Emergency Protocol Policy June 2022
Medlock Primary School
Emergency Protocol Policy
Ratified: June 2022
Review: June 2025
Rationale
The procedure is to be followed in the event of any threat or incident that puts the staff and children of Medlock Primary School in direct danger of harm. This includes but is not exclusive to;
● An incident or civil disturbance in the local community which poses a risk to school;
● An intruder on the site with the potential to pose a risk to the staff and/or children;
● Local risk of air pollution, such as a smoke plume or gas cloud ● A major fire in the vicinity of the school;
● A dangerous dog roaming loose.
At its core, this procedure adheres to the 'stay safe' principles as published by The NaCTSO, summarised as follows;
Run: escape the incident safely and bring others with you
Hide: when it isn't possible to escape safely, find cover
Tell: call 999 and share information with the police
Full and Partial Lockdowns
A partial lockdown is used where there is a potential threat to the school necessitating all staff and pupils being brought inside the building. Partial movement inside the building would be permissible as this would not increase any threat or risk. A full lockdown is where there is an immediate threat and all activity ceases. In a full lock down the run and/or hide ‘stay safe’ principles are paramount.
In any lockdown situation, it will be made fully clear to staff whether it is a full or partial lockdown.
Decision Making - When is a lockdown triggered?
Partial lockdowns will be triggered at the point a risk is identified. Risks can be identified directly by staff (for instance a large fire is seen in the locality and smoke and/or potentially hazardous pollutants are being blown towards the school), through contact from other agencies (Police notification of active criminal / anti-social behaviour in the direct vicinity of the school) or through media outlets reporting risk, such as weather warnings.
Full lockdowns will only be triggered by perceived immediate risk visible to school staff or by direction by the emergency services.
All staff are obliged to be vigilant and report any perceived risks. When staff identify a risk they must immediately raise it with any or all of the following staff:
● the Headteacher,
● the Deputy Headteacher,
● an Assistant Headteacher,
● the Administrator,
● the Caretaker.
A decision will then be made to trigger either a partial or full lockdown. Signal
As soon as a lock down is initiated a member of the office team will communicate this to the school via the intercom system by using the following phrases;
● blue car for a full lockdown
● partial blue car for a partial lockdown
● The blue car has gone to announce the lockdown is over
At no point should the fire alarm be used as this immediately unlocks all security doors. Equally, fire evacuation routes could place some pupils and staff in the pathway of the perceived threat.
Process
Once a lockdown has been initiated, the following plan should be followed. Plan
Staff responsibilities | |
Headteacher | ● Ensure Office staff complete safety measures, ● Ensure site staff complete safety measures, ● Ensure emergency services are contacted at the earliest opportunity. |
● Headteacher ● Deputy
Headteacher ● Assistant
Headteachers
1. Deputise for the Headteacher in their absence, 2. Ensure all teaching staff are supported in implementing the lockdown - including where appropriate, evacuation of the school building,
3. Secure all doors - where appropriate,
4. Partial lockdown - UK Reinforce the signal verbally to give further information and instruction as appropriate, 5. Full lockdown - Reinforce the signal verbally to give further information and instruction as appropriate including the initiation of full evacuation,
6. Support children to leave the school hall to a place of safety (where appropriate), 7. Ensure lockdown is communicated to all staff on the playgrounds / clear the playgrounds. 8. In the event that the building needs to be immediately evacuated, direct staff and children to the appropriate exit point, 9. In the event that the building needs to be immediately evacuated, complete the final sweep after the classes are clear to ensure full evacuation. | |
Caretaker | 1. Establish the nature of the lockdown - report to the school office immediately. 2. Secure the building (doors and windows etc) in line with the perceived threat - as appropriate. 3. In the event of evacuation, ensure evacuation routes are clear, including the opening of any gates needed for expedient egress to a place of safety. |
Teachers | 1. Classrooms - enforce lockdown in line with communicated information, 2. Playground / School Hall/ Music Room / Computer Room - immediately return children to classrooms / prepare for grounds evacuation, 3. Staffroom / PPA time - immediately return to their class and support the lockdown procedures. |
Lockdown | |
Assembly points | 1. Classrooms - Each class returns to or stays in their classrooms. 2. Fire Muster point - Key Stage 1 playground 3. Ardwick Green Park - via the gate onto Coral Street from the Key Stage 1 playground. |
Entrance and Exit points | Foundation Stage - all rooms. 1. Internal Lockdown - All children are brought in through the room entrance and all doors and windows are fully secured. 2. Evacuation - Nursery 1 and 2 children and placed into key worker groups. When a safe path and muster point |
Internal communication | is communicated, they then follow the path directed to the muster point. Key Stage 1 and 2 1. Partial Lockdown - All children return to classrooms and windows are secured. All corridor doors are secured. Emergency movement on the corridor is permitted if supervised by adults. 2. Full Lockdown - All children return to their classrooms. Windows and classroom doors are secured. All corridor doors are secured. 3. Evacuation - From Classrooms, teachers will be given direction for evacuation routes matched to known factors to minimise risk. Teachers will follow these to the indicated muster point. Doors should be secured after egress from any area. All messages will be communicated either through the schools tannoy system or through direct messages. |
Communication with parents | 1. Partial lockdown - The Headteacher will take the decision when to communicate a partial lockdown to families. This will then be communicated via text message via the schools comms package and/or through seesaw. 2. Full Lockdown - Parents will be informed of a full lock down at the earliest opportunity. This will be performed by the Admin Assistant or Administrator. The reason for the Lockdown will be given along with any relevant information. 3. Evacuation - And evacuation will be communicated to parents at the first safe opportunity. This will be either through the school office (if safe to do so) or via Seesaw. |
Additional notes | Where a child has an individual evacuation plan, the principles of this plan should be followed when following this procedure. |
Audit Tool
Checklist
Step | Check | Time | Signed |
Use signal to initiate lockdown | |||
Ensure pupils are inside | |||
Secure entrance points Contact emergency services | |||
Ensure staff take action to increase protection from danger [you could list specific actions that you will take in your school here, such as turning off lights and locking internal doors] | |||
Make sure pupils and staff are aware of exit points | |||
If safe, check for missing pupils or staff | |||
Remain inside until all clear has been given or told to evacuate |