95% of schools have stated they maintained school safety by doing things like locking the school doors to keep track of everyone in and out of the school. Whether required by your county or not, there needs to be a security plan in place to ensure all staff and students remain safe when they’re in the building.
Here’s a brief guide on how to develop a school safety plan.
Implement a Timeline
Table of Contents
You need to create a timeline to have the school safety plan completed and consider the requirements for your state. By adhering to a timeline, you can ensure that all changes to the plan and needed updates are made ahead of time.
You should begin by drafting a plan and then sending it off to be reviewed before the plan is finalized. Before finalizing the plan, don’t forget to complete a walk-through and then move forward by presenting the plan to your school board.
Include Maps
As you create your school safety plan, don’t forget to include detailed maps and floor plans of the school.
All the exit paths should be marked so that anyone reviewing the safety plan understands different methods of exiting the building or areas that teachers should secure.
List Materials
Next don’t forget to list the materials and different pieces of equipment to use during various emergencies. For example, if someone gets hurt, the plan should detail where a staff member or student can locate the first aid kit.
The materials should also feature a list of contacts to reach out to in the event of an emergency. If you need new radios, you can find push to talk radios here.
Detail Staff Roles & Responsibilities
Whenever there is an emergency, the roles and responsibilities of each staff member should be detailed to improve school safety. This ensures you don’t miss a step, and every student is accounted for during these emergencies.
Include Safety Policy Copies
The largest part of your school safety plan should be the policies and procedures used during emergencies. The safety plan needs to include copies of the policies and safety procedures. These policies include:
- Safety training and scheduled drills
- Plan to reunite students with their parents
- Response to natural disasters
- How to respond to threats or acts of violence
These are just a few of the policies to include in the plan, but there are more depending on the location and needs of your school.
In-Depth Intervention Plan
The best way to keep your school safe and ensure school security is at the top of its game is to have an intervention plan. These plans are to mitigate the chances of problems occurring.
How do you plan to address a safety concern before it escalates? What is the procedure for reporting a safety issue?
Creating a School Security Plan
As you create a school security plan, there are several things to consider. Don’t forget to include all the materials needed for when an emergency takes place and detail your prevention plan.
School security is important because your students and staff need a safe place to learn and teach. Want more need-to-know information? Continue scrolling through this section.
