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What are we preparing for?
A number of schools have started to prepare and practice for an event when they need to ensure that all children and staff are safe and accounted for within the setting. This is commonly called Lock-down and is also taking account of an armed intruder entering the school.
It does need to be stressed that there may be a number of other reasons why such a ‘ready for anything’ procedure, also known as ‘invacuation’ is necessary such as:
- a dangerous dog or similar animal being on the school grounds requiring children and staff to be quickly brought inside
- the Air Ambulance arriving on the school grounds at short notice
- a local gas or chemical leak requiring the setting to quickly keep children safe within the school
- a student at the school bringing-in and threatening to use a weapon
In considering such a process, schools would be wise to look at site security as a whole and ensure that any existing risk assessments are amended involving site staff.
Preparation with your school community
Many schools have begun such preparations (run-tell-hide) and have reported that these plans are similar to those currently in place for fire evacuation or other emergency scenarios. Key to any preparations is to ensure that children, staff and the school community are aware of why they are making such preparation, so that in the extremely unlikely event that they were to be needed, settings can quickly ensure that all those on site know what to do in a calm and manageable way. As each setting will be unique the following will need to be considered:
- How will any alarm or signal be different from that of current systems, for example fire evacuation, to start the process and to sound the ‘all-clear’?
- How will indoor spaces be made secure including the closing of any blinds or such to screen spaces from an intruder?
- Children will need to know how to take reasonable measures within rooms with staff supporting younger children or those with specific needs
- ensure systems are in place to notify emergency services
- How will parents and carers be made aware of any plans?
Each setting will need to consider the ‘what if’ implications of how adults and learners need to quickly get inside for a range of events such as play-times, sports days or similar ‘mass gatherings.
Planning and practice of your procedure
Any such procedure needs to be planned to consider the needs of children, including those with specific learning or physical needs and their families who are going to understandably be concerned about the possible implications of what such preparations could mean. School leaders, working with governing boards or directors will know their communities best and would be wise to ensure that any such plans where possible are planned to include these views.
Equally, children will have questions about such preparations. It would therefore be sensible to ensure that such planning includes age and understanding to ensure that they understand what to do to keep themselves and others safe and well.
School procedures need to consider:
- What is the signal that the procedure has started and when the ‘all clear’ is given?
- That everyone is able to find a safe place to be. In the case of an intruder, hide and tell the police, if this is possible using a mobile phone
- Staff need to do their best to keep children calm
- Classrooms and similar spaces should be made as secure as possible from within
- What outdoor learning might be taking place and where should these children and staff go?
After any practice, settings should evaluate what they have learnt keeping records of these
Further information
Guidance from the Home Office and National Counter Terrorism Security Office have a range of guidance available that is updated periodically: Protect UK
Emergency Lockdown Drill Report
Draft School Lockdown Policy and Procedure
Educate Against the Hate: Discussing a terrorist attack
Gov.UK: School and college security: risk assessment template, self-assessments and other resources including evacuation/bomb alert and lockdown templates