Preparing for the worst – how schools can keep pupils and staff safe with an Emergency Response Plan

We know that emergencies are not something that any school wants to experience but as we have learnt from the past 3 years, it is essential that education providers prioritise the safety and well-being of their pupils, staff, and visitors.

This week, pupils have been forced to resume their studies at home or in temporary classrooms following fears of critical building collapse at schools across the UK.  Since the 1950’s, RAAC (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete) has been used in the building of schools, hospitals, and other public buildings. RAAC has a short life expectancy and is susceptible to sudden failure. It is unknown how many schools are affected and in need of significant repairs.

So, what can we do?

Developing an effective, clear, and robust Emergency Response Plan (ERP) can prepare senior leaders and staff for when things go wrong. This plan can cover a range of critical incidents, such as fire, building safety issues, lockdowns, accidents, and natural disasters.

Having an ERP in place will help you to navigate those incidents clearly and calmly, ensuring swift action and mitigating impact.

What does an ERP look like?

We’ve put together a 10-point plan to help you put together your ERP:

1. Emergency Contacts

   This should be a list of your priority contacts (determined relative to the incident). The event that has occurred may be of a sensitive nature, so you may want to keep the circle small such as Senior Management/Leadership Teams. If you are part of a MAT, this will most likely be the CEO, COO and your Estates Manager. Other contacts could also include the local authority, utilities boards, highways agencies and any other major firms or persons.

2.  Your ERP Team

   To effectively manage and co-ordinate an emergency response you want to ensure that you have a team of knowledgeable and well-prepared staff members each with dedicated roles and responsibilities.  Make sure your ERP team are up to date with all school emergency procedures, such as fire drills, lockdowns, etc and can coordinate, lead and provide assurance clearly in an emergency. 

3.  Coverage

   Plans need to cover a range of incidents – fire, gas leaks, threats, lockdown (both invacuation and evacuation), natural disasters, health emergencies and animals on the premises. 

4.  Policies and Procedures

   During a serious event you will need access to critical information quickly and easily. Here you can pull information from other documentation you have in school such as your fire, first aid, lockdown, and evacuation procedures. Do you have another safe space to evacuate to should you need to get further away from the building?

5.  Key Building Information

   This is information specific to your building. It can consist of site plans which show the locations for emergency exits, fire hydrants, cut off points for gas, electric, and water, boilers and distribution boards, assembly points and any other places in school that are important, along with key contacts for utilities and other services.

6.  Resources

   This is a list of all equipment needed such as fire extinguishers, first aid kits, defibrillators, radios, phones, torches, etc. Do you have a "grab bag"? The emergency that has occurred may result in evacuation of the school so you may need to ensure that you have access to resources at assembly points.

7.  Checklists

   This will be a useful tool for your ERP Team to highlight what needs to be done and who needs to do it.

8.  Comms and Media

   You should nominate one trusted spokesperson who can liaise directly with the media. You may already have a media policy in place so it’s important this works alongside it. You could also have a pre-written statement in place ready to be edited. Social media guidelines should also be considered, and it should be made clear to staff that social media should not be used to discuss any on-going events/investigations. You will also need to consider communication with parents and possibly the local community. 

9.  Next steps

   Your emergency situation may have resulted in the loss of part or all of your building. How does that affect the operations of the school and its pupils? If you're part of a MAT, there will already be a plan in place for senior leaders to support you with the next steps. If not, you may have arrangements in place with other schools or local buildings.

10.  Prevention

    Ensuring your school is compliant with all building and health and safety regulations will go a long way to preventing the next critical event.

What can we do to help?

It is critical that existing ERPs are regularly reviewed to enable Senior Leadership Teams (SLT) and staff to have a clear and concise understanding on what actions need to be taken should anything go awry. Many documents will need to be updated as buildings are renovated, staff leave and government guidance changes. Crysp holds all your documents in one place so your ERP team can have instant access to the plan (and associated documents) as well as receive notifications on updates and changes.  

For further details or an initial discussion please contact info@crysp.co.uk and we will arrange for a member of our dedicated schools team to contact you.