Emergency and Critical Incident Management Planning

Policy

Schools are required to develop and maintain an Emergency Management Plan (EMP) that complies with the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) registration requirements.

Summary

Schools must:

• follow this policy to comply with the legislative and registration requirements for planning for emergencies and critical incidents and take all reasonable steps to safeguard the health and safety of their school community
• fully assess, plan for and mitigate risks, hazards and threats unique to their school site
• develop and maintain an up-to-date EMP that outlines their emergency and critical incident planning and management arrangements, using the Online EMP Portal (staff login required)
• review and approve (by principal) the EMP at least annually by 1 September of each year and after a significant incident
• plan for the impact of incidents and emergencies on the school community and clearly communicate with them during an emergency, including any relocation or closure arrangements
• test emergency response procedures by conducting drills at least once every term.

Details

Schools must have an up-to-date EMP that describes their risk mitigation and emergency response arrangements.

The plan must comply with VRQA requirements and be site-specific. It must include hazards and local threats which have the potential to result in emergencies and critical incidents, and corresponding response procedures.

Additionally, schools on the BARR must:

• plan for and provide information to staff, students and parents/carers on bushfire preparedness arrangements
• plan and complete drills each term and conduct evacuation drills in Term 1 and 4.

Emergency Management Plans

The EMP must:

• be developed and maintained using the online EMP Portal (staff login required)
• be reviewed and approved by the principal at least annually by 1 September of each year and after a significant incident
• describe actions to be taken before, during and after an emergency to ensure the safety and wellbeing of students, staff and others
• address all circumstances where the school is responsible for student and staff safety, including offsite school activities such as camps and excursions.

If a school is operating an out-of-school-hours care (OSHC) or school holiday program, the service/program will need to complete the EMP template using the Guide for early childhood services and non-government schools (DOCX).

Key elements that must be included in the EMP are as follows.

1. Risk assessment: identify and assess emergency risks specific to the site

• Schools must complete a risk assessment that clearly identifies the specific threats and hazards relevant to them. A risk assessment enables schools to:
  • identify the school’s unique threats and hazards
  • assess and review any risk mitigation measures that are currently in place
  • identify any further actions that can be taken to reduce the risk
  • delegate roles and responsibilities to manage risks.
• Factors such as the local natural and built environments are likely to be a source of risk, for example, schools located in dense bushland, on waterways, near industrial sites or proximal to major roads and highways.
• Risk information such as bushfire or flood management overlays are available through local government and VicEmergency websites.
• Schools also need to consider risks deriving from human behaviour such as arson, hostile intruders and cyber-attacks.

For detailed guidance on completing the risk assessment table in the online EMP, refer to the Emergency and critical incident management planning guide for government schools (PDF).

2. Governance: define roles and responsibilities for before, during and after an emergency

• For each risk identified, schools must consider what appropriate and reasonable actions should be taken to reduce the risk and when these actions should be taken, that is, before, during or after an emergency.
• For each action, schools must delegate clear roles and responsibilities to staff and ensure that they are adequately trained and qualified, where relevant, to perform their roles.
• Schools must also consider what decision-making structures would be necessary in an emergency, such as a formal Incident Management Team.

3. Communication: maintain situational awareness and keep the community informed

Schools must:

• document lines of communication to provide advice, notify others and maintain situational awareness during emergency events
• consider how the school community, including parents and carers, will be made aware of an emergency and kept informed throughout
• consider how their school community can seek support and advice during an emergency
• consider how any relocation or closure and other pre-emptive arrangements will be shared if their site is at bushfire or grassfire risk – refer to the Bushfire and Grassfire Preparedness policy
• provide any other information that the school considers essential to prepare the school community for action during an emergency.

For resources to support communication with parents and carers, refer to the Resources tab.

4. Recovery: plan for recovery strategies tailored to your unique needs and context

• Schools must plan for and consider the recovery needs for their site including wellbeing and psychosocial needs.
• Where possible, schools should familiarise themselves with proactive approaches to recovery and understand how to leverage these in a post emergency context.
• By preparing for recovery prior to a known emergency event, schools increase their resilience and ability to respond to the changing needs of students and teachers post emergency.

For recovery resources and tools to assist schools in preparing for and responding to critical events, primarily natural disasters, refer to the Resources tab.

5. Continuous improvement: schedule activities to test the effectiveness of the EMP and update the plan as needed

• Schools must regularly review their procedures and test the effectiveness of the EMP through drills, exercises, scenarios and debriefs from incidents.
• It is recommended schools conduct reviews after critical incidents where practicable.
• Schools must identify opportunities for improvement and adjust the EMP where necessary.

Support to develop and maintain an EMP

For detailed guidance on developing and maintaining an EMP, refer to the Guidance tab.

Planning for offsite emergencies (camps and excursions)

Schools must also consider emergency risks and warnings, weather conditions and fire danger ratings when taking students offsite for excursions, overseas trips and camps.

Planning for all offsite activities must be undertaken in accordance with the requirements of the Excursions policy and guidelines.

Schools must use the Student Activity Locator (SAL) (staff login required) to record offsite activities at least five business days prior to the excursion date (and onsite activities outside of normal school hours). In the event of an emergency, the SAL enables swift notification of student locations to first responder agencies.

Drills and debriefs

Drills

All schools must conduct emergency response exercises, also known as drills, at least once every term. Drills are recommended to test either the school’s response to a specific hazard (for example, fire or intruder) that the school site may face, or test core response procedures such as:

• onsite or offsite evacuation
• the shelter-in-place
• locking down (or out).

A drill schedule must be included in the school’s EMP. Performing a range of drill types is highly recommended as this will best prepare schools for real emergencies.

Drills ensure that:

• staff and students are familiar with emergency response procedures, including how to perform delegated roles
• emergency response procedures, evacuation locations and pathways are practical and workable
• problems that may arise are identified and schools take preparatory steps to mitigate them including staff training.

A drill observer is required to document the drill and identify learning opportunities. This could be a school staff member or an external observer such as emergency services or department staff.

Drills for schools on the Bushfire At-Risk Register

In addition to the above requirements for all schools, schools on the Bushfire At-Risk Register (BARR) must conduct drills in Term 1 and Term 4 (during the high-risk weather season) that involve students and staff either moving to a nominated on-site ‘shelter-in-place’ or to an off-site evacuation point, as per the school’s EMP.

Further details and guidance on the department's bushfire and grassfire policy can be found in the Bushfire and Grassfire Preparedness policy.

Debriefs

Debriefs must be held with all staff and the school’s incident management team (IMT) after emergency drills and incidents. Refer to the Emergency and critical incident management planning guide for government schools (PDF) for details on establishing an IMT.

Debriefs must be held as soon as practicable after the incident has been resolved.

Prior to the debrief, consider the potential impact of the incident on participants and provide wellbeing support where necessary. The Managing trauma guide (PDF) includes recovery tools, practical resources to help schools to act following an event, to minimise trauma for students, staff and the school community.

Schools must document outcomes and lessons identified during the debrief, and incorporate any required changes into their EMP. Schools are recommended to use the school incident debrief facilitator guide to perform the debriefs.

Definitions

Emergency
As defined in section 3 of the Emergency Management Act 2013 (Vic.), an emergency is:

The actual or imminent occurrence of an event which in any way endangers or threatens to endanger the safety or health of any person in Victoria or which destroys or damages, or threatens to destroy or damage, any property in Victoria or endangers or threatens to endanger the environment or an element of the environment in Victoria including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing:

• an earthquake, flood, wind-storm or other natural event
• a fire
• an explosion
• a road accident or any other accident
• a plague or an epidemic or contamination
• a security threat
• a hi-jack, siege or riot
• a disruption to an essential service.

These events ordinarily require a coordinated whole of school response.

Incident
An incident is an event or situation that:

• causes harm or creates a risk of causing harm to a student’s health, safety or wellbeing either directly or indirectly while under the care or supervision of the school, including for international students
• impacts a student and is brought to the attention of the school, regardless of when or where it occurred, provided it is impacting on the student or other students within the school environment
• causes harm or creates a risk of causing harm to an employee’s health, safety or wellbeing either directly or indirectly in the work setting
• affects or risks affecting the continuity of school operations, including matters of security (including cyber security), property damage and emergencies
• requires police notification or involves matters of serious conduct
• is a WorkSafe notifiable incident.

Critical incidents include, but are not limited to:

• child abuse
• medical emergency
• mental stress
• data or privacy breach
• missing student/person.

Related policies

• Bushfire and Grassfire Preparedness
• Crime Prevention in Schools
• Excursions
• Physical Security
• PROTECT Child Safe Standards
• Reporting and Managing School Incidents (including emergencies)
• Supervision of Students

Related legislation

• Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic)
• Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (Cth)
• Emergency Management Act 1986 (Vic)
• Emergency Management Act 2013 (Vic)
• Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic)

Contacts

For general queries or feedback about this policy, contact the Security and Emergency Management Division by emailing: emergency.management@education.vic.gov.au

For support in developing or updating an EMP, refer to the Guidance tab.

To report an incident, refer to Managing and Reporting School Incidents (Including Emergencies).

For incidents assessed as High or Extreme, the principal (or delegate) must call the Incident Support and Operations Centre (ISOC) on 1800 126 126.