3 Minutes Isn’t Long – How can radios help in your school lockdown?

It’s the time it would take you to read this article aloud.

So how are school staff meant to respond to an incident somewhere on a large site in that timeframe? The runner you’re thinking of sending is going to take 27 seconds for every 100m they cover. You’re already a minute into reading this article by the way, and perhaps you’re running out of options as that violent incident threatens to spill over.

Technology, together with a bit of insight, can provide an answer to this problem. The best two way radios for schools allow a message to be passed across a site at the push of a button. Digitall Comms can supply this equipment with packages tailored to your site size, layout and other specialist requirements. When the best radios for schools are offered by a firm that can give insight into best practice emergency response, they’ll allow your school to lockdown in a matter of seconds, not minutes.

In a school lockdown facilitated with walkie talkies for schools, the secretary, caretaker, and key members of staff respond in a pre-arranged pattern to minimise the risk to the children in your care.

Pre-Arranged Signal

In an emergency, you should communicate using a pre-arranged signal. It’s a really bad idea to announce over a radio network the exact nature of an incident, as that’s likely to cause panic and potentially alert an intruder or aggressor that you’re aware of them.

A prearranged coded message can be sent that mimics normal school chatter but includes something that everyone is trained to recognise. An example might be “Please remind your classes that the sign-up sheet for Swahili lessons is in reception” where “Swahili” is the code word that tells staff to begin lockdown procedures and “reception” is the location that currently forms the nexus of the incident. Of course, you can’t use this in a school where Swahili is really on the curriculum, or false alarms will occur!

This procedure handles emergencies in shops, banks, and uniformed services. It is recommended in conjunction with the best two way radios for schools where safety and speed are essential.

To explore more head to our Radio for Schools & Education page or call our expert team on 0330 088 7008