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Under the Education and Training Act 2020, the school board must make sure school is a physically and emotionally safe place for all students and staff.
An emergency plan for the workplace is required under the Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016.
Learn more about health and safety responsibilities for schools.
Health and safety responsibilities for schools
Making and maintaining an emergency plan
The board must maintain and keep the emergency management plan up to date. It needs to be shared with whānau | parents and caregivers.
The emergency management plan must have:
- details of roles and responsibilities
- evacuation procedures
- procedures for notifying emergency service organisations
- communication plan for families and support services
- medical treatment and assistance procedures.
Our guide provides practical information for school emergency management plans.
Planning and preparing for emergenciesUse this emergency management template to help your school prepare an emergency management plan.
Emergency management plan templatePandemic plan
Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, school boards have to manage potential or real outbreaks of communicable disease. These include influenza, measles and Covid-19.
Pandemic guide for schools and kuraMataara
We use emergency contact tool Mataara to connect with schools as quickly and simply as possible.
We will text message and email your emergency cellphone number and email address if there is an emergency in your area. You must let us know if your contact details change.
The text comes from 8707. This number will only be used by us.
You can then reply to us with the status of your school. The text message and email will have instructions on how to do this. You cannot text us first.
If we don’t hear back from you, we will quickly follow up to check on you.
Share school information with Police
Police use a tool called Realtime Intelligence for Operational Deployment (RIOD). This helps them to respond to your school quickly if needed.
To have your school information added to RIOD, you can send them:
- school contact details, including important cellphone numbers
- the school emergency management plan
- the school's site plan, including a helicopter landing site and where keys are kept
- shelter-in-place or lockdown procedures.
Plans will be saved securely and geotagged in the RIOD tool.
Email plans to: plans@police.govt.nz
For more information, contact your local Police: schools@police.govt.nz
Mōhiohio anōMore information
If you need help with your emergency management plan, contact your regional office.
