The festive season brings excitement and celebration to schools, but with the added bustle comes a greater need to stay alert to potential risks
As Christmas approaches, the pace in school ramps up. Alongside the usual timetable, you’ll likely be juggling plays, concerts, staff gatherings, after-school clubs, extra visitors and deliveries coming in thick and fast. Communications also increase, with newsletters, emails and festive reminders flying back and forth. It’s a wonderful, if busy, time of year! But it also means schools need to stay extra vigilant. Unfortunately, not everyone is filled with festive spirit, and opportunists may see Christmas as the perfect time to take advantage of distractions.
Seasonal Scammers
Scammers know exactly how to take advantage of the goodwill and distractions of the season. A festive e-card from a “colleague,” a heart-warming charity appeal, or a video promising holiday fun can all disguise malicious links designed to steal information or compromise school systems. Cybercriminals deliberately tap into the emotions of Christmas – generosity, urgency and the pressure to respond quickly – making phishing emails harder to spot when they arrive wrapped in festive cheer. That’s why it’s important to remind staff to be cautious with unexpected messages, keep security systems up to date and create a culture where reporting suspicious emails is the norm.
Onsite Opportunists
Busy performances and crowded school halls create the perfect conditions for opportunistic theft, with bags left under chairs, valuables on display, or unlocked classrooms offering easy targets. To minimise the risk, schools can provide a designated coat and bag check for staff, parents and visitors, remind everyone to keep personal belongings with them, and ensure external doors are monitored as large groups come and go. It’s also good practice for site staff to carry out extra sweeps during evening events to confirm that rooms are secure and nothing has been left vulnerable.
Social Media Sense
It’s not just staff and visitors who need reminding – students have an important role to play in keeping themselves and others safe during the festive season. With all the excitement, children can sometimes be careless with belongings or overshare online without realising the risks. Schools can help by encouraging pupils to leave valuables at home rather than bringing them to events, and by running quick reminders about online safety, particularly around clicking on Christmas games, apps, or too-good-to-be-true “free gift” adverts. It’s also worth reminding students that posting or showing off expensive gifts online can make them vulnerable to theft or unwanted attention.
Vetting and Visitors
Schools often see an increase in both visitors and deliveries during the Christmas season and not all of them will be the familiar faces you see throughout the year. From parents and extended family members attending performances, to suppliers dropping off last-minute orders, it’s vital to make sure visitor management processes remain robust. That means ensuring everyone is signed in properly, using ID checks where appropriate and keeping delivery access points secure so that only authorised people are allowed on site.
Of course, the vast majority of visitors will be genuine, supportive and simply there to enjoy the celebrations. But it only takes one opportunist to exploit a busy moment, which is why a little extra vigilance can go a long way. By keeping procedures tight without losing the warm, welcoming atmosphere, schools can make sure the festive season remains safe and enjoyable for everyone.
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