Coping with a school emergency in Nottinghamshire
The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 placed new duties on local authorities in their role within emergency planning. As a result of this, Department for Education and Skills (now Department for Education) strongly recommended that schools produce their own individual emergency plan.
In 2005 Nottinghamshire County Council examined how schools could become more involved in emergency planning and how the local authority could support them. 'Coping with a School Emergency' was issued to schools in 2006; it included a template school emergency plan and supporting guidance.
The document was revised and reissued to schools in September 2008 and followed up with both introductory and refresher training events for headteachers and chairs of governors.
Nottinghamshire County Council achieved 'Beacon status' for emergency planning in 2007-2008. The Coping with a School Emergency document [PDF 1.6MB] and the support given to schools to help them develop a plan was a major contributory factor in achieving this status.
The Developing Community Resilience Through Schools project
Nottinghamshire County Council have since been working with other local authorities who were awarded 'Beacon status' for emergency planning in 2007-2008 to create national emergency planning resources for schools.
These were launched in March 2011 and include:
- Practical guidance for producing, training and exercising a school emergency plan
- A template emergency plan which can be adapted by schools to meet their specific needs
- Electronic storybooks, games and puzzles which can be used by teachers in the classroom to complement lessons on emergency planning.
To find out more about the 'Developing Community Resilience Through Schools' project please visit: www.schoolemergencies.info
