Page 22 - Top Cover Issue 15

22 TOP COVER MAY 2019

In late 2017 the UK authorities
published counter-terrorism (CT) Taking steps to improve
information aimed specifically at
behaviour or items. The content SCHOOL
school children. Detailed lesson plans
were issued designed to teach children
how to react if caught up in a weapons
attack or if they spotted suspicious
by schools and youth organisations. SECURITY
also included advice from St John’s
Ambulance on emergency techniques
to treat knife or gunshot victims. The
package is available online for delivery

Although the aim of the sessions
by Brian Dillon, Director, Rubicon Resilience
is to give children advice about how
to respond in situations that develop
outside of school, it’s recognised that
safety of staff, pupils and visitors was population at large, and in particular
the subject matter provokes debate
the key concern and intruders were its pupils.” The Dunblane atrocity
about incidents that take place on
considered to be the most significant irrevocably changed the perception
school premises. The Department
external threats. Thus, notwithstanding of the intruder risk, and the Inquiry
for Education has researched and
the current terrorist guidance, there is explicitly emphasised employers’ health
canvassed opinion on improving
a strong argument to improve school and safety obligations.
school security, and police advice is
security and emergency procedures The legal basis for institutions to
that schools should ensure that they based on the extant generic threat prepare and plan against violence is
have suitable safety procedures and be of violence. This is where holistic held in law and statutory regulations.
prepared to discuss these with pupils.
contingency planning adds value The Health and Safety Executive
The CT initiative, ACT for Youth, because, if conducted effectively, it specifically includes the education
is a set of timely and well thought transcends risks across the entire sector as a likely venue for workplace
through measures wholly in line with threat landscape, on an escalating violence which it defines as: “Any
the prevailing terrorist situation. More continuum from trespass or aggressive incident in which a person is
than that they are also meeting a behaviour through to violence and abused, threatened or assaulted in
demand from educators, as earlier in ultimately terrorism. circumstances related to their work.”
2017 the National Association of Head Therefore, employers have clear
Teachers called on the Government Grotesque incident obligations to implement procedures
to circulate guidance. The UK strategy In the UK the seminal case on to protect their employees and others
is not entirely unique; other countries school security is The Public Inquiry affected by their undertaking. The
have similarly focused attention on into the Shootings at Dunblane Primary core component of this is a risk
improving youth and school safety, School on 13 March 1996. In this assessment that, if called into question,
notably America and France. grotesque incident 17 people – most is capable of demonstrating that the
Although terrorism against of them children aged five years old employer reasonably fulfilled their
schools is rare, violent incidents are – were shot and murdered, with a responsibilities. The assessment should
commonplace. According to research further 17 injured. Lord Cullen’s be completed by a competent person
by the GMB union more than half of findings still resonate over 20 years with due regard to all the features,
school support staff have experienced later, and a useful litmus test for any dynamics and considerations of the
violence at work; although 57% educational establishment would be to school site and its environment. A
of the incidents were caused by compare itself to the report to gauge thorough assessment will lead to the
pupils, a significant proportion were whether its contingency arrangements development of suitable preventative
committed by external actors. This is would stand up to scrutiny today. The measures, training and the provision
not necessarily surprising or even a Inquiry identified that at the time of information within a system of
new phenomenon. Research in 2003 there was little, if any, “published learning and review.
by what was the then Department for guidance available on tackling the The currency of the CT threat and
Education and Skills identified that, in dangers which an unauthorised the prevailing media interest have
terms of school security, the personal intruder could pose to the school caused some schools to move swiftly

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