In 2020, the word 'Lockdown' entered our vocabulary. It meant that everyone had to stay at home to be safe. Now in 2025, 'Lockdown' means staying at school and maybe even hiding under desks.
The most common reason for a lockdown is an intruder or an animal on the premises that might cause harm or injury to children. Sometimes the threat can be from a local fire or a chemical spillage that impacts air quality.
However, sometimes the threat comes from inside the school, as was the case at All Saints’ Catholic High School in Sheffield. On 29 January, there were reports of trouble at the school with threats of violence among a small group of pupils. Parents claimed they had received messages from their children who were 'under their desks' or told to remain in their classrooms and the library. Less than a week later, at the same school, Harvey Willgoose died from injuries and a 15-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of murder.
Impact on schools
In response to these and similar incidents, schools are looking at installing knife arches (walkthrough metal detectors) and reviewing invacuation and lockdown procedures. Invacuation is the opposite of evacuation. It means getting everyone to a safe place indoors and continuing with normal lessons and activities. Lockdown means getting everyone – staff, pupils and visitors – to a place where they can’t be seen from outside the building.
Planning ahead
TeachingTimes talked to Jason Blair, Managing Director at Camelott, a company providing school lockdown alarm systems for UK schools. 'It's not until a school has a real-life lockdown that they realise how unprepared they are,' he said.