Today, as a precautionary measure, we briefly placed the school into lockdown following information received by the school from the Police. At no point was there any confirmed threat to pupils, staff, or visitors; however, we took immediate action in line with our established safeguarding and emergency procedures.
The safety and wellbeing of our pupils and staff is always our highest priority. The lockdown was implemented swiftly and calmly, and pupils remained safe, supervised, and settled throughout. Following appropriate checks and advice from the Police, the lockdown was lifted, and the school returned to normal operations.
As part of the precautionary response, the police attended the school site and have been fully supportive throughout. You may notice an increased police presence in and around the school over the coming days. This is a precautionary measure and should provide reassurance that appropriate steps are being taken to ensure the continued safety of our community.
We appreciate that any mention of a lockdown may cause concern. Please be reassured that these procedures are designed to be precautionary, allowing us to respond quickly and appropriately whenever there is any potential concern, however remote.
We would like to thank our pupils and staff for the calm, sensible, and mature manner in which they responded, and we are grateful for your continued support and understanding.
Update to statement (17:00):
The safety and wellbeing of our pupils and staff is always our highest priority.
Earlier today, staff were notified that an individual unknown to the school was shouting at some children from outside of the school boundary. This was reported to the police by staff and they advised us to initiate our lockdown procedures as a precautionary measure.
We would like to reassure parents that at no point did the individual gain access to the school grounds. The lockdown enabled us to ensure that all pupils and staff remained safely inside secure buildings while the situation was assessed by the police.
Once the police confirmed that the person was no longer in the vicinity, and they had determined there was no ongoing risk to the community, they gave permission for normal activities to resume. Throughout the incident, our staff responded calmly and professionally, following the procedures that are regularly rehearsed as part of our safeguarding arrangements.
We recognise that any security-related incident may cause concern, and we are grateful for the support and understanding of our pupils, parents and staff. We remain in close communication with the police and will continue to take all appropriate measures to maintain the safety and security of everyone on our campus.