Lockdown Alarm

This week, we spoke to children about lockdown – what it is, why we need to practice and what our lockdown procedure is at BPA.

In daily reviews and Friday’s session, we used the following script to talk to children:

What is a ‘lockdown’?

A ‘lockdown’ safety procedure (the steps we follow) used when there might be a danger that we need to hide from – this could be outside the school building or outside the classroom (in the corridors).

Why do we have lockdown drills?

We have lockdown drills to help us learn what we would do if the lockdown was real. We practise so that everyone knows the steps we follow when we hear the lockdown alarm.

What does the lockdown alarm sound like?

Our lockdown alarm is a wailing siren that starts and then stops and then starts again. We showed children what this sounds like.

What do we do when we hear the lockdown alarm?

When the lockdown alarm sounds, if you are in the building, children and adults need to silently move out of sight from windows and doors – this will mostly be going under tables in classrooms. If you are outside, you need to go to the nearest door and hide in that room. School adults will lock doors, close windows, turn whiteboard screens off and shut the blinds. You need to stay silent until our school leaders tell you it is safe for the lockdown to end.

What if some of our Begbrook team are outside and don’t hear the alarm?

Sometimes, if you are busy playing sports on the MUGA, the lockdown alarm is hard to hear. If this happens, a Begbrook grown-up who is inside the building will hold up the lockdown sign and call/blow a whistle to signal to the people on the MUGA that we need to lockdown.