Effective Practices. It is recommended that, before locking a door, staff should gather everyone in the immediate vicinity into their classroom or other secure area, but only if it is safe to do so. Once inside a secure area, staff and students should: stay away from doors and windows; turn off lights; close blinds; be aware of sight lines; if there is a window in the classroom door, consider covering the window; take cover if available (get behind something solid); remain absolutely quiet; take attendance (to be done by teachers); not use cell phones unless it is necessary to communicate regarding the incident. Cell phones should be shut off or put on vibrate.
Effective Practices. Each school’s bomb threat plan should detail proactive measures in a number of areas. In developing their plans, schools should: • determine likely locations in and around the school for the placement of suspicious packages/devices; • provide for controlled access to critical areas of all facilities (e.g., the main office, electrical rooms, mechanical rooms); • consider the use of electronic surveillance or closed-circuit television (CCTV), and, if such surveillance is adopted, post signage regarding its use; • address ways to ensure that emergency exits are kept clear from obstructions; • provide for the regular inspection of first aid and firefighting equipment; • include, and provide for the regular review of, document-safeguarding procedures; • assess whether interior/exterior and auxiliary lighting is adequate; • develop an inspection procedure for all incoming packages; and • consider other potential threats.
Effective Practices. When a suspicious package/device is located, appropriate procedures include the following: isolation/containment of the device/package, ensuring that it is not touched; immediate communication of the discovery to the principal and to police; and immediate re-evaluation of any evacuation decisions in light of the discovery. Regardless of whether the package/device has been delivered to the school or located during a visual scan or under other circumstances, it is imperative that the object is not touched or moved and that it is immediately contained. This direction applies even if the package had already been moved prior to being deemed suspicious. The school principal should be notified immediately of the discovery of a suspicious package/device and of any action taken to that point. Police should be notified or updated when confirmation is received regarding the precise location of the package/device. Once the police have been notified, fire department and EMS personnel should be contacted so that they will be nearby or on the scene in stand-by mode. The school principal will work with emergency services personnel, which may include first responders, investigators, and bomb technicians, to evaluate the need to relocate evacuees and/or command posts. Legitimate property may have been left behind in an evacuated area, so attempts should be made to establish ownership of any suspicious device/package. This should be done by making inquiries, not by handling the package/device.
Effective Practices. In situations where more than one building exists on school grounds, each building should be clearly identified on all sides of the building with a building identifier, such as a number. All portables shall be clearly identified as well. All exterior doors shall be clearly identified, such as doors A, B, C, etc. All rooms within the building should be clearly marked with room numbers.
Effective Practices. All staff (especially those working in the main office) should be trained that, when information is received in the office of a situation requiring a lockdown, whoever receives that information will immediately activate the school’s public address (PA) system, inside and outside, announcing the lockdown. There should be no hesitation in announcing the lockdown, and the decision to call the lockdown should be made immediately by whoever receives the call to the office, and should not be delayed for the purpose of checking with administration before announcing a lockdown. Boards should consider both auditory (PA) and visual notification systems inside and outside the school to announce a lockdown. For the safety of hearing-impaired individuals and in situations where noise levels in open areas such as cafeterias, and outside the school, may prevent staff and students from hearing a PA announcement, consideration should be given to the use of strobe lights or other visual indicators, in addition to the PA system. It is recommended that the actual wording announcing a lockdown be affixed on or near the microphone, so that it is clearly visible and can be read by the person announcing the lockdown.
Effective Practices. As washrooms cannot be locked, and therefore should be identified during planning as a danger (red) area in the event of a lockdown, students need to evacuate washrooms if at all possible and get to an area that can safely be locked down (green). For elementary schools, it is recommended that plans designate adults who normally work in close proximity to student washrooms to check the washroom(s) prior to locking down themselves, if it safe to do so. After gathering students in the immediate vicinity of their classroom door into their classroom, they would quickly check both male and female washrooms to which they have been assigned in the planning phase, and take any students found in the washrooms into their classrooms to lock down. For secondary schools, it is recommended that training include an explanation to students that they are responsible for getting out of the washrooms immediately upon hearing a lockdown announced, and getting to the nearest classroom or other area that is identified as a safe (green) area. As a last resort, staff or students trapped in a washroom should attempt to somehow secure the bathroom door, enter a stall, lock the door, and climb on top of the toilet.
Effective Practices. It is important that principals ensure the appropriate staff from organizations sharing facilities are included in the development and implementation of lockdown procedures and that these organizations participate in aspects of planning, training, and drills.
Effective Practices. In order to ensure that those who are outside school buildings are aware that the school is locking down, the PA system must be capable of being activated outside the school. Consideration should also be given to including an exterior visual indicator (e.g., strobe lights) that can be used to indicate that a lockdown has been called. Those who are outside the school when a lockdown is called shall not re-enter the school, but shall proceed immediately to predetermined off-site evacuation location(s). Once at the location, staff and students shall remain in that location until further advised by administration or police. Plans should include the taking of attendance at the off-site evacuation location(s). Neighbouring schools may not be the best option as off-site evacuation locations, as they too may lock down once they become aware of an incident at a nearby school. Note: When a “Hold and Secure” situation occurs and staff and students are outside the building, they should re-enter the building prior to the exterior doors being locked.
Effective Practices. Police will make the decision as to whether a controlled evacuation of a school under lockdown is a viable option, and will direct the evacuation process. This will normally be done on a room-by-room basis, with evacuees being escorted by police to the evacuation location. Fire Alarms Plans should address the issue of how to deal with a fire alarm activation after a school has gone into lockdown.
Effective Practices. In the event that a fire alarm is pulled once a lockdown has been called, staff and students shall not respond as they normally would to a fire alarm, but shall remain locked down, if it is safe to do so. Staff and students must always be aware of other dangers such as fire, and be prepared to respond accordingly in order to ensure their own safety.
