In June, national media reported that some schools were spending thousands of dollars on private consultants who develop lockdown protocols. As the number of perceived threats and risks rises, so does the pressure on schools to develop their emergency strategies.
It’s hard to determine whether the number of schools going into lockdown is rising nationwide as the Ministry of Education doesn’t keep an official record of school lockdowns. Schools are not required to report them to any agency.
The Ministry of Education says that each school board is responsible for planning and implementing its procedures to follow in the event of an emergency, including lockdowns. This means schools develop procedures that are appropriate for their own school community and operating environment.
“We provide information and guidance to schools to help them develop appropriate emergency procedures,” the Ministry of Education says.
As such, schools must create lockdown plans themselves, which can be a daunting task. Schools are required to have emergency protocols in place, but specialised assistance demands limited resources.
One organisation providing such services is Harrison Tew. Established in 2010, their aim is to address “the widespread poor planning and lack of training and support for schools in their emergency planning and response”, as their website reads.
Their website includes several testimonials from school leaders, pleased with their services. Developing a site-specific lockdown, crisis management and emergency response plan for your school with such an organisation is one option for schools.
The Impact of Threats
In September, a threatening email plunged two Auckland Muslim schools into lockdown. The Federation of Islamic Associations (FIANZ) said in a press release they were “particularly concerned about the welfare, well-being, and the trauma experienced by the students at the schools, their parents, teachers, staff, and the wider community.”
FIANZ expressed concerns about how “the government has defunded, deprioritized and dismantled many of the key national security framework components of the Royal Commission”.
Government moves to dismantle national security components lead to wider discussion about how changes in policy affect all schools, particularly minority communities.
Developing effective lockdown emergency plans is a complex challenge that involves more than just planning for physical safety. Schools must consider student and staff wellbeing, communication, and maintaining calm during emergencies.
Frequent lockdowns and anticipation of emergencies takes a mental toll on the entire school community. Managing the trauma associated to these events and the long-term impacts on learning also matters.
Questions To Ask
The Ministry of Education provides the following checklist to help educators plan and prepare for an emergency.
1. Have we prepared an emergency management plan?
2. Have we selected an incident management team (IMT) and assigned key roles to staff?
3. Have we ensured our IMT have had training? (For example, understand their role, undertaken drills and practice scenarios)
4. Have we developed a communication plan which identifies who we need to communicate with and how?
5. Have we developed an emergency reunification procedure to reunite children, students and families?
6. Have we included transport management in our planning?
7. Are we conducting an assessment of our school or early learning service environment on a regular basis to identify and assess new risks?
8. Are backup systems in place so that information is securely stored in more than one place in case of damage in an emergency?
9. Do we have emergency response warning systems in place to alert staff, children and students when evacuation or lockdown/shelter in place is required?
10. Is our evacuation equipment kit up to date and readily accessible?
11. Are we carrying out practice drills on a regular basis appropriate for our risk environment?
12. Do we have a reasonable and appropriate amount of food/water/medicine?
13. Have we reviewed our plan and assessed the effectiveness of our procedures and actions?
14. Is emergency preparedness a standing agenda item along with health and safety, at meetings?
