By Rowan Forster
An Officer school was forced into lockdown on Thursday after a call was made to reception, threatening staff.
Police attended Bridgewood Primary School about 4pm and investigated the authenticity of the threat while after-school care students were held inside classrooms and worried parents milled outside the building.
Officers subsequently determined that no offence had been committed and lifted the emergency protocol.
Principal Kerry Coffey confirmed the lockdown had taken place, stressing the school’s commitment to safety.
“Yesterday afternoon’s lockdown was as a result of a phone call to reception,” she said in a statement to parents.
“As a precaution, as principal, I put the school into lockdown to ensure the safety of all children, staff, and visitors on site and contacted the police to attend.
“As a site we will now debrief on yesterday’s situation and the activation of our Emergency Management Plan and identify if any further action as a result of the incident needs to take place.”
While Bridgewood management was scrutinised for being vague – failing to release details of the lockdown until the following day – many parents praised the comprehensive lockdown procedure.
“As a foster carer, this reassures me that safety measures are in place for my kids,” Wendy Bohn said.
“If anything happened in the future I would be confident that the staff know how to handle it and will keep my kids safe,” Kellie Testro added.
There are unconfirmed reports the threats arose due to a dispute between two parents, which escalated to involve the school.
