceptable at all. You have to buzz to get into the building but the playground is just a free for all.

I grew up in Scotland and in the 80s and 90s our school gates were locked, in a rural village. I have no idea why the same isn't done for my kids school in the middle of a city.