Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she will set out the timeline for the security precautions put in place for schools in Leeds on 14 September 2023; what learnings her Department identified from that situation; and whether her Department will share those learnings with all schools.

On 14 September, the immediate response and security precautions in Leeds were led by Leeds City Council. The Local Authority worked with schools and the police on the response, provided updates, and reiterated robust safeguarding and safety procedures throughout the day.

The Department already publishes guidance to support schools in responding to such incidents. The school and college security guidance and the emergency planning and response for education, childcare, and children’s social care settings guidance set out what schools and colleges should do when faced with security related incidents, agency responsibilities, and the robust plans and measures they should have in place to protect students and staff. These are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-and-college-security/school-and-college-security, and at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/emergency-planning-and-response-for-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings/emergency-planning-and-response-for-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings.

The Department is also developing guidance for the sector in England to improve protective security and organisational preparedness, which aims to implement consistent good practice and effective response plans.

Given the increasing number of malicious email threats, officials are developing proactive messaging to the sector to highlight existing advice and guidance.