Lockdown Procedures Policy
POLICY CODE 5.5.1
POLICY NAME Lockdown Procedures Policy
UPDATE BY DBA
REVIEWED ON May 2024
NEXT REVIEW May 2028
DEVELOPED BY/ AUTHOR DBA
Lockdown Procedures
What to do in the event of suspicious persons on our campus:
• All staff should inform the School Office or a member of CLT if there are suspicious people on the DCSL grounds or in the building.
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• The decision to implement a lockdown / call the Police will be made by the Head of College or DBA. In the event that this is not possible the number for the Police in an emergency is 112.
• The signal for the lockdown will be a repeated message relayed over the school PA system (“Lockdown, Lockdown, Lockdown”). The phrase “Lockdown, Lockdown, Lockdown” should be repeated at least three times if possible. The Head of College, DBA and Heads of School can make this announcement from their offices.
What to do in response to a lockdown announcement:
In principle, all students, staff and visitors should find a safe place to hide, out of a clear line of sight. Blinds, windows and doors should be closed to block lines of sight and access, lights should be turned off. All should wait quietly until a furth er announcement is made.
• All staff, students and visitors should find the best place to stay safe out of a line of sight in the nearest classroom or office.
• All outside doors should be closed / locked by the nearest staff member.
• Anyone in the foyer / basement should be directed to the nearest office.
• Staff and students on the sports field should go to the gym, locking all doors from the inside.
• Staff and students in the swimming pool area should ensure doors are locked and position themselves out of sight of entry points.
• Staff and student in toilets should lock the main toilet doors. If this is not possible they should lock the cubicles and stand on the toilet seat.
• Any communication should be done via phone or text (Police = 112, Head of School = 010 6532 8505, DBA = 010 9809 8540)
• The all clear signal will be given by the Head of College / DBA over the PA system when the situation is deemed safe. The all clear signal will include the phrase “Building Bridges to the World”. It may be followed by an evacuation signal.
Evacuation of the Building
• If the Fire Alarm goes off following a lockdown signal, it should be ignored unless an evacuation is ordered or if there are obvious signs of a fire in the building.
• The evacuation signal will be transmitted over the school PA system “Evacuate, Evacuate, Evacuate – pleaseevacuatethebuildingcalmlyfollowingnormalevacuationprocedures”. Staff should follow the evacuation procedures to the positions on the field as used for a fire drill. Staff and students should listen for alternative directions as the actual nature of the threat cannot be anticipated in advance.
Off - site Evacuation
• Instructions for an off-site evacuation will be given at the time over the PA system Staff may be directed to different sites outside the school, so may not receive registers: in this case staff should be absolutely certain of the number of students that they are escorting off the school premises. The assigned places for an off-site evacuation are the basement of the Shinbanpo subway station, where the children should descend the stairs and escalator and line up in the underground ticket hall.
• Any specialist staff not with a class should assist the Foundation Stage classes in an evacuation. Class teachers on non-contact time should seek to re-join their own class where possible during an evacuation.