Lockdown procedures changed at trust after 'mob' of parents stormed Walsall school

Matrix Academy Trust, which runs the Leamore Lane school, said in a statement on the day of the incident that despite parents being sent text messages to confirm that the lockdown was lifted, many gathered outside.

The trust claimed some parents were "encouraging children to climb the security fencing" and were even seen "dragging" pupils over the fences and "pulling" youngsters through ground-floor windows.

Following the incident, Matrix Academy Trust has been working with West Midlands Police to change how it approaches lockdown procedures, which it has implemented in all of its schools including at Wednesfield Academy in Wolverhampton, Bloxwich Academy and Barr Beacon School in Walsall.

The new lockdown procedure, called a 'Smart Response', is broken down into five phases, starting at 'level zero' where a potential threat is identified by staff.

It then moves to 'level one' where the situation is investigated, 'level two' where staff take positions around the school, 'level three' where the site is partially secured and, if necessary, the school eventually enters 'level four' where it is placed into a full lockdown.

David Lowbridge-Ellis, director of school improvement at Matrix Academy Trust, said: "It is a way of thinking around a lockdown, rather than it be underpinned with an understanding of how to deal with terrorist threats which is what the existing government guidance says.

"[The government guidance] is not fit for purpose in schools so instead we have gone with the decision making process used nation-wide by the emergency services - that's what underpins the procedure that we have come up with.”

Mr Lowbridge-Ellis told the Express & Star the new approach to lockdowns has allowed staff to "reassert control" following the incident at Bloxwich Academy last year.

He said: "Many of us were shaken, I had classic PTSD (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder) symptoms of waking up in the night, constantly reliving it, constantly having my fight-or-flight triggered and you kind of rubbish it to begin with and think it will go away but it took weeks.

"...It turned into a mob because there were parents there who were trying to get other people's children out of the school, so it's that really scary mob-like mentality that took over but most of the parents were completely on our side."

In April, Wednesfield Academy was also placed into a lockdown after an intruder was identified on site.

Headteacher Joe Phillips said: "In the case of Wednesfield, due to the seriousness of the incident it meant we had to go straight into a lockdown.

"However, if we had an intruder who we weren't sure was being threatening, we could have maybe taken precautionary measures where we didn't have to put the school into lockdown.

"It was the right thing to do for us, but it might have been an over-reaction should it have been misinterpreted information.

"...What happened at Wednesfield, we would take the same action now but I think it's really important to adapt the approach so it is not just a simple 'on/off'. There needs to be a spectrum of the measures you take.

"There is always going to be a time and a place to take the most serious precautionary measures but if that can be avoided I think that is the right thing to do for the pupils and the parents sake."

Since implementing the 'Smart Response' in all its schools in September, Matrix Academy Trust has hosted free training sessions alongside West Midlands Police, with 150 school leaders across the West Midlands having taken part so far.

Speaking at a training session held at Barr Beacon School on Tuesday (January 21), Chief Superintendent Phil Dolby, borough commander for policing in Walsall, said: "Currently schools only have a binary option which is to go from a state of normality to a full lockdown for anything out of the ordinary.

"I think there are lots of different stages and we are used to using that graduated approach in policing that says we don't start from 0 and go to 100 miles per hour - we have got lots of different techniques.

"If we need to go straight to 100 miles per hour then do it, but there are lots of times where you don't. If that is your only option when you didn't need to, it can upset the kids and staff, discombobulate the atmosphere of the school and even impact parents too."