School Emergency Procedures

How every adult in a school prepares for and responds to emergencies, following the invented Riverbend District School Board in Ontario: the school emergency response plan, hazard ranking and incident command roles, fire safety plans, evacuation routes and the six Fire Code drills, assistance plans for students and staff who need help to get out, lockdown, hold and secure, and hold, shelter in place for hazards in the outside air, tornadoes, lightning, cold, heat and wildfire smoke, medical emergencies including CPR, AEDs, anaphylaxis and seizures, bomb threats, suspicious items and threat assessment, accounting for students and reunification with families, emergency communication with staff, families and the media, and recovery with psychological first aid and blame-free debriefs.

HSE-362 12 lessons · 4 h 9 min

Offered by HSM University · Safety Training

This is the Canadian version of this course. See the American version.

What you'll learn

Explain how a school emergency plan is organized, rank school hazards by likelihood and severity, and describe the incident command roles and alternates that run a response.
Carry out a fire evacuation by primary and secondary routes, keep fire protection working day to day, and plan, time and record evacuation drills.
Write and use individual emergency assistance plans so that students and staff with disabilities, medical conditions or temporary needs get out or reach safety.
Carry out a lockdown, including difficult spaces, a fire alarm during lockdown and the release of rooms, and run lockdown drills that teach without causing fear.
Use hold and secure for threats outside the building and hold for clearing the halls, and manage portables, outdoor spaces and dismissal during these actions.
Shelter in place from hazards in the outside air, including shutting down ventilation and exhaust, sealing rooms, managing long shelters and airing out afterward.
Respond to tornado warnings, lightning, extreme cold, extreme heat and wildfire smoke using watches, warnings, refuge areas and thresholds.
Give the first response to medical emergencies in a school, including CPR and AED use, anaphylaxis, asthma, seizures and other common emergencies.
Receive and report bomb threats and threatening messages, respond safely to suspicious items, and explain how threats made by students are assessed.
Account for every student, staff member and visitor after an evacuation, and carry out an orderly reunification of students with authorized adults.
Communicate during an emergency with staff, emergency services, the school system, families and the media, using redundant channels, logs and templates.
Support recovery with psychological first aid, plan the return to school, debrief without blame, track corrective actions and meet reporting obligations.

Course content

12 lessons · 4 h 9 min total · final exam

1 Emergency plans in schools: hazards, roles and who decides 23 min · quiz
2 Fire safety, alarms and evacuation drills 22 min · quiz
3 Evacuating everyone: students and staff who need assistance 22 min · quiz
4 Lockdown: protecting students from a threat inside 21 min · quiz
5 Hold and secure, and hold: threats outside and clearing the halls 20 min · quiz
6 Shelter in place: hazards in the outside air 20 min · quiz
7 Severe weather: tornadoes, storms, cold, heat and smoke 20 min · quiz
8 Medical emergencies: first aid, AEDs, anaphylaxis and seizures 21 min · quiz
9 Bomb threats, suspicious items and threatening messages 20 min · quiz
10 Accounting for students and reunification 20 min · quiz
11 Communicating in an emergency: staff, families and the media 20 min · quiz
12 After the emergency: recovery, psychological first aid and improving the plan 20 min · quiz
E Final exam 20 questions

Requirements

HSE-360 School Safety Essentials for Staff

Recommended background. You can start any course at any time.