School Safety
Children spend 6 - 8 hours in school.
Therefore, it is essential to ensure a safe and healthy environment in school for children, teachers, and other staff members. School safety is a creating safe environment for children, starting from their homes to their school and back. It includes physical, social, emotional, and cyber safety and e111ergency preparedness. It is necessary to build mutual relationships between students, teachers, and student-teachers as well as a safe and secure environment.
School safety also includes safety from any kind of abuse, violence, and psycho-social issues as well as disasters. School disaster risks can be mitigated by identifying the risks earlier and applying appropriate ways of management.
Identification of School Hazards and its Mapping
We can identify the possible school hazards (inside and surrounding the school) through the interaction and participation of stakeholders. These hazards can be mapped. The school should prepare a school safety plan with the help of identified and mapped hazards. By implementing the plan, the disaster risks can be minimized. School disaster risk reduction measures should be displayed in the appropriate place so that people can read them easily. Different awareness programs such as interaction, interviewing, lecturing by experts, dra- matization, etc. should be launched from time to time. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare the school safety plan and implement it effectively.
School and Playground Safety Measures
A safe and secure environment is an essential requirement for effective teaching and learning. Therefore, schools were declared as a zone of peace. For school safety, the school buildings and playgrounds need to be safe and secured. Some safety measures for schools and playgrounds are as follows:
➣There should be windows and doors to allow enough air and light to pass in the classrooms.
➣There should be different types of play materials in lower classes- es according to the ages of the students.
➣The play materials should be managed well in the proper places. The damaged materials should be repaired in time.
➣The playground should be kept smooth and the holes are to be filled.
➣The outdoor games should be played in an open and safe ground. The doobo grass should be planted on the ground.
➣Dangers on the playground such as stones, bricks, bottles, and other sharp objects should be managed properly.
➣The compound wall of the school needs to be strong and safe.
➣First aid should be available for general injuries and accidents in the school.
➣There should be a friendly environment between students and teachers.
➣Extra-curricular activities and other regular activities should be promoted in the schools.
Safety Measures During Disaster
Disaster is a serious disruption to the functioning of a community is caused by natural, manmade, or technological factors. Fire, hurricanes, floods, landslides, earthquakes, etc. are examples of disasters. The disaster risks can be reduced through systematic efforts before the disaster, during the disaster, and after the disaster phases. Wewilllearnthewaysof keeping safe from the fire before the fire, during the fire period, and after the fire. Fire is often caused by human errors. Fire hazard is caused in Nepal by cooking, and organizing picnics gathering in open places, and preparing clay pots in an oven. Fire hazards can be controlled by turning off the regulator of the gas cylinder after the task is over, turning the oven off after cooking, and keeping matches and lighters far from the access of the children.
There should be proper management of road infrastructure for the rival of a fire brigade, ambulances, etc. Fire extinguishers should be installed in the public buildings. Skilled and well-equipped human resources and necessary equipment should be ready for twenty-four hours. If there is a fire outbreak in the community, we should timely inform respective institutions and persons. We should take a shelter in safe place at first. If there is a fire outbreak in the house, we try to go out safely from the house. We must try our best to rescue all the family members safely. We should first priority to get out of the house. Let domestic animals get free.
We should control fire outbreaks anyhow even by damaging a portion of a house. We should make a combined effort to control it. We should dial 101 for necessary information and help. We should manage first aid and take injured people to the health institution for treatment. For people who lose their houses and whole property, we should help them with their shelter, food, and clothes.