Abstract
In an emergency, schools are responsible for the safety of students until they can be reunited with their families. This study explored emergencies (i.e. bomb threat, a flood, and an earthquake) in three case study schools in New Zealand. Within each case, a selection of stakeholders (i.e. school leaders, staff, and parents) shared their experiences of responding to emergency events in the school. Lessons from participants’ experiences established factors before, during, and after an emergency that contribute to an effective response. Foremost among those factors was the importance of prior preparation. The study also identified recurring response activities, irrespective of emergency type, which enabled the development of a six-stage model of an effective school-based emergency response. The stages are: (1) Alerts; (2) Safety behaviours; (3) Response actions; (4) Student release/Family reunification; (5) Temporary school closure; and (6) Business as usual. The present study contributes to our understanding of research investigating how schools respond to emergencies and therefore seeks to enhance school safety efforts.
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Notes
School decile ratings reflect the socio-economic status (SES) of the surrounding community and influence government funding to the school. In decile one schools, a higher proportion of the students come from low SES backgrounds, while decile 10 schools have a lower proportion (Ministry of Education 2017).
This parent had previous experience as a principal in another school, and as such, was more aware of the need for up-to-date contact details than other parents may be.
The “turtle” is a safety behaviour in which the individual crouches down on the ground and covers his or her head and neck with their arms, like a turtle (New Zealand ShakeOut, n.d.).
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Tipler, K., Tarrant, R., Tuffin, K. et al. Learning from experience: emergency response in schools. Nat Hazards 90, 1237–1257 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-017-3094-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-017-3094-x