Emergency and Critical Incident Management Planning

Joint emergency management planning for shared sites

When schools share sites with other users, including other education providers and early childhood services, it is strongly recommended that they undertake emergency management planning as a joint activity. This supports the safety of the whole site during an emergency or incident and minimises the chance of miscommunication.

Leadership and relevant staff should work together from all facilities on the site to develop or review the group’s Emergency Management Plans (EMPs). This will help identify areas where plans may need to be aligned or where the school may need to have separate approaches to manage their risks and obligations.

Discussion points may include:

• What makes each setting unique?
• What are the similarities?
• Are there threats/situations that will only impact one facility?
• What scenarios and outcomes that work for both facilities?
• Have there been any changes on our site or in the local community that may impact our shared or separate arrangements?
• How will we manage disruptions to essential services impacting one or more of the facilities on our site?
• Are there opportunities to share resources/facilities/costs with other site users in order to maximise the success of the implementation of your plan and the safety of your students and staff?
• How will you undertake debriefs and share lessons from drills and emergencies/incidents?
• How will you brief your staff to ensure they understand how to work with other site users in emergencies/incidents?
• How will you jointly reflect and debrief on your response to emergencies after the event?

Remember that in most circumstances, the threat or danger is to the whole site, not just one of the facilities, so joint planning is crucial.

Evacuation locations and assembly areas

When discussing the group’s EMPs, it is also important to consider the movements of each cohort in emergencies, especially when moving to both on-site and off-site evacuation locations/assembly points.

Consider the following:

• In most circumstances, it is appropriate to use the same evacuation locations/assembly areas, however schools may wish to consider separated zones/areas to make it easier to account for each group when conducting head checks and to manage their cohort.
• Access to the evacuation locations/assembly areas from each site – are there any barriers or issues that need to be addressed?
• Consider shade, access to drinking water, toilets, change facilities in choosing evacuation locations/assembly areas. These elements may be more important with a larger group and/or depending on the needs of the cohorts.

Drills

Drills are critical for testing the arrangements for not only the school but for ensuring the whole site is able to effectively respond to emergencies and incidents. Conducting joint drills can test coordination, communication and ensure that there is no confusion as to what needs to happen when an incident or emergency impacts the shared site.

Consider the following:

• Plan joint drills well in advance to ensure each facility has adequate notice to manage disruptions to learning and can input into the scenario so that it fits the site context.
• Conduct the drills together and observe especially how well the group communicates between facilities, how cohorts move around the site, and how effectively the individual and collective response works for responding to the particular drill scenario.
• Conduct both separate and joint post-drill debriefs to identify areas for improvement or updates for EMPs, collectively as well as individually.

Communication

Communication between shared site users and with the school’s community is the key to managing incidents and emergencies effectively.

Remember to keep any shared site users informed during emergencies and incidents so they can make informed decisions to maintain the safety of their cohort as well as support your response actions in an emergency.

Consider the following:

• How will each facility communicate with one another day to day as well as during emergencies? Is this documented in each EMP, including in the Communications Tree and emergency contacts?
• Some emergencies and incidents will impact just your school and cohort, but others may have implications for the safety of the whole site and other users and facilities. How will you communicate in both scenarios?
• In case of disruption to your main communication channel, such as landline, mobile or internet connectivity, have you discussed and documented alternative communication methods to ensure you can maintain contact with each facility and emergency services?
• Communicating consistently to the parent community of all education facilities on the site that you are working together on emergency management shows a united front and helps build confidence in your approach.
• Think about how to respond to questions around how cohorts interact during emergencies, including concerns about older or unfamiliar children intimidating/scaring younger children, or how new faces or changes in the daily routine could be disruptive and unsettling for some children. Responding to these questions will not only help provide a safe and inclusive environment and develop a strong education culture but will also have practical benefits during drills and real emergencies and incidents by ensuring parents and children/students are comfortable with the approach.

Responding to emergencies and incidents

When an emergency or incident does occur, it is important that the school activates its EMP and take steps to support the safety of their cohort while also being mindful of shared site users.

Consider the following:

• Contacting other site users early to let them know the following details:
  • what has occurred
  • what actions the school is taking
  • who has been informed
  • any anticipated impacts for the whole site or other site users based on current knowledge.
• Other site leaders will assess the situation and risk and act in accordance with their own EMP and in the best interests of students, staff and other people in their care.
• Coordinating messaging during and after the event, if this would minimise community confusion and provide reassurance.
• Utilising the best information available – if unsure of what actions to take in the event of an emergency or how best to coordinate with site users, seek advice from relevant department staff, including your regional emergency management key contacts.

Ongoing review and evaluation

Maintaining a strong relationship with other site users will ensure schools adapt to changes across the shared site and help keep their communities safe for the long term.

It is recommended that schools meet regularly with shared site users to review and update plans and site arrangements, for example, once per term or at key points in the year when facilities are reviewing their EMPs. It may also be worth coming together following significant events impacting one or more facilities on the site to see what could be improved.

Some questions to consider include:

• Are there any changes to the site overall or specific facilities that may impact plans, including evacuation routes or assembly areas?
• Have new threats emerged or do existing threats need to be reassessed?
• Are there any changes to the cohorts across the whole site that may impact plans?
• Are there any new enrolments?
• Are there any new staff or students with additional needs?
• Are the current communication approaches working?
• Have there been any lessons learned from drills or real emergencies/incidents that may impact our plans?

A print-ready version of this guidance to share with other site users is available on the Resources tab.