Thank you for your understanding and patience following the lockdown incident yesterday afternoon. Several parents have contacted school to ask for more detail of the circumstances, so I hope the following is helpful. Please bear in mind the school is bound by strict protocols regarding confidentiality and must therefore not divulge information which could identify a named individual, either a pupil or staff member.
A lockdown is completely different to an evacuation, when, for example smoke is detected in the building. Yesterday afternoon information was received which indicated that an immediate search of the school was necessary. There was good reason to believe the safety of one or more staff members was at risk. The lockdown enabled this search to take place immediately, the source of the risk identified and contained and the matter resolved through working with other professional agencies. The timing of the incident was significant – it was just before the start of the lunch break. The search would have been impossible if 750 + pupils had been roaming freely across the site. There was no evidence of any threat to a pupil but in this respect we were not prepared to take risks with the safety of the children and the lockdown ensured they were contained safely, under adult supervision, while the situation could be resolved. The brief messages sent out yesterday afternoon were to inform parents that the lockdown had ended and that all the children were safe, which was deemed the priority in the circumstances.
Mr N Roper
Head Teacher.