Shenley Academy, a secondary school in Weoley Castle, Birmingham, was placed into a precautionary lockdown on Tuesday afternoon, May 12, following an incident that led to the arrest of a 15-year-old boy.
Headteacher Rash Rahman confirmed the lockdown in a statement to parents, describing it as a brief precautionary measure that was resolved quickly, allowing the school day to continue as normal. However, the message did not elaborate on the reasons behind the lockdown, which has drawn criticism from some parents.
Parent Raises Concerns
A parent, who wished to remain anonymous, contacted BirminghamLive expressing frustration over what he described as a lack of transparency from the school. He said: “Many parents were concerned about both the handling of the situation and the communication afterwards. There appeared to be very little official information shared about the incident, which inevitably led to widespread rumours among pupils.”
He added that his child reported hearing banging, seeing a police presence, and witnessing visibly distressed staff members without any explanation. “For many children, this would have been frightening and upsetting,” he said. “The message sent to parents said the school was briefly placed into lockdown, but my child reports the lockdown lasted around 40 minutes. I do not believe many parents or pupils would consider that brief, particularly when those involved were left frightened, confused, and isolated from communication.”
Lack of Emotional Support
The parent also criticised the absence of any mention of emotional support for pupils after the incident. “There was also no mention in the communication of any emotional support being offered to pupils following the incident, despite the obvious distress this situation may have caused. Some children also missed their lunch break as a result,” he said.
Furthermore, he noted that while the school informed parents that phone lines were not working, pupils still had their phones confiscated as usual. “In an emergency situation, many parents are questioning how they were expected to contact their children, or vice versa, should communication have become necessary,” he added.
Police Statement
West Midlands Police confirmed that officers were called to reports of a fight at the school. A spokesperson said: “We were called to reports of a fight yesterday afternoon. A 15-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of assault and has since been bailed pending further enquiries into the investigation.”
Headteacher’s Response
In his full message to parents, Mr Rahman explained that the lockdown was a precautionary measure to ensure safety. “As you may be aware, as a precautionary measure, we briefly had to put the school in a state known as lockdown this afternoon. This sounds dramatic but essentially involves keeping pupils in the classroom they're currently in so that we can deal with any issue at hand. The incident was resolved and school continued as normal afterwards. Students and staff were safe and continued with the day.”
He emphasised that the safety and wellbeing of pupils and staff is the school’s top priority and that they work hard to provide a caring, friendly, and safe environment. He encouraged parents to contact the school if they had any concerns.
Speaking to BirminghamLive, Mr Rahman said the lockdown was a precautionary measure to make sure the school was safe, and that he had spoken with concerned parents, adding that “all the fears have been allayed.”
