Your Child’s School Is on Lockdown.
What Do You Do?

You get the call. Your stomach drops. Every instinct screams at you to move. This free challenge shows you what to do — and what most parents get dangerously wrong.

🕐 8–12 minutes · 4 scenarios · 12 decisions · Free · No sign-up required

Parent at work receiving a phone notification about school lockdown

“I was in a meeting when the text came through. My hands started shaking before I even finished reading it.”

Parent in supermarket receiving a phone notification about school lockdown

“I left my trolley in the aisle. I didn’t even think. I just ran to the car park.”

What Your Body Does Before Your Brain Catches Up

When you hear your child is in danger, your nervous system takes over. Adrenaline floods your body. Your thinking brain shuts down. Understanding this is the first step to overriding it.

⚡
Fight
You want to confront the threat. You phone the school relentlessly. You shout at the receptionist. You demand answers. Your aggression feels productive — but it ties up the phone line the police need and puts staff under pressure they cannot handle right now.
🏃
Flight
You drive to the school. You run to the gate. You need to be physically near your child. But you block emergency access, create a crowd police have to manage, and enter a potential danger zone. Your presence makes it harder, not safer.
🧊
Freeze
You can’t move. You can’t think. You stare at your phone waiting for a message that doesn’t come. Freezing is not weakness — it’s your brain protecting you from overload. But you need to move through it: breathe, name what you’re feeling, focus on one action.

None of these responses are wrong. They are human. But left unchecked, every one of them puts your child at greater risk.

The Parent Response Flowchart

📱 You receive the notification
↓
❌ Do NOT drive to the school

You block emergency access and become a risk
↓
❌ Do NOT call the school

Every call blocks the line police need
↓
❌ Do NOT call or text your child

A ringing phone can reveal a hiding position
↓
✅ Tell your partner / immediate family only

Keep the circle tight. No social media.
↓
✅ Control your breathing. Name the adrenaline.

“My hands are shaking because of adrenaline. That is normal.”
↓
✅ Wait for official communication from the school

They will contact you. It will feel like forever. It won’t be.
↓
✅ Follow the reunification process with ID ready

This is the last layer of safeguarding — cooperate, don’t push

⏱ 00:00

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Scenario 1 — The Notification

It’s 10:45am on a Tuesday. You’re at work. Your phone buzzes. A text from the school: “The school is currently in lockdown. Please do not come to the school. Do not call. We will update you as soon as it is safe to do so.”

Your hands are shaking. Your heart is pounding. Your child is 7 years old.

Question 1 of 12

You’ve just read the lockdown text. Your body is flooded with adrenaline. What do you do first?

A) Get in the car immediately and drive to the school. I need to be there.
B) Stay where I am. Read the message again. Breathe. Do not go to the school.
C) Call the school office to find out what’s happening — I need to know my child is safe.

Question 2 of 12

You know your child has a phone in their bag. You want to hear their voice. You want to know they’re okay. Do you call them?

A) Yes — just a quick call. I need to hear them.
B) I’ll send a text instead — quieter than a call.
C) No. I do not contact my child. Their teacher is with them.

Question 3 of 12

You’re sitting at your desk. Your hands won’t stop shaking. You feel sick. You can’t concentrate on anything. Twenty minutes have passed with no update. What helps right now?

A) Recognise what my body is doing: “This is adrenaline. It’s normal. I am safe where I am.” Breathe slowly.
B) Stay positive. It’s probably nothing. Schools do drills all the time.
C) Check Twitter and local news to find out what’s happening.

Scenario 2 — The Waiting

It’s been 40 minutes. The parent WhatsApp group is going berserk. Someone has posted a photo of a police car outside the school. Another parent says they’ve driven to the school and can see a helicopter. Rumours are spreading. Nobody has official information.

Your partner is calling you. Your mum is calling you. A colleague is looking at you with concern.

Question 4 of 12

Your partner calls, panicking. “Have you heard anything? Should I go to the school?” What do you say?

A) “Post in the WhatsApp group — see if anyone knows anything.”
B) “Don’t go to the school. Don’t call them. Don’t post anything online. We wait for the official update.”
C) “Meet me near the school — we’ll wait together at the end of the road.”

💔
Pause. Right now, in this scenario, your child’s teacher is sitting on the floor of a locked classroom with 28 children. They are scared too. They are following a protocol they practised once, six months ago. They are trying to keep your child calm while their own hands shake. They cannot answer the phone. They cannot check their messages. They are doing the hardest job of their life — and they need you to let them do it.

Question 5 of 12

The parent WhatsApp group is spiralling. One parent writes: “I’ve heard it’s a knife.” Another says: “My friend’s daughter said someone is hurt.” People are panicking. What do you do?

A) Share how I’m feeling — “I’m terrified too, this is awful.”
B) Tell everyone to stay calm — “Let’s not panic until we know what’s going on.”
C) Anchor the group: “What do we actually know? What has the school confirmed? Let’s stick to verified facts only.”

Question 6 of 12

A parent in the group posts a photo of a police helicopter over the school with the caption “This is really serious.” What do you do?

A) Share it to my own social media — people need to know what’s happening.
B) Ignore it. What I can see from outside tells me nothing about what’s happening inside.
C) Ask the group if anyone has more information about what the helicopter means.

Scenario 3 — The Reunion

Two hours later. The school sends an update: “The lockdown has been lifted. All children are safe. Please come to the main entrance for supervised collection. Bring photo ID. Do not enter the car park.”

You drive to the school. There’s a queue. Police are present. Staff are at the gate with clipboards. You can’t see your child yet.

Question 7 of 12

You’re in the queue. It’s moving slowly. The parent in front of you is arguing with the staff member at the gate: “Just let me in, my child is in there!” You’ve been waiting 15 minutes. What do you do?

A) Push forward too — they need to speed this up, our children are scared.
B) Tell the parent to stop — “You’re making this harder for the staff who are trying to get our kids out safely.”
C) Wait. Have my ID ready. Give my child’s full name and class when asked. Cooperate with the process.

🫂
Remember: the staff at that gate are not being difficult. They are being professional. They have just spent two hours protecting your child. They are exhausted, frightened, and following the last layer of a safeguarding process designed to make sure every child goes home with the right adult. They deserve your patience, not your anger.

Question 8 of 12

You see your child. They’re walking towards you with their teacher. They look small. Their face is blank. What do you do?

A) Run to them, scoop them up, hold them tight, let the tears come.
B) Get to their level. Make eye contact. Let them come to me. Say: “I’m here. You’re safe. You did really well.”
C) Try to stay strong but I’m already crying — I can’t help it.

Question 9 of 12

That evening, your child seems fine. They eat dinner, they watch TV. At bedtime, they say: “Mummy/Daddy, the teacher said we had to be really quiet today and I was scared.” They fall asleep. Three days later, they wet the bed for the first time in two years. What’s happening?

A) This is a normal trauma response. Keep routines. Answer questions honestly at their level. Watch for more signs. Seek help if it continues beyond a few weeks.
B) Contact the school and ask for the counsellor to see my child.
C) It’s probably unrelated. Don’t make a big deal of it — they’ll move on.

Scenario 4 — The Aftermath

It’s been a week. The school has sent a letter explaining what happened — a suspicious individual was seen near the premises and police were called as a precaution. Nobody was hurt. But your child doesn’t want to go back to school. They’re clingy. They keep asking: “What if the bad person comes back?”

Question 10 of 12

You want answers from the school. What happened? Why wasn’t it communicated faster? Was the response good enough? How do you get those answers?

A) Corner the headteacher at drop-off and demand a full explanation.
B) Write a calm, clear email to the headteacher with specific questions. Request a formal debrief for parents.
C) Post on the school’s Facebook page asking why communication was so slow.

Question 11 of 12

It’s Sunday evening. Your child says they feel sick and don’t want to go to school tomorrow. You can see the fear in their eyes. What do you do?

A) Keep them home until it feels safe. There’s no rush.
B) Talk to other parents — see if their children feel the same way.
C) Walk the school route together. Visit the school before Monday. Let them see the building, the playground, their teacher. Familiarity reduces fear.

Question 12 of 12

Your child asks: “What if the bad person comes back? Will the teachers keep us safe?” This is the moment. What do you say?

A) “It will never happen again, I promise. Don’t worry about it.”
B) “The grown-ups at school practise keeping you safe. Last week, they did their job. Your teacher knew exactly what to do. And you did exactly the right thing by listening.”
C) “Let’s not think about that. Come on, let’s watch a film.”

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💡 One Practical Thing You Can Do Today

Many schools are banning phones — and that’s the right call for lockdown safety. But you can still know where your child is without giving them a device that could ring at the wrong moment.

Consider a GPS tracker on their bag or clothing. No screen. No ringtone. No distraction. Just a location you can check from your phone. It won’t help during a lockdown — but it gives you peace of mind on the walk to school, the trip to a friend’s house, the moment you can’t quite see them.

🎒 Bag clip tracker
Apple AirTag / Tile
👕 Clothing tag
Jiobit / AngelSense

Ask your school one question this week:

“What is the school’s lockdown procedure, and when was it last tested?”

If they can answer confidently, you’re in a good school. If they can’t — that’s the conversation ORVIA helps schools have.

Are you a teacher or school leader?

Try the School Staff Scenario Challenge — designed for the decisions your team would face.

Take the Staff Challenge →