PSISeptember2018

LOCKDOWNS
Down with the kids
The number of educational establishments in the UK that have had to resort
to implementing lockdown procedures is on the rise. Here, Malcolm
Crummey, sales manager UK & Ireland at TOA Corporation UK, argues that
it is therefore time for the powers that be to introduce relevant standards
for a coherent national strategy on lockdown procedures, as well as the
technology that comprises a life safety infrastructure
Aterrorist incident, a traffic accident, an
intruder, air pollution, a nearby fire or a
dangerous dog on the loose are just a few of
the events that could necessitate a lockdown in a
school. Lockdown describes a situation where
invacuation is more appropriate than evacuation
as a means of preventing people moving into
danger areas, and a growing number of schools
now realise that they need a coherent strategy for
lockdown procedures.
Case in point
Although it is important not to scaremonger, a
Google search can throw up some shocking
examples. In June 2017 three unrelated incidents
caused three separate schools in the West
Midlands to go into lockdown within 24 hours.
Meanwhile, in March this year a number of
schools in London, Durham, Cambridgeshire,
Devon, Cornwall, the West Midlands and
Northumbria received threatening emails warning
that children were to be mown down by a car at a
specific time.
The fact that there is currently no statutory
requirement to have a lockdown policy or
procedure, and schools can simply choose to have
one if they feel that it would help them to manage
risks. This needs to be addressed and the
Department for Education’s (DfE) advice that all
schools should have their own emergency plans,
‘which they can develop with the help of local
police forces and their local authority’ is highly
unsatisfactory.
The National Association of Schoolmasters
Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) has been
vocal in its call for more specific government
guidance and Chris Keates, its general secretary,
commented, ‘The safety of children and staff in
schools should be a key priority. The government
needs a coherent national strategy on lockdown
procedures.’
Leading by example
This is a far cry from the situation in many
countries such as Germany, where the DIN VDE V
0827 standard for emergency and danger
response systems was implemented in July 2016,
with the objective of providing technical
“The safety of children and staff in schools should be a key
priority. The government needs a coherent national
strategy on lockdown procedures”
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