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Emergency or critical incident plan: guidance and examples

Prepare for emergencies by making sure your school has an emergency or critical incident plan detailing how you'll respond to various significant incidents.

Last reviewed on 4 November 2024See updates
School types: All•School phases: All•Ref: 41658
Contents
  1. All schools should plan for emergencies
  2. What incidents should your emergency plan cover?
  3. Prepare your initial response to emergencies
  4. Your plans should aim to minimise disruption to education
  5. Plan what you will do after the emergency
  6. See a template plan and guidance from an LA
  7. See school examples

All schools should plan for emergencies

The aim of the plan (also called a critical incident plan) is to help you and your staff plan for and respond effectively to an emergency on site or during an educational visit.

As you’d expect, safeguarding and promoting the welfare of your pupils is paramount. You must:

  • Continue to follow any statutory safeguarding guidance that applies to you and your setting
  • Comply with legal requirements, including health and safety law

This is explained in the DfE’s non-statutory emergency planning and response guidance.

Make sure you consult members of staff, management boards and governors when developing your emergency plan.

How is an emergency plan different to a business continuity plan?

Your emergency plan should include your initial response to an incident – this will usually involve either evacuating the school or 'invacuating' everyone into the school for protection (more about this below). This initial response is not covered by business continuity plans.