Armed intruders, shootings near by and seagulls have forced schools teaching almost 100,000 pupils into lockdown, Schools Week can reveal. Leaders have warned communications during the incidents can be a 鈥渄ifficult balance鈥. It comes after one incident saw parents storm an academy鈥檚 grounds and threaten staff despite emergency measures being in place for just nine minutes. The NASUWT teaching union is calling on the government to introduce 鈥渃omprehensive, mandatory lockdown guidance in schools鈥, amid concerns some schools are ignoring advice and ill-prepared for 鈥渁 potentially violent intruder鈥. How often do schools go into lockdown? Lockdown record-keeping is patchy as the government doesn鈥檛 collect figures on incidents in schools. Meanwhile, just 18 local authorities provided figures when asked under the freedom of information act, while more than 100 could not. Most police forces could not provide data either. We also approached 20 of England鈥檚 largest multi-academy trusts. Five held records, three said they did not and 12 did not respond. At least 117 incidents since last January In the absence of official data, Schools Week analysed news reports on Google. We found 117 separate incidents of reported lockdowns since January 1 last year. Almost 100,000 pupils attend the affected schools. Thirty-eight per cent (45) followed incidents 鈥 including attacks, weapon sightings and protests 鈥 near schools. A further 21 per cent (24) followed malicious communications, delivered by email or phone, with a further 18 per cent (21) coming after concerns were raised about intruders. Wayne Bates, an NASUWT national official, says there seems to be 鈥渕ore media reports鈥. But this 鈥渃ould be due to increased reporting, or perhaps reflects an improving situation鈥, with more schools having emergency procedures in place. Dan Grant, of Leaders in Safeguarding Ltd, called on the government to launch a 鈥渇ormalised process for gathering data to help the sector identify areas of growing concern, what works well and assist with planning and publishing further guidance鈥. Staff left with PTSD The Bloxwich Academy in Walsall went into lockdown for just nine minutes after an alarm was raised over a potential intruder. They turned out to be a truanting pupil. But despite the school regarding the exercise as a success, more than聽100 parents gathered outside within 30 minutes. Some urged pupils to jump its spiked security fences, placing blankets, bags and coats over the top to aid their climb. David Lowbridge-Ellis, of the Matrix Academy Trust, which runs the school, said 鈥渁t least one young person was quite seriously injured and had to go to hospital鈥. Others 鈥渂ashed their way through鈥 the school鈥檚 main gate, before 鈥渂anging on the windows, swearing at us, calling us every name under the sun beginning with the letter c鈥. Gary Smart, also of Matrix, received death threats. 鈥淚t felt like you were going to be attacked. There were people punching the glass next to me and spitting on the glass.鈥 Leaders decided 鈥渢he safest thing to do鈥 was to release pupils. Lowbridge-Ellis said he was one of 鈥渜uite a few鈥 staff 鈥渢reated for PTSD鈥. Traumatised children also required 鈥減rofessional support鈥. Parent and media challenges 鈥淲e communicated with parents via text message. We were at pains to make sure our message was reassuring. We can鈥檛 really fault our process,鈥 he said. It is thought pupils鈥 鈥渓ockdown selfies鈥, shared on platforms such as Snapchat, sparked the parental panic. Nova Education Trust 鈥 which locked down one school in March over the 鈥減otential threat of an unknown individual鈥 on a site 鈥 described 鈥渟ocial media and media coverage鈥 as 鈥済rowing challenges鈥. 鈥淚naccurate or premature information can spread quickly, creating confusion and anxiety among parents, pupils, and the wider community. 鈥淚n what is already a pressurised context, these additional complications can make things significantly more difficult for schools.鈥 Notre Dame Catholic Academy in Liverpool closed off part of its site in May after three seagulls entered the building, 鈥渄iving鈥 on pupils and 鈥渃ausing a nuisance鈥. Victoria Taylor, the school鈥檚 head, said the safest way to remove the birds was to put the school into a partial lockdown. Notre Dame also went into lockdown following a “police incident 200 metres from the school, where shots had been fired”. The secondary is a “mobile phone-free school”, she said, “so our pupils were not aware of what was happening outside”. Comms a ‘difficult balance’ Edward Vitalis, the chief executive of the Invictus Education Trust, said communications can be a 鈥渄ifficult balance鈥 during a lockdown. Edward Vitalis Releasing 鈥渢oo much detail鈥 may risk compromising the safety of pupils and staff, while holding back can cause understandable worry鈥. And if 鈥渕essages come from a [MAT] HQ or central team, they may lack the full picture鈥, making it 鈥渄ifficult to give parents accurate, timely information鈥. Concerns over school lockdowns are now being seized-upon by the far right. Campaigner Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (also known as Tommy Robinson) posted on X that he had been 鈥渋nundated鈥 with parents saying they had received correspondence from their children鈥檚 schools鈥 regarding lockdown. The post featured screenshots of an email in which parents were told teachers had talked to their children 鈥渁bout something called 鈥榣ockdown鈥欌. It told them they needed to run drills 鈥渙n an annual basis鈥, with practice scenarios including 鈥渁 threat from above鈥 and inside the building 鈥渨ith tables turned to barricade toward the corridor鈥. Yaxley-Lennon asked: 鈥淲tf have schools been told to prepare for?!鈥 Schools more prepared? Pepe Di鈥橧asio, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said it was 鈥渟ensible鈥 to have such plans in place as 鈥渟adly, we live in times where threats exist to many public venues and institutions鈥. 鈥淚t is important to remember that this is a precautionary approach, and that schools and colleges are overwhelmingly safe places.鈥 Earlier this year, 3 per cent of teachers told Teacher Tapp they had gone into lockdown following a 鈥渟ecurity concern鈥. A further 1 per cent had enacted the policy for 鈥渁nother reason鈥. A separate poll last September showed 47 per cent of primaries have lockdown drills they practise with pupils, up from 33 per cent in 2022. For secondaries, the figure rose from 38 to 59 per cent. But the study also suggested 26 per cent of primaries and 19 per cent of secondaries do not have procedures in place. Call for better guidance Bates said the NASUWT has heard 鈥渁necdotal evidence of some institutions ignoring the advice, believing they do not need a lockdown procedure鈥, leaving 鈥渢eachers, pupils and other staff potentially vulnerable to a violent intruder鈥. He also noted that current guidance 鈥渁ppears to discourage drills in primary and early years settings鈥. Government guidance 鈥 which is non-statutory 鈥 says it is 鈥渞elatively uncommon鈥 for such exercises 鈥渢o involve primary school and early years learners鈥. Instead, staff in these settings 鈥渕ay hold drills for staff at a time when younger learners are not present鈥. Bates said there are extensive regulations for fire safety in schools, which include the requirement to carry out practice evacuations or drills. 鈥淭he NASUWT believes there is a need for comprehensive, mandatory lockdown guidance in schools.鈥 Taylor said her school offers mental health support and engages 鈥渟taff in post-drill conversations to help ease anxiety and answer questions鈥. Prepare, prepare, prepare Ciran Stapleton, the head of St Joseph鈥檚 Catholic High School in Slough, urged schools to 鈥減repare, prepare, prepare鈥. In March 2023, a man carrying a knife entered his school 鈥 just a few weeks after pupils and staff carried out their annual drill. The intruder 鈥 who was later given a hospital order under the Mental Health Act 鈥 claimed he had a gun, saying: 鈥淚鈥檓 going to take everybody out.鈥 Stapleton confronted him and talked to him as he waited for police to arrive and the school was locked down. Wires could be seen coiling out of the intruder鈥檚 bag. 鈥淗e was really edgy, erratic eyes, erratic behaviour, rocking back and forth. He was talking about the end of the world. 鈥淚 was trying to hold him up until police got there. When he realised it wasn鈥檛 going anywhere, he started saying 鈥業 should have gone to Westminster鈥.鈥 Police arrived 25 minutes later. They found a knife in his waistband, but no gun or explosives. A 鈥榣evelled鈥 approach Following the incident at Bloxwich, Matrix tore up its lockdown procedures, replacing them with a five-level approach, dubbed SMART Response, ranging from 0 (monitoring) to 4 (lockdown). Had the school adopted the strategy before the incident, the trust believes, staff would 鈥渃ould have investigated the situation calmly鈥, with the 鈥渆motional and reputational impact鈥ignificantly reduced鈥. Lowbridge-Ellis argued the model offers an alternative to 鈥渙n-off鈥 lockdown guidance it previously followed 鈥渢o the letter鈥. The current non-statutory lockdown guidance means schools do not have to comply. 鈥淪ome of the guidance is also vague, lacking sufficient detail to enable schools to put appropriate procedures in place,鈥 Bates added. He pointed to the guidance鈥檚 failure 鈥渢o highlight the importance of having a secure control room to coordinate a response to a violent intruder鈥. For some schools, all communications and CCTV 鈥渁re controlled from reception, which could be the first location to be compromised in an incident鈥. But Lisa Broad, a former DfE counter-terrorism lead who now consults schools, warned the 鈥渄iversity of school environments鈥 makes it 鈥渃hallenging for government to issue prescriptive guidance鈥. Martyn鈥檚 Law changes However, some of this will change with Martyn鈥檚 Law. Also known as the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, the legislation will order schools to have 鈥渁ppropriate鈥 evacuation, invacuation and lockdown procedures in place. The bill received royal assent in April. The government will publish statutory guidance on it during the 24-month implementation period 鈥渢o assist those responsible to understand the requirements set out in the legislation鈥. Broad believes the 鈥渃ritical鈥 impact of Martyn鈥檚 Law is the mandatory requirement for schools to have effective emergency response plans. 鈥淎lthough new legislation is specifically about terrorism, it actually makes schools safer from a range of threats 鈥 not just those politically, religiously or ideologically motivated. 鈥淗aving these plans in place will raise the bar and make our schools safer.鈥 Physical security measures will not be mandated. It is not yet known if the legislation will force schools to conduct lockdown drills, though. Bates also stressed that 鈥渇ailure to have sufficient and effective policies and procedures in place could result in a penalty鈥 from the regulator, the Security Industry Authority. Martyn鈥檚 Law: What it means for schools Schools with a capacity of more than 200 will have to follow 鈥淢artyn鈥檚 Law鈥 from 2027, with and the Department for Education What is Martyn鈥檚 Law? The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 became law in April, but there is an implementation period of 鈥渁t least鈥 24 months. The law requires venues above a certain size to implement certain policies to follow in the event of a terrorist attack. It is known as Martyn鈥檚 law, named after Martyn Hett, one of 22 people killed in the 2017 Manchester Arena terrorist attack. It follows a long campaign by his mother, Figen Murray, for better measures to protect the public. Which schools are affected? Schools with a capacity of below 200 do not need to follow Martyn鈥檚 Law, although the government said it encouraged 鈥渁ll settings to have preparedness plans for the safety of their learners and staff鈥. All other schools with a capacity of over 200 will be considered as in the 鈥渟tandard tier鈥, regardless of their total capacity. This is different to, for example, commercial venues, which will be in the 鈥渆nhanced tier鈥, with greater requirements, if they have a capacity over 800. What will schools need to do? Schools covered by the law will need to have 鈥渁ppropriate procedures鈥 in place. These will need to include procedures for evacuation, invacuation (moving people to a safe place), lockdown and communication. There is 鈥渘o requirement to put physical security measures in place鈥. Schools will also need to appoint a 鈥渞esponsible person鈥 and notify the Security Industry Authority (SIA), the regulator. But this must be a 鈥渂ody or institution鈥, for example the 鈥渓ocal authority or the relevant proprietor or governing body鈥, as opposed to a 鈥渄esignated individual such as a safeguarding lead or headteacher within the institution鈥. What support is available? The DfE has said it is working with the National Counter Terrorism Security Office and the Home Office to help the sector to implement Martyn鈥檚 Law. The government will provide 鈥渓unch and learn webinars鈥, guidance and factsheets, products and resources for good security practice and updates for the sector. The government will also publish statutory guidance during the 24-month implementation to help schools 鈥渦nderstand the requirements set out in the legislation鈥.