Emergency Preparedness and Safety Management

Lesson 1 – Basic Concepts of Emergency Preparedness and Safety

I. Topics

A. Basic Concepts of Emergency Preparedness and Safety

I. Definition of emergency
II. Definition of emergency Preparedness
III. Components / Phases of emergency preparedness
IV. School safety
V. Risks and hazards in the school environment

II. Learning Objectives

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

1. Demonstrate in-depth understanding of emergency preparedness and school safety;

2. Demonstrate understanding on the phases of emergency preparedness; and
3. Demonstrate competencies in identifying risks and hazards in school.

III. Content

1. Emergency
 The World Health Organization defines an emergency as the state in which normal procedures are
interrupted, and immediate measures (management) need to be taken to prevent it from becoming a
disaster, which is even harder to recover from.
 Republic Act 10121 defines emergency as - unforeseen or sudden occurrence,
especially danger, demanding immediate action.
 A serious, unexpected, and often dangerous situation requiring immediate action.
 An unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that calls for immediate action.

"your quick response in an emergency could be a lifesaver"

2. "Emergency Management" - the organization and management of resources and responsibilities for
addressing all aspects of emergencies, in particular preparedness, response and initial recovery steps.

3. Emergency Preparedness
 Emergency preparedness aims to reduce the effect of destruction caused by unexpected situations
like accidents, fire, sabotage, spills, explosions, natural disasters, terrorist activities and medical
emergencies.

 It includes a series of actions to be taken in the case of such emergencies. It shows the
preventive actions, preparation to meet adverse situations, how to mitigate them and how to
have positive controls during that situation to save lives and reduce property damage.

 Emergency preparation is carried out by governments, organizations, families and individuals.

This planning is best conducted before emergency situations occur.

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  These plans are important for your safety in both natural disasters and man-made disasters.

Examples of natural disasters are floods, blizzards, tornadoes and earthquakes. Man-made disasters
can include explosions, fires, chemical and biological attacks.

Emergency Preparedness in a School Context

Providing a safe, thriving environment for students to learn and staff to work is the foremost goal of any
school setting. Creating a safe environment that facilitates learning can be a challenging task. School
administrators and emergency managers must work together to create healthy school climates, effective
intervention and crisis plans that prepare staff and students for emergencies.

Schools have their share of school emergencies. In recent years, natural disasters such as floods, fires and
typhoons have impacted daily school operations. Schools have also been affected by rare, but tragic acts of
violence including; school shootings, assaults and suicides. These events have reinforced the need for schools
to prepare for potential crises and facilitate safe and healthy learning environments for all students and staff.

Phases of Emergency Preparedness

Prevention/Mitigation
 Incorporates activities, which eliminate or reduce the probability of a disaster occurring on-site.

Examples: Programs aimed at preventing students from engaging in harmful behaviors, including social
problem-solving or life skills programs, anti-bullying programs and school-wide discipline efforts.

Preparedness/Planning
 Includes activities necessary to ensure a high degree of readiness so that response to an incident
would be swift and effective.

Response
 Measures taken during an incident, which minimize damage to the facility and surrounding areas
and prevent the loss of life.

Recovery
 Contains those short and long term activities, which return all systems to normal operations.

School safety
Providing a safe, thriving environment for students to learn and staff to work is the foremost goal of any
school setting. Creating a safe environment that facilitates learning can be a challenging task. School
administrators and emergency managers must work together to create healthy school climates, effective
intervention and crisis plans that prepare staff and students for emergencies.
School emergency planning directs staff and student preparation and response. Knowing how to
respond during a crisis helps everyone remain calm, understand their role, and act as safely and efficiently as
possible. Emergency planning must include all risks, crises, and emergencies schools may encounter.
Developing and maintaining a safe school environment is the responsibility of the entire school
community, including families. Families trust schools to keep their children safe during the day and expect
school staff to be properly equipped to handle emergencies. Working with teachers, principals and staff,
parents/guardians can provide resources and assistance to support school emergency preparedness.

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 Successful preparations and response lead to a more resilient recovery and restoration of the school’s
learning environment.

Risks and Hazards in the School Environment

Risk- relates to an assessment of hazards that can lead to the harm, injury, death, or illness of a worker/learner
in a determined workplace/school.

Hazards- is any source of potential damage, harm or adverse health effects on something or someone.

Common Risks and Hazards in Schools:

1. Electrical wire running through the school campus.
2. Chemical Accident/ explosion in chemistry lab
3. LPG cylinder blast in the Home Science Lab
4. Fire
5. Vehicular accident
6. High rise building and stairs
7. Library
8. School collapse in earthquake
9. Flood in School
10. Typhoon
11. Earthquake
12. Food poisoning in School
13. Construction and renovation
14. Pandemic
15. Violence
16. Gym facilities
17. Open Swimming Pool

The goals of school safety are:

• To protect learners and education workers from death, injury, and harm in schools
• To plan for educational continuity in the face of expected hazards
• To safeguard education sector investments
• To strengthen climate-smart disaster resilience through education

Guide Questions:

1. What is Emergency?
2. What is Emergency Preparedness?
3. Identify the components/Phases of Emergency Preparedness
4. What is School Safety?
5. What are the risks and hazards in the school environment?

IV. Self-Test

1. What are the key points in the module?

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2. Based on your readings, how can you apply the content from this module to your daily life?
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3. What insights did the module provide in your course?

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4. How has class discussion influenced your thinking on this module?

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5. How can the learnings in this module improve your role in your school, family, and community?
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V. Post Test
Project/Output Based Assessment
Part 1. Concept map
Create a concept map on the concepts of emergency preparedness and safety. Kindly use separate sheet.

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Part2. Info graphic
Make an info graphic on risk and hazards in school. Kindly use separate sheet.

Rubrics
Concept Map Rubric

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 Source: https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/sites/ca.centre-for-teaching-excellence/files/
uploads/files/rubric_for_assessing_concept_maps.pdf

Infographic Rubric

5 4 3 2 1

Design  Layout is  Generally  Layout could  Layout is  No

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 organized good layout use disorganized layout or
and uses  Has minor improvement , no obvious scheme
 Layout consistent inconsistenc  Two or more organization —just
 Color style y or one inconsistent  Layout random
Scheme  Color distracting elements distracts elements
 Fonts scheme has element  Hard to read from content , colors,
visual  Color fonts  Color and
appeal and scheme  Layout scheme is fonts
works with clashes distracts from confusing
content content
 Fonts are
legible and
consistent
Content  Appropriat  One or two  Not enough  Lacking in  No real
e terms, terms or terms, vocab, appropriate data or
vocab, jargon used jargon terminology facts are
 Terms, Facts jargon incorrectly  Data is sparse  Not enough present
 Quantity of defined and or without  Data might not facts or data
data used explanation not  Data is from
 Quality of  More than  Adequate demonstrate poor or
data enough amount of the trend or questionable
data to data claim source
make  Data  Data from
claims demonstrate good source
 Data trend, claim,
clearly etc
demonstrat  Data from
e trend, good source
claim, etc
 Data from
good
source
Clarity  Claim,  Claim, main  Claim, main  Infographic  Claim,
main idea idea is idea is made makes a main
 Makes a is obvious understanda  Some graphics poor initial idea is
claim and easy to ble or visuals are impression missing
 Efficiency understand  No unneeded  Confusing
 Makes clear  No unnecessary
impression unnecessar graphics or
y graphics visuals
or visuals
 Infographic
makes a
good initial
impression
Representation  Design  Design  Visualizations  Design and  Design
elements elements are fit the data and visuals are at elements
 Design are clearly clearly the claim odds with and
complements informed informed by the content visuals
content by content content or claims convey a
 Visuals  Visualizatio being made meaning

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  Careful show ns fit the contrary
choice of connection data and the to the
visuals to content claim intent
and create a
 Data
visual flow
visualization  Visualizati
matches ons fit the
content and data and
claim the claim
Source: http://science-infographics.org/general-infographic-rubric/
References

Books
1. Bhardwaj, A. (2004). A complete guide to family safety and first-aid. New Delhi, Indi: Goodwill
Publishing House.
2. Hales, D. (2005). An invitation to health: 11th edition. Australia: Belhont, California,
Wadsworth.
3. Karren, K. J. et al. (2004). First aid for colleges and universities: Eight edition. San Francisco,
CA: Pearson Education, Inc.
4. National Safety Council. (2007). First aid taking action. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Online Supplementary Reading Material

1. Disaster Safety Education Procedures and Tools. Retrieved on April 15, 2021, from
http://www.preventionweb.net/files/8082_DSEQIKitFirstAidManual.pdf
2. First Aid and Medical Articles. Retrieved on April 18, 2021, from
http://www.realfirstaid.co.uk/first-aid-medical-articles/
3. First Aid Guide and Emergency. Retrieved on April 18, 2021, from
http://www.webmd.com/first-aid/
4. Emergency Preparedness. Retrieved from https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/emergencypreparedness/
5. Comprehensive School Safety. Retrieved from
http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/SC/pdf/Comprehensive_school_safet
y.pdf
6. School Safety. Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/VibhaChoudhary/school-safety-plan-
part-ii

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