Trespasser or Attacker on School Grounds
At St Joseph's School, the board ensures that the school is a physically and emotionally safe place where risks to health and safety (both physical and mental) are eliminated or minimised (Health and Safety at Work Act 2015; Education and Training Act 2020). This includes having procedures for preventing and responding to a trespasser or attacker. This information is part of our emergency management planning and kept with our printed emergency plans and procedures.
- Trespasser: any person that enters the school after they have been told not to enter and/or refuses to leave after they have been told to leave.
- Attacker: any person that is violent or dangerous (e.g. behaving erratically and/or carrying a weapon) and may be a threat to the school community.
Prevention and planning for a trespasser or attacker
To prevent trespassers and attackers, we:
- have security measures in place to safeguard the physical security of the school and deter security incidents, including appropriate boundaries, locking, and lighting – see Security Management
- manage access to school buildings and grounds with appropriate signage and protocol for visitors and contractors – see Visitors and Contractors Working at School
- promote schoolwide engagement with health and safety policies and procedures, and ask staff, students, contractors, and visitors to raise security and safety concerns immediately (e.g. unknown people on school grounds, suspicious behaviour).
As part of our emergency management planning, we:
Response to a trespasser or attacker
If staff become aware that there is an unknown person at school, they assess the nature of the situation and follow the appropriate procedures below.
If the person appears aggressive (e.g. behaving erratically and/or carrying a weapon) or shots are heard, they may be an attacker so we act to keep everyone safe. When responding to an attacker, our response is to escape, hide, and tell. We activate our lockdown procedures, as appropriate. See Know what to do: Escape. Hide. Tell 
(New Zealand Police) and Lockdown and Shelter in Place.
If the person appears non-threatening, they may be a visitor, so ask them why they are at the school (if possible, staff do this in pairs).
- If the person has a legitimate reason for being at school, we ask them to sign in (if they haven't already) – see Visitors.
- If the person does not have a legitimate reason for being at school, we ask them to leave and not return.
- If a person refuses to leave after they have been told to leave and/or enters the school after they have been told not to enter, staff:
- notify senior staff of the person's description, location, and activity
- may activate lockdown procedures if the situation appears unsafe for staff and/or students
- explain to the person that we will have to call the police, and call the police if they still refuse to leave
- stay with the person (if it is safe to do so) until the police arrive
- move to a safe distance if the person is or becomes violent or threatening, keeping them under observation if possible
- explain the situation to the police when they arrive.
The school may issue a 
trespass notice. The school documents any incident of concern and may debrief staff to assess if the response procedure needs improvement. The school may also communicate with students and parents/caregivers, as needed.
A trespass notice is a formal warning that tells a person to stay off school property. It can be issued verbally or in written form.
If a trespass notice is for a parent/guardian of a currently enrolled student, they are given an opportunity to communicate with the school before the notice is issued.
See Trespass and How to give someone a trespass notice (New Zealand Police | Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa).
Related policies
Legislation
- Education and Training Act 2020
- Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
- Trespass Act 1980
Resources
: Term 4 2025, Term 2 2023, Term 2 2022, Term 2 2022, Term 4 2021
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