School Safety Precautions for Staff and Students
Cameras, and safety equipment, like the SmartBoot, can do a lot when it comes to keeping our kids safe at school. However, school safety precautions go beyond the equipment. Educating the staff and students on how to identify and react during a potential threat should also be a priority.
Safety Precautions for School Administration
Safety begins with the school’s administration.
1. Invest in training and education.
School administrators should provide opportunities for the faculty to practice drills, ask questions, and make suggestions based on their experiences. The faculty must be equipped with the skills and knowledge to confidently lead during an emergency while still maintaining the freedom to make decisions that best suit each situation.
2. Establish an ID entrance policy.
The best school safety precaution is to end a threat before it can begin. Threats can be lessened and even eliminated at the door with an ID entrance policy. A policy such as this requires that only those who have a school ID will be allowed inside the facility. This process secures the main entrance and creates a strategic step toward school safety.
3. Encourage students to be proactive.
Keeping the students engaged with the faculty and their studies is a key component of school safety. All students are helpers when it comes to school safety. They may see and know things that faculty members are not privy to and can alert the proper staff members to the possibility of a threat. A student is more likely to help in this area if they feel the faculty is approachable and has a positive and helpful attitude toward all the students.
4. Secure the doors and windows.
An obvious mechanism for safety and security are locks on doors and windows. Since these can keep out threats and secure a room of students and faculty, it is important that locks should be easy to reach and use.
5. Communicate the importance of security.
School faculty should be shown how important the security of their school is, as well as, how important they are to gaining and keeping that security. Impress on them the importance of drilling and knowing how to secure the students if there is an incident.
School Safety Precautions for Students
1. Travel in groups.
It is true that there is safety in numbers, so each student should make that a motto. Not only are you less likely to be a target when traveling in a group, there will be others to help you during an adverse situation.
2. Familiarize yourself with the school layout.
A true sense of safety comes when you know where you are at all times. All students should be encouraged to walk around the school facility and learn the halls, the exits, and each room location for ease of access.
3. Stay aware of your surroundings.
It is important to be watchful and to note anything out of the ordinary. A student who is encouraged to know the school facility along with its safety precautions will be more cognizant of things that should be reported. This knowledge of surroundings could eliminate a threat.
4. Report suspicious activity.
Students should be encouraged and invited to report any activity they think is suspicious. A school should create a procedure for taking reports on suspicious activities and how they deal with them.
5. Avoid negative behavior toward other students.
It can be a difficult task, but it is absolutely necessary that no negative behavior be allowed toward any student. Students should be encouraged to refrain from bullying of any kind and all classes, talks, or education resources should be implemented to help eliminate bullying in schools.
Additional Tips for School Safety
A safe and well-equipped school will seek out any service or procedure that ensures the safety and security of faculty and students. Along with implementing safety precautions for faculty and students, a school may choose to install a lockout system such as the SmartBoot School Lockdown System by LockOut USA.
The SmartBoot offers the faculty and students an audio and visual connection to staff and first responders even while the building is in lockdown. It is a simple mechanism that will trigger a lockdown of the entire facility, alert police and school security, and give everyone peace of mind. The SmartBoot is an excellent option for those who deem school security as a priority.
If you have any further questions regarding school lockdowns or the LockOut SmartBoot System, do not hesitate to call us today. Your safety is our priority.
