Safety Training Is Crucial To Keep Educational Institutions Ready For Emergencies

By Olive Furnace


Students and teachers enter school buildings every day believing that they are safe. This can only be true if a school is prepared for emergencies. That is why safety training is so vital at educational institutions. Providing a safe environment is the responsibility of school administrators.

One way to be prepared is to examine the ability of the institution to deal with emergencies. Security experts, such as law enforcement officials have to be called in to help with this. Once they have achieved the level of safety they want, school authorities are left with the task of making sure this is maintained.

It is very necessary that a team be put in place for emergency situations. This unit should include teachers as well as representatives from the police and medical staff. They will have to make sure that a floor plan of the school is available. Knowledge of the area layout may prove to be crucial in a crisis.

An annual training program for all safety officials as well as teaching and administrative staff has to be in place. Staff and students should be made aware of potential hazards of all equipment in the classroom and other areas of the school. The addition of new items implies additional instruction on how to use them safely. Additional education may be needed for unforeseen problems.

Students should also become part of a security awareness culture at the school by receiving the necessary education. It should be included in the curriculum as a subject or part of a subject. Attention should be given the fire dangers, fist aid and how to act in case of an attack on the school.

School administrators should work alongside the federal and state community to ensure that a complete safety training program is in place. All schools need to be prepared for any crisis, be it a terrorist attack or a fire, in order to minimize any suffering and trauma that can be incurred.




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