Lockdown alert system

As we are now mid-way through the academic year, it is a great time to reassess class management, challenges and the running of the school day.

There are many concerns facing the education sector, with staff recruitment and retention being one of the biggest challenges for 2024. According to Reed, 40,000 teachers left the profession in 2022, while 13% of newly qualified teachers left after qualifying and an additional 19% left after two years of teaching.

Schools and colleges are important institutions for providing education and developing pupils’ social skills, but they should also be places where parents feel confident that their children are safe and secure.

Schools have a legal responsibility to ensure the safety of staff and pupils whilst on the premises. The Department for Education (DfE) has a list of the policies and documents that schools are legally required to hold. These encompass the social, criminal and on-line risks children face including evacuation procedures, but procedures or policies covering emergency situations that may require the school to go into lockdown are not included. Lockdown is necessary when children and staff need to be securely locked within buildings for their own safety.