SCHOOL SAFETY WORKSHOP OPENS Friday 19th October 2012
The National Office of Disaster Services (NODS) is facilitating continued efforts towards the development of safety plans in all schools around the island.
Approximately 30 educators are engaged in a three-day workshop at NODS being facilitated by a three-member disaster consulting team working with the US Office for Foreign Disaster Assistance (USOFDA).
The government primary and secondary school educators are expected to be provided with the knowledge and skills to guide the promotion, design, development and systematization of safety plans. Such a document will have specific objectives aimed at the prevention and mitigation of risks as well as the preparedness of a school to adequately respond to adverse events such as violent behaviour, floods, earthquakes, fire among others.
The workshop is a follow-up to a meeting held in April with school representatives and Ministry of Education officials.
At the end of the workshop on Friday, an evacuation exercise will be conducted at a school to be completed within a few minutes.
Following the development of a policy, the Ministry of Education is expected to lead the effort to have all schools develop and execute their plans with the involvement of students, staff and the community.
It is hoped that the school safety plans can harmonize with the child-friendly school programme being promoted by UNICEF.
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