General Safety Procedures in the School

Students in schools are generally safe during the day, but some unforeseen circumstances can put them at risk. When these events happen, it is important for the school to have a set of safety procedures in place to help encourage the safety of the students and faculty during unsafe times. There are a number of natural disasters and other dangers that pose a threat to schools and many schools have a general set of procedure in place for some or all of those potentially dangerous situations.

Weather And Natural Disaster Safety

• Severe weather or natural disasters can strike at any time and often happen without warning. Tornadoes and earthquakes are unpredictable occurrences that schools often prepare for using drills so students and teachers will know how to react.

  The tornado drill, for example, often consists of a quick and calm movement of students into hallways, where they sit against sturdy walls and cover their heads with books in the event of flying broken glass. Students practice this procedure so they will know what to do and not panic in the event of a real storm. The same principle applies to earthquake drills, but students are usually instructed to get under desks and cover their heads until the drill is over.

Fire

• Unlike natural disaster drills that typically involve the students staying inside, the threat of fire requires an evacuation procedure. Schools practice fire safety procedures by drills as well. Most procedures involve the calm lining up of students, the completion of a head count by the classroom teacher and a quick walk outdoors in an area clear of any potential danger. Often this is a parking lot, playground of athletic field.

Security Lockdown

• Lockdown procedures are used to protect those inside the school from a potential outside threat. These procedures may be put into action when a violent crime is reported to be taking place near the school, an escaped convict is spotted in the area or there is a threat of an attack on the school from a gunman or other threat.

  A standard lockdown procedure has not been developed nationwide, but it is something the United States Internet Crime Task Force advocates. These procedures typically involve the closing and guarding of all entrances to prevent anyone from either entering or exiting the building.

Bomb Threats

• When a bomb threat is called in to a school, immediate action must be taken to protect the population of the school in the rare event that it is a real threat. In addition to a call to police, these procedures typically resemble the fire procedure in which all students and faculty are accounted for and are evacuated from the building.