Evacuation Or Lockdownof Kendall Community Preschool

Evacuation or Lockdownof Kendall Community Preschool

Rationale: The Staff and Management Committee of Kendall Community Preschool believe that in order to provide a safe environment for children and staff, clear, concise plans for the evacuation and the lockdown of the preschool in an emergency is essential.

Policy Statement:In the event of an emergency at Kendall Community Preschool, we may find it necessary to evacuate the preschool building and move everyone on the premises to a safer location. Or, depending on the emergency, it may also be necessary to move all students, staff, volunteers and/or visitors on the premises at the time, INTO the preschool building for safety.

It is important to recognise that in such a situation the judgement and risk assessment may need to be made spontaneously in response to all the factors contributing to the emergency. At all times this judgement will be trusted to, and undertaken by the Supervisor in collaboration with senior staff who possess valuable knowledge and extensive experience with the children and the preschool’s environment.

Practices, Procedures and Strategies: Kendall Community Preschool Evacuation and Lockdown Procedures and maps form part of this Policy and are attached.

The Evacuation and Lockdown Procedures are displayed prominently in the preschool’s foyer/bagroom and at each exit in the main preschool room and the Sunroom bathroom.

An Emergency Warning whistle is located near each exit and in the bagroom near the procedures.

All permanent staff must agree to read and be familiar with the Evacuation and Lockdown Procedures. These Procedures will be discussed and reviewed at Staff Meetings and practise drills will be planned, carried out and evaluated at least once per (school) term (ie. 4 times per year).

The Emergency Evacuation Drill Schedule& Records form part of this Policy and are attached and amended/added to after each Drill as a record of practises and evaluations.

Copies of the Evacuation and Lockdown Procedures will be included in the Staff Handbook, the Committee Member Handbook and in information provided to Volunteers and Student Teachers.

After the evacuation of the preschool, Staff will contact families and inform them of the decisions that have been made and the location of the children for collection.

Parents/carers will sign their child out on the register when the child is collected after an emergency, wherever the group may be located.

After the resolution of any incident at preschool, the Nominated Supervisor will complete a Serious Incident report and this record will be kept as the regulations require (3 years or until an affected child is 25 years of age).

In some instances it may be necessary to inform our Regulatory Authority of a serious incident occurring. The Nominated Supervisor will investigate this within 24 hours of the occurrence, and inform as required.

After any emergency situation at preschool, the Nominated Supervisor and Management Committee will attempt to encourage all staff, families and volunteers that may have been affected by the emergency to get in contact with relevant support agencies.

Further Reading, Support Sources:

Serious Incident at Kendall Preschool policy;
Serious Incident at Kendall Preschool report;
Regulations 168 and 97 in Education and Care Services Regulations 2011;
Risk Assessment Record: Evacuation or Lockdown of Kendall Community Preschool

Policy Review Process & Suggested Frequency: This policy should be reviewed by Staff and the Management Committee when there is a change in governing regulations, in response to new information, if the floor plan or safest evacuation route of the premises changes, as part of ongoing reviews, as desired in the preschool’s Quality Improvement Plan, if a problem is identified during a practise drill, or when deemed necessary by staff and/or the Management Committee due to a breakdown in the efficiency of the procedures.

Acceptance and Approval: This policy has been reviewed and accepted by

Director on behalf of Staff:

Name:………S.Crowle…….. Signature:……………………… Date:…9.5.2012…..

President on behalf of Management Committee:

Name:……S.Cooke……… Signature:……………………..... Date:…22.5.2012….

Last Updated: April, 2012

Notes/future ideas/comments:

Evacuation Procedure:

In the event of an emergency or incident that may require the full evacuation of the main preschool building, the following steps will be followed to ensure a smooth transition by students, staff and any volunteers and/or visitors present at the time, to the evacuation point:

A whistle will be blown in long bursts by a staff member as soon as the emergency situation is notified or noticed.
Teaching staff in the room and the garden will verbally instruct the children to move directly to the carpark gate, ensuring all areas of the room and garden are checked.
The Nominated Supervisoror Supervising Staff memberwill collect the sign-in sheet, emergency contact list, a cordless/mobile phone, check the Office and meet the staff and children at the carpark gate.
Everyone will exit through the gate and move safely to the tree in the SE corner of the carpark. All children will be seated on the grass.
A head count will be conducted by staff to ensure all children and staffare present.
EmergencyServices will be contacted at the earliest practicable moment after the evacuation.
The Nominated Supervisor or Supervising Staff member will call the names of all children on the day’s register.
If a child is found to be missing or unaccounted for, a staff member will attempt (provided it is safe to do so) to discover the child’s whereabouts at preschool.
The Nominated Supervisor or Supervising Staff Member will liaise with Emergency Service Personnel.

All volunteers, students and visitors on the premises are to follow staff instruction, and proceed directly to the gate, then out to the Evacuation point.

Lockdown Procedure:

In the event of an emergency in the playground or local vicinity occurring; such as the discovery of a snake, or dangerous creature (dog etc), or concern over an unidentified person causing a problem near preschool, threats of violence or harm, or an accident etc., the following steps will be taken to bring everyone on the premises INSIDE to the safety of the preschool building.

A whistle will be blown in short, sharp bursts by a staff member as soon as a problem in the outdoors is identified.
Teaching staff will verbally instruct all children, volunteers and visitors on the premises to gather at the Morning Meeting Mat inside the preschool building.

A head count will be conducted by staff to ensure all children and staffare present.
The Nominated Supervisor will lock all external access doors.
EmergencyServices will be contacted at the earliest practicable moment after the Lockdown if deemed necessary.
The Nominated Supervisor or Supervising Staff member will call the names of all children on the day’s register.
If a child is found to be missing or unaccounted for, a staff member will attempt (provided it is safe to do so) to discover the child’s whereabouts at preschool.

All children, staff, volunteers and visitors will remain indoors until the resolution of the emergency situation.
The Nominated Supervisor will use his/her discretion as to whether the students will be kept out of the Sunroom and its bathroom area dependant on the situation.
Staff will complete an incidentreport detailing the incident, and this record will be kept as the regulations require.

All volunteers, students and visitors on the premises are to follow staff instruction, and proceed directly to Morning Meeting Mat inside the main preschool room.

Procedureslast updated: April, 2012.

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