Emergency Plan
Emergency plan (W2- part of documentation 46)
Background information
This document aims to provide some guidance on producing an emergency plan (sometimes referred to as a critical incident policy) to help
staff respond effectively to a range of emergency situations that could occur, in or away from the teaching premises, during and outside lesson
times. Unlike a business continuity plan, which focuses on continuing the operations of the business until it can return to normal, an emergency
plan focuses primarily on the safety and protection of life, preservation of assets and dealing with the human aftermath of the emergency. The
plan should document comprehensive procedures for handling a security or safety emergency on the premises, on excursions or leisure
activities, in the vicinity of the institution, in student accommodation or maybe where students socialise. These procedures should include the
means of verifying the whereabouts and safety of students, group leaders and staff, and communication with group leaders, staff, students,
their parents, and representatives. The plan may also include dealing with the media.
Involve all staff throughout the planning process to gain their support and input, this would include consulting facilities teams at each centre or
premises. If you share space in a premises, coordinate your plan with those of your neighbours and your local council, to make sure it is
compatible. Use risk assessments to help to produce the plan; it is the process of thinking about what risks exist and how you can
reduce/minimise them that is valuable. As the emergency plan must be applicable to a wide range of potential situations, thinking about what
these situations might be is a good starting point. Ask the question 'What can we do to help students and staff stay safe in these situations?' A
comprehensive individual plan is not required for every possible eventuality but procedures in the plan should be applicable to a wide range of
potential situations, including serious injury to a student or member of staff, significant damage to school property, criminal or terrorist activity,
severe weather, fire, public health incidents or the effects of a disaster in the local community.
If the plan has been written for a group of schools, or for a school with multiple premises, additional information may be required to
personalise it with site-specific information for each individual centre.
How much of this policy do I share and with whom?
The whole plan must be known by all staff and relevant elements known to students. Staff should receive the whole policy at induction and
through regular refresher briefings and training. Details about the plan can also be incorporated into or referenced in the staff handbook.
Depending on the relevance of the content, hosts, group leaders and others may need to receive, in writing, key information that concerns
them. Students will benefit from knowing some key elements, probably in simplified and age-appropriate text, so that they know what's
expected of the staff around them, what they should do in an emergency and how they can stay safe. Details of this can once again be given
at induction and included into the student handbook.
Format of this guide.
This document is designed to help you prepare a suitable emergency plan for your ELT organisation (University, College, School, Academy),
for ease of use referred to as “school”. It lists the minimum sections that must be included. This list is not supposed to be a definitive list.
According to your situation, you may wish to add additional sections and information. Each area has associated questions and notes. By
responding to these questions and notes, you can produce content that is appropriate for your organisation. Further information on emergency
planning can be found via the weblinks in appendix A.
Format and accessibility of the emergency plan
The format of the plan should match that of your organisation's other policy documents. However, even though you will have promoted the
content of the plan as much as possible and provided training, remember that the plan may still be needed for reference when an emergency
occurs, and staff are already stressed and looking to quickly find out what they need to do. It must therefore be easily accessible to all staff and
be written using plain English, to make it as easy to read as possible. Some things to consider:
A good content page or index, with page references helps
Use bullet points wherever possible or tabulated information
Flow diagrams or other illustrations may be useful
Templates for recording information or quick reference guides can be added as appendices.
Background information
This document aims to provide some guidance on producing an emergency plan (sometimes referred to as a critical incident policy) to help
staff respond effectively to a range of emergency situations that could occur, in or away from the teaching premises, during and outside lesson
times. Unlike a business continuity plan, which focuses on continuing the operations of the business until it can return to normal, an emergency
plan focuses primarily on the safety and protection of life, preservation of assets and dealing with the human aftermath of the emergency. The
plan should document comprehensive procedures for handling a security or safety emergency on the premises, on excursions or leisure
activities, in the vicinity of the institution, in student accommodation or maybe where students socialise. These procedures should include the
means of verifying the whereabouts and safety of students, group leaders and staff, and communication with group leaders, staff, students,
their parents, and representatives. The plan may also include dealing with the media.
Involve all staff throughout the planning process to gain their support and input, this would include consulting facilities teams at each centre or
premises. If you share space in a premises, coordinate your plan with those of your neighbours and your local council, to make sure it is
compatible. Use risk assessments to help to produce the plan; it is the process of thinking about what risks exist and how you can
reduce/minimise them that is valuable. As the emergency plan must be applicable to a wide range of potential situations, thinking about what
these situations might be is a good starting point. Ask the question 'What can we do to help students and staff stay safe in these situations?' A
comprehensive individual plan is not required for every possible eventuality but procedures in the plan should be applicable to a wide range of
potential situations, including serious injury to a student or member of staff, significant damage to school property, criminal or terrorist activity,
severe weather, fire, public health incidents or the effects of a disaster in the local community.
If the plan has been written for a group of schools, or for a school with multiple premises, additional information may be required to
personalise it with site-specific information for each individual centre.
How much of this policy do I share and with whom?
The whole plan must be known by all staff and relevant elements known to students. Staff should receive the whole policy at induction and
through regular refresher briefings and training. Details about the plan can also be incorporated into or referenced in the staff handbook.
Depending on the relevance of the content, hosts, group leaders and others may need to receive, in writing, key information that concerns
them. Students will benefit from knowing some key elements, probably in simplified and age-appropriate text, so that they know what's
expected of the staff around them, what they should do in an emergency and how they can stay safe. Details of this can once again be given
at induction and included into the student handbook.
Format of this guide.
This document is designed to help you prepare a suitable emergency plan for your ELT organisation (University, College, School, Academy),
for ease of use referred to as “school”. It lists the minimum sections that must be included. This list is not supposed to be a definitive list.
According to your situation, you may wish to add additional sections and information. Each area has associated questions and notes. By
responding to these questions and notes, you can produce content that is appropriate for your organisation. Further information on emergency
planning can be found via the weblinks in appendix A.
Format and accessibility of the emergency plan
The format of the plan should match that of your organisation's other policy documents. However, even though you will have promoted the
content of the plan as much as possible and provided training, remember that the plan may still be needed for reference when an emergency
occurs, and staff are already stressed and looking to quickly find out what they need to do. It must therefore be easily accessible to all staff and
be written using plain English, to make it as easy to read as possible. Some things to consider:
A good content page or index, with page references helps
Use bullet points wherever possible or tabulated information
Flow diagrams or other illustrations may be useful
Templates for recording information or quick reference guides can be added as appendices.
