Every school should have a school safety plan. It protects students and teachers from harm and promotes a safe and healthy learning environment.
A great school safety plan includes specific guidelines for all safety and prevention strategies. It includes information like what to do in cases of emergency or how to prevent bullying at school. You can work with fellow parents, teachers, and support staff to build the best school safety plan possible.
If you’re ready to start, read below for 5 important considerations.
1. Build a Team
You will need insight from parents and school staff to create an effective school safety plan. You should start with two school safety teams – an emergency response team and a post-incident response team.
The first group acts during emergencies and executes the correct safety procedures for the given incident. For example, these individuals might take attendance once everyone has evacuated during a fire. The second group will handle anything needed after an incident, like group counseling sessions.
2. Make a List of School Safety Materials
After you have set up your teams, ask them to create a list of supplies they might need to carry out their responsibilities. The emergency response team might need safety vests or first aid kits. The post-incident response team may need a list of local resources for trauma counseling.
Once you have purchased your school safety materials, keep them in a place that is easy to access for your school safety team members.
3. Keep a Guide of Policies and Procedures
You may not be able to prepare for every situation that can happen at school, but you can try it! Having a list of school safety policies and procedures will help you stay calm and organized during potentially unsafe situations.
Policies and procedures should be outlined for things like communication with parents, executing safety drills, and responding to potential threats. You will also need procedures for remote learning if the school needs to stay closed. You can learn more about remote learning technology via TotSpot.
4. Review and Rewrite
Make sure that you review your school safety plan on a regular basis. Recommendations for safety protocol may change. The school should have the most up-to-date information possible.
You can schedule regular meetings with your safety teams to review content in the plan or add new content. Your entire plan should be reviewed at least once per school year.
5. Plan Prevention Strategies
School safety plans are not just about reacting to bad things happening. They can also be used for prevention. Meet with your teams and discuss ways that you can prevent emergencies at school. Build programs, ask for training, and learn more about what you can do to keep students and teachers safe and healthy.
Make the Most of Your School Safety Plan
It might seem like a big task to create a school safety plan, but it doesn’t have to be. Consider your biggest priorities and start with those policies and procedures first. Then move on to the next most important safety procedure. Keep the language simple and rely on your team to share the work of creating the plan.
A school safety plan keeps parents, teachers, and other staff accountable for a safe and healthy school environment that all kids deserve. You can do your part by drafting a school safety plan today.
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