How are schools prepared for emergencies?

Credit: PA

By ITV News Producer Hannah Ward-Glenton

A school in southwest Wales went into lockdown this week following a violent incident.

A "code red" alarm sounded through the school's PA system, prompting students and staff to hide in classrooms, and four hours later they were cleared to leave the building.

The incident has raised the topic of how teachers and pupils are expected to react in an emergency scenario, and whether schools are adequately prepared for these events.

So how are schools prepped for emergencies?

What is a "code red"?

The phrase "code red" was used repeatedly in reference to the incident at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman, also known locally as Amman Valley School.

When staff decided that it was a "code red" scenario, announcements were made over the PA system and most people took cover in classrooms.

Schools and their local councils are responsible for the specific systems employed, and Carmarthenshire County Council opted not to give details as to exactly how Amman Valley keeps its pupils safe.

The Welsh Local Government Association declined to comment on the exact systems in place at schools in Wales when contacted by ITV News.

Do all schools have emergency systems in place?

All education, childcare and children's social care settings must have emergency plans in place, according to the UK government website, but there are no formal requirements in terms of what that should include.

A school's emergency plan "should be generic enough to cover a range of potential incidents", it says, including:

  • public health incidents (e.g. a significant infectious disease outbreak);

  • serious injury (e.g. a transport accident involving pupils);

  • severe weather (e.g. extreme heat of flooding);

  • criminal activity (e.g. a bomb threat);

  • loss of power;

  • cyber incident or data breach;

  • the impact and lasting effects of a disaster in the local community.

While the government does not enforce security plans, it says that a "good plan" should cover:

  • roles and responsibilities;

  • when and how to get advice;

  • details of the types of steps you might take in an emergency;

  • a list of key contacts.

Schools are expected to use government and local council guidance, including templates and risk assessments, to create their own safety procedures.

Police forces work with schools to improve their safety, but the role that they play differs based on local needs and risks, the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) said.

"For example, officers will work closely with faculty and students in schools that sit in neighbourhoods where there is a lot of knife crime, or county line grooming. Partners such as local authorities will also have a role to play here," an NPCC spokesperson said.

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"Faith schools may also feel the need to bring in additional security based on risks posed from those outside of the school coming in."

How can parents get information?

Parents should contact their children's schools directly in order to get information as to the security systems in place as there is no centralised programme in place across all institutions.

Why is there no UK-wide policy?

Every school is different in terms of location, size and its pupils, which prevents a one-size-fits-all model working for every institution.

Each school is therefore responsible for creating its own system of how to handle different types of emergency.

Globally school security systems vary hugely based on what is most common in a particular country.

Shooting lockdown drills are very common in countries where guns are more readily available, for example, such as in the United States.

Countries prone to certain natural disasters prepare their children accordingly too, for example Japanese school students will regularly practise what to do in the case of an earthquake, while in Iceland schools near a volcano will practise how to evacuate.

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