Program

The School is a densely populated place and has small children that are one of the most vulnerable groups in the society. To reduce this vulnerability particularly for schools, it is important to have a school Disaster Management Plan. Schools also have many resources and are community nodes. Therefore, a School also has responsibility towards its immediate locality, just as the neighbouring community is linked to the school.

When developing a school emergency management plan, observance of the planning principles mentioned below.

• Simplicity: The plan shall be concise. Roles and responsibilities shall be clearly stated. Emergency procedure which staff shall be expected to remember and implement shall be kept to a minimum.
• Flexibility: The plan shall be flexible. Emergency procedures shall still work if key personnel are unavailable on the day, or if a pre planned route to an evacuation assembly area is cut off by the hazard.
• Comprehensive: It shall describe arrangements for preventing, preparing for, responding to and recovering from the effects of an emergency.
• Decision Making Process: The plan shall describe the decision making process which will be adopted when an emergency occurs. While each emergency will be different, the decision making process shall remain reasonably consistent.
• Consultation: The plan shall be derived from consultation with the school community of various levels. One shall see to it that the plan suits and is understood by all in the school. The commitment of individuals to the plan is likely to be greatest when they have been involved in its development.
• Dissemination: All members of the school community shall be familiar with the content of the plan, and shall be trained in and regularly exercise its procedures. Apart from the school community, the plan shall be shared with the parents of the students so that they too are familiar with the emergency planning of the school and there is no chaos.
• Review: The plan needs to be reviewed on a regular basis, preferably annually and following any significant emergency, to ensure that it remains workable.
• Co-ordination: Planning in the school shall be coordinated with other agencies, such as the emergency services and local municipalities, who shall have their own plans linked with the plans of the districts/municipalities/surrounding community.
• Policy: Policy issued shall be resolved during the planning process. The death of the student inevitably raises issues concerning specially media. The stress could be reduced if local policy issues have been considered in advance.
• Consistency: The plans shall be consistent with the local policies of relevant education authorities. The plan shall not permit a lesser degree of supervision of students during an emergency than regulations required.
• Scope of Responsibilities: The plan shall describe the scope and the limitations of staff and students responsibilities. The school is responsible for ensuring the ongoing safety of the staff and students for the duration of the emergency. Staff and students shall not be expected to place themselves in danger by combating the emergency themselves.
• Co-operation: The plan shall also emphasise the role of the school in providing support to the emergency services (i.e., police, fire services, ambulances etc) that are legally responsible for managing the emergency.

The Plan has two components

1. Hazard Identification / safety assessment
   • Structural assessment
   • Non-Structural assessment
   • Resource inventory
2. Response Plan
   • Mitigation of hazards identified
   • Evacuation Plan
   • Special Provisions for handicapped

As students and teachers, there are two very important contributions that can be made to reduce disaster risk for yourselves and for your communities:

1. Take Care of yourself:

   Prepare for, mitigate and prevent disasters through a School Disaster Management Plan (SDMP) and at home, through a family disaster management plan. This will ensure that during an emergency, we are free from danger, so that we can be of help to others. Create widespread awareness amongst our families, friends, and neighbourhood and not the least of all, those communities that are lesser privileged than us. Here we are talking about helping others to understand their vulnerabilities, and how to overcome them. We can call this our 'social responsibility' as a student or teacher, and as a responsible citizen of India

2. Spread the word:

   Create widespread awareness amongst our families, friends, and neighbourhood and not the least of all, those communities that are lesser privileged than us. Here we are talking about helping others to understand their vulnerabilities, and how to overcome them. We can call this our 'social responsibility' as a student or teacher, and as a responsible citizen of India.

Sensitisation meeting for awareness amongst Teachers/ School Management Formation of the School Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) Hazard identification and safety assessment

Preparation of the School Disaster Management Plan (SDMP)

• Sensitisation meeting for awareness amongst Teachers/ School Management
• Formation of the School Disaster Management Committee & Groups School Disaster Management Committee (SDMC)
• Hazard identification and safety assessment
• Preparation of the School Disaster Management Plan (SDMP) document
• Formation and Training of the School Disaster Management Team
• Awareness activities & Dissemination of the plan to everybody in the school
• Conduct regular mock drill and report to SDMC
• Evaluation of the Plan to improve effectivenes

• Have the emergency numbers been confirmed with the concerned departments
• Are the emergency contact numbers prominently displayed on the plan
• Does the plan clearly specify procedures for reporting emergencies to the government services and the relevant education authority
• Are the potential risks within and up to a kilometre from the workplace identified?
• Does the plan clearly mention about the evacuation plan?
• Are the roles and responsibilities of key personnel's clearly defined task force team leaders, class teachers, office staff and students.
• Are the staff responsibilities to account for and supervise students during and following the emergency clearly described?
• Does the plan give emphasis on the children below class V?
• Does the plan address the students with special physical, mental and medical needs?
• Does the plan describe about how the staff will be trained and when exercise will be conducted?
• Has the plan been endorsed by local police and fire brigade?
• Are arrangements for reviewing the plan described?