Written and reviewed by Michael Zurzolo, Co-Founder and Director, Safe Watch Global Pty Ltd · Updated 28 October 2026
The short answer: Wihkum is a school lockdown alert system for staff. Nominated Master users send a lockdown alert (for example Soft or Hard Lockdown) or an evacuate alert (for example Natural Disasters & Severe Weather) to every staff member’s phone, and later an all clear. Each school can adopt a standard set of event types or customise its own. Each lockdown or evacuation needs a one-time 4-digit code first, so an accidental press isn’t actioned. Normal HELP calls don’t need the code. Wihkum can also contact emergency services, is for staff and teachers only, works alongside your school’s existing systems, and starts from A$3 per user per month.
When a school needs everyone to act at once, the person in charge shouldn’t have to rely on a runner or a single PA announcement. In Wihkum, the alert goes to every staff member’s phone in a few deliberate steps. Only Master users, meaning nominated staff such as the principal or front office, can see the LOCKDOWN and EVACUATE buttons. The app has three main buttons: HELP, LOCKDOWN and EVACUATE. Everyday staff accounts only see HELP.
Lockdown and evacuate are separate alerts, each with its own types. Wihkum lets each school adopt a standard set of types or configure its own, so the lists below are examples. Lockdown types can include Soft Lockdown, Hard Lockdown, Preventative Lockdown and Emergency Lockdown. Evacuate types can include Internal Building Hazards, Infrastructure & Utility Failures, Natural Disasters & Severe Weather, and Security Threats & Police Incidents. HELP types, such as Medical or Class Disruption, can be set up the same way.
Lockdown and evacuate alerts reach staff the same way as HELP alerts: by push notification, phone call or email. They sound a tone even when the phone is on silent, so staff don’t miss them. For HELP and duress alerts, see our staff duress alarm.
A Master user can send an all clear to staff when it’s now safe and the lockdown or evacuation has been handled. It’s a message from a person, not an automatic one.
What Wihkum doesn’t do: Wihkum is an alert system, not a door-locking or access-control system. It doesn’t lock doors remotely and it doesn’t share floor plans.
Australian schools plan for several core responses, including lockdown, lock-out, shelter-in-place and on-site and off-site evacuation. Victoria’s Department of Education, for example, requires these five “core emergency response procedures” in every school emergency management plan (Vic DE: Core and specific response procedures). In early childhood services, the national regulations require emergency and evacuation procedures, including lockdown where identified, to be rehearsed every three months (ACECQA: Emergency and evacuation guidelines, PDF).
Wihkum’s role is narrow and practical: a fast way for the person in charge to tell all staff to start the plan. Lockdown and evacuation are actioned separately, so the Master user chooses the one that matches the situation and then the type. Each school can use a standard set of types or set up its own to match its plan, for example Soft Lockdown or Natural Disasters & Severe Weather. It doesn’t replace your plan, your drills or your PA system. For how school lockdown systems work and the types of lockdown, see our guide. If your plan also covers evacuation, our page on emergency evacuation plans for schools in WA is a useful companion.
A false lockdown frightens students, can bring in police, and can make people take real alerts less seriously. It’s worth designing for. A report on a staff panic alert system used across Florida schools found that of more than 54,000 alerts in one school year, about 1% related to a campus threat (WLRN, 2 April 2026). Most calls for help are everyday situations, so the alert that starts a whole-school response should be a deliberate step.
In Wihkum, HELP, lockdown and evacuate are kept separate. Only Master users can see the LOCKDOWN and EVACUATE buttons, and each lockdown or evacuation needs a one-time 4-digit code before it is sent. A bumped phone or a press in a pocket can’t be actioned as a lockdown on its own. Normal HELP calls, for example Medical or Class Disruption, don’t need a code, so staff can still call for help in seconds.
The app staff already use to call for HELP also carries the lockdown and evacuate alerts for Master users. When a staff member presses HELP, Wihkum alerts the closest trained staff, with their location inside the school’s geofence. Each school can adopt a standard set of HELP types or customise its own, and who gets an alert can be set for each HELP type, for example the closest trained staff for one type, and emergency services plus staff for an intruder alert.
Every incident is recorded with the date, time, staff and location. Read more about our staff duress alarm.
Wihkum is for school staff and teachers only. Students and parents don’t use it, and staff use their own iPhone or Android phone. It’s used alongside your PA, bells, CCTV, access control and safeguarding systems, and it doesn’t connect to any of them.
Location isn’t visible unless HELP is pressed, and Wihkum doesn’t sell data. You can read more on our security and privacy page. Lone-worker safety apps are built mainly for staff working alone or off-site. Wihkum is built around the school site, with whole-school lockdown and evacuate alerts.
Set-up takes as little as 2 hours with a bulk staff upload. Wihkum is from A$3 per user per month, and pricing depends on your school. Demos take 30 minutes.
From A$3 per user per month. Set up in as little as 2 hours.
It’s a way for the person in charge to tell all staff to start the school’s lockdown procedure. In Wihkum, Master users send the alert to every staff phone.
Only nominated Master users, who are the only people who see the LOCKDOWN and EVACUATE buttons. They choose a lockdown type, for example Soft Lockdown or Hard Lockdown, and enter a one-time 4-digit code. Each school can adopt a standard set of lockdown types or configure its own. Normal HELP calls don’t need the code.
The one-time 4-digit code means an accidental press can’t be actioned as a lockdown on its own. No system can promise to prevent every false alarm, which is why a lockdown is a deliberate, confirmed step.
Yes. Evacuate is a separate button from Lockdown, seen only by Master users. They choose a type, for example Internal Building Hazards, Infrastructure & Utility Failures, Natural Disasters & Severe Weather or Security Threats & Police Incidents, then enter a one-time 4-digit code. Each school can adopt a standard set of evacuate types or configure its own. It reaches staff the same way as HELP alerts.
No. Wihkum is for school staff and teachers only.
No. It’s used alongside your existing systems and your emergency management plan and drills.
Yes, Wihkum can contact emergency services. It’s used alongside the school’s own emergency plan.
Lockdown and evacuate alerts reach staff the same way as HELP alerts (push notification, phone call or email) and sound a tone even when the phone is on silent. When it’s safe, a Master user sends the all clear, meaning the lockdown or evacuation has been handled.
From A$3 per user per month. Pricing depends on your school, so enquire for a quote. Demos take 30 minutes.
