Emergency and contingency planning and response

In developing these plans and responses to incidents, schools are expected to have due regard to maintaining oversight of vulnerable and EHCP learners, especially where normal school days are impacted.

A DCC Model emergency plan (HS17) is available for maintained schools to customise, to help with logging and managing emergencies.   Academy Schools subscribing to DCC Health and Safety Team will have access to the HSA17 model plan. 

Please note that support from DCC Health and Safety Team is available to schools purchasing an SLA.  Support and information for subscribing schools is available via OSHENS. To access this, you will need to enter your OSHENS (health and safety) username and password. 

If you wish to purchase the service please contact healthandsafety@devon.gov.uk for more information. 

The guidance on this page will support schools in implementing their emergency plan, and where necessary, reporting school closures or critical incidents to Devon County Council. 

Please note: emails or calls to the Schools emergency helpline and Schools Emergency mailbox are no longer monitored – alternative contacts are detailed in the relevant guidance section. Page layout option 1 – 

Every school and academy has a primary user account to access the My account area of DCC’s school’s website. This is where any closures need to be submitted, using the emergency closures form. You have the option to report a partial closure (for example, part of the campus is closed but the rest is open), or a full closure, where the whole school or academy is closed.

How to log in

• The primary user name to access My account area is your school’s seven digit DfE number.
• User accounts are linked to your school’s main email account* (as displayed on the school database) – any password reset requests will go to this email.

*Please don’t amend this main school email address to an individual’s email address. You can request additional accounts if required.

If your school’s email address has changed, it is ok for you to update this, which you can do when logged in. You also need to let the Education systems team know so that they can update the school’s database.

Additional user accounts

If you need additional users to have access, for example school leader, business manager or administrator, please complete the Request extra user account form and these will be set up for you.

Reporting multiple school or academy closures

If your school or academy is part of a group, for example a Federation or MAT, we can arrange for your primary user account to be linked to multiple schools. This will allow you to report more than one school closure, without having to log-in multiple times.

If this would be helpful please email a specific request to digitalcomms@devon.gov.uk, listing the schools or academies you would like to have access to.

If the school needs to temporarily close or close early during the day, you will need to make arrangements regarding any school transport.

School Transport colleagues have access to the School Closures website alerts. Please contact your Transport Co-ordination Officer in the first instance, with a proposed time of closure. The Transport Coordination Service (TCS) will need as much notice as possible but, ideally 1-2 hours, to allow o that contractors  get hold of drivers and then to make their way to the school or college. All contractors will be contacted by TCS to make sure transport is available to run early. School or college must ensure parents will be home to receive pupils at the earlier time.

Once finalised, please upload the school closure on the DCC schools webpage.

Pupils should be checked onto transport and extra care taken to ensure that they board the correct route since contractors may not be able to provide the same vehicle at short notice that they had in the morning.

Notify your Transport Co-ordination Officer if a school transport child is stranded at school (unless parents brought them into school that morning).

It may be that school transport contractors themselves request an early pick up from school if bad weather is forecast or is starting to deteriorate. Your school or college will be notified of this at the earliest opportunity by TCS.

How to get current route information

Via the school and route closures webpage, which is updated by Transport Officers and contractors at the earliest opportunity. This shows any known route cancellations or amendments and can be accessed by parents or schools.

Call or email your Transport Co-ordination Officer (TCO) on the usual number or email address (office manned from 7.30-8.00am) or via the call centre on 0345 155 1019.

Alternatively, if you cannot get a response from your usual TCO please email the team mailbox: schooltransportservicequeries-mailbox@devon.gov.uk

During working hours, the local authority should be informed of such an incident via Simon Niles, Head of Education Strategy & Central Operations on 01392 383149,  and via schoolspriorityalerts-mailbox@devon.gov.uk  

For maintained schools, in the event of an emergency site issue resulting in damage to school buildings, schools should contact their local Built Environment Team (BET) officer if they require support, for example significant storm damage, no heating, flood event. 

• Exeter and East Devon – michael.kerr@devon.gov.uk  01392 383000 
• Teignbridge and South Hams – megan.andrews@devon.gov.uk  01392 383000 
• North Devon and Torridge – paula.mccree@devon.gov.uk  01392 383000 
• Mid and West Devon – george.feltham@devon.gov.uk  01392 383000 

BET mailbox – highway.builtenvironmentteamenquiries-mailbox@devon.gov.uk 

South West Norse helpline:  01392 351000 (Office hours) | 07826 858727 (Out of hours emergencies)  

South West Norse will support all schools but will charge those not in the Devon Maintenance Partnership (DMP). 

The Maintenance Panel Agreement (MPA) consists of vetted suppliers and is managed by DCC Procurement. Schools can have a Login and use it to search for contractors for a range of works. Please contact the Standing List of Approved Contractors (SLoAC) and MPA mailbox – procure.contractorstandinglist-mailbox@devon.gov.uk for access and enquiries.   

Notify the local authority via Simon Niles, Head of Education Strategy & Central Operations  01392 383149 and via schoolspriorityalerts-mailbox@devon.gov.uk

If the school needs to close this must be reported through the school closures webpage.

Assess the risk to the health, safety and welfare of all onsite pupils, staff and visitors.

Contact your network operator to report the power cut, either by calling 105 or via their other available channels and to enquire when power is likely to be restored.  If the supply is likely to be affected for a long period it might be possible to make arrangements for a generator.

Switch off all electrical appliances that shouldn’t be left unattended, ready for when the power comes back on.  Leave a light on so you know when the power outage has been resolved.

Contact your school meal provider, or kitchen manager to discuss arrangements for school meals.

Close the school, if necessary, the decision to close the school is usually made by the Head teacher and Governors.

If the school needs to close this must be reported through the school closures webpage.

1. 1. Assess the risk to the health, safety and welfare of all onsite pupils, staff and visitors.
   2. Contact SW Water:  To enquire when the supply is likely to be restored.  The SWW Service Helpline contact number is: 0344 346 2020
   3. If supply is likely to be affected for a long period it may be possible for a Water Bowser to be delivered to ensure that toilets are regularly flushed, manually by buckets and pupils & staff have access to adequate hand washing facilities.
   4.  You may need to request additional hours from your facilities management team or caretaker to assist with these duties.
   5. Contact your school meal provider, or kitchen manager to discuss arrangements for school meals.
   6. Arrange for bottled water to be distributed to pupils and staff.
   7. Close the school, if necessary. The decision to close the school is usually made by the Head teacher and Governors.

If the school needs to close this must be reported through the school closures webpage.

1. 1. If not done already, turn off the water at the main building supply stopcock.
   2. Switch off all electrical appliances, if safe to do so, where they are at risk of coming into contact with the escaping water.
   3. Assess the risk to the health, safety and welfare of all onsite pupils, staff and visitors.
   4. Contact the school maintenance provider to arrange for the repair work to be carried out. For those schools who contract Devon Maintenance Partnership (DMP) the contact details are:
      South West Norse Help line: 07826 858727 (Out of hours emergencies) | 01392 351000 (Office hours)
      South West Norse will support all schools but will charge those not in the DMP.
   5. Contact SW Water to enquire if a Water Bowser can be delivered to ensure that toilets are regularly flushed, manually by buckets and pupils and staff have access to adequate hand washing facilities. The SWW Service Helpline contact number is: 0344 346 2020
   6. You may need to request additional hours from your facilities management team or caretaker to assist with these duties.
   7. Contact your school meal provider, or kitchen manager to discuss arrangements for school meals.
   8. Arrange for bottled water to be distributed to pupils and staff.

If the school cannot safely remain open,this must be reported through the school closures webpage.

1. Contact the police and report break in. Do not touch anything until the police arrive onsite.
2. Assess the risk to the health, safety and welfare of all onsite pupils, staff and visitors.
3. Make a record of the damage caused, including taking photographic records, if possible.  Access the asbestos register (if there is one) to assess if asbestos has been damaged.
4. Contact the school insurance company, if appropriate.
5. The local authority can be informed of such an incident via: schoolspriorityalerts-mailbox@devon.gov.uk
6. If the school needs to close this must be reported through the school closures webpage.

If a school or educational setting has experienced a critical incident, whether it involves the closure of a school or otherwise, it is important that the Local Authority are notified immediately so that any relevant support can be coordinated and put in place as soon as possible.

When reporting a critical incident impacting a school or educational setting, please email the Educational Psychology Service mailbox educate.educationalpsychologycentral-mailbox@devon.gov.uk or call us on 0345 155 1019 and ask for Educational Psychology. A member of the Educational Psychology Service will respond to you as soon as possible.

It is not advisable to publish schools’ emergency plans.

Schools may decide to produce a very short summary on when the plan would be invoked and how parents and students will be informed, rather than publish detailed actions the school will take in certain emergencies.

There are no set percentages; it is up to the Headteacher in consultation with governors to decide if the school is unmanageable.  This is a school decision.

The school should also consider different ways of achieving suitable supervision such as grouping classes within a larger space such as a school hall.

For immediate advice for on what to do when a child is ill at school, and when to escalate to UKHSA, information is also available at: Managing specific infectious diseases: A to Z – GOV.UK

Please also refer to Devon Schools Wellbeing Partnership at: Infectious disease and illness where there is a wide range of health and wellbeing information and signposting.

In the event of a health protection issue, the advice is to contact the UKHSA Health Protection teams if there is a suspected outbreak of a notifiable illness.

For details of notifiable diseases, please refer to Notifiable diseases and how to report them – GOV.UK

The South West contact details are:

• Tel: 0300 303 8162
• Email: swhpt@ukhsa.gov.uk

Email for personal identifiable information (PII): phe.swhpt@nhs.net

If a serious injury or accident occurs on a school trip that involves a child, teacher or support person please refer to resources and information on the outdoor education and off-site visits: safe practice, support and advice webpage.

The school should also contact the Devon Health and Safety Service as the incident may need reporting under the RIDDOR regulations.

Information on critical incidents and support for schools and settings can be found in our critical incident pack – information for schools and educational settings.

The decision to close a school is usually made by the headteacher in consultation with the governors.  This is a school decision and should be reported through the school closures webpage.

The headteacher will need to risk assess and make a decision.

1. There are no statutory limits which apply to outdoor play, as legislation such as the Workplace Regulations and the Schools Premises Regulations refers to indoor workplace temperatures where the employer has control over the temperature.
2. There should be no reason why children shouldn’t go out in wintry weather, but the school should be mindful of providing a warm space for those children who have come to school with unsuitable outdoor clothing, or who simply do not wish to go outside to play.
3. The school should carry out a risk assessment to identify any hazards and implement additional control measures, as required. Be mindful also of any ice patches or other hazards that may now exist in cold weather.
4. The statutory limits would also apply to staff; however, the school would need to ensure that staff are equipped with appropriate outdoor clothing when supervising children in the playground.
5. Staff should be reminded to bring in appropriate clothing of their choice if they are on duty and should be supplied with it if they are not so equipped.
6. De-icing salt to BS 3247;2011 + A1:2016 is recommended

This should form part of your school emergency management plan.

You may wish to consider locally available accommodation and virtual teaching and learning options.

1. Exclude anyone from the immediate or  target area until any potential health and safety issues are resolved.
2. For small fallen trees that can be worked on safely from the ground, contact the school’s Ground Maintenance Contractor to arrange for safe removal of the tree.
3. For larger trees, engage an approved Tree Surgery Contractor from the DCC Tree Management Framework contract to remove the tree. Contact DCC Contracts and technical Officer (Grounds and Tree Management), Matthew Chapman 01392 383000 or  Matthew.chapman@devon.gov.uk , or DCC Apprentice Tree officer, Euan Pollington 01392 383000 or Euan.pollington@devon.gov.uk.
4. Consider whether you need to engage an Ad Hoc tree inspection of the remaining trees on your site from an approved Tree Inspection Contractor from the DCC Tree Management Framework contract.

Please make sure this is reported through the school closures webpage.

Contact the school’s alarm monitoring company.

If the alarm is not silenced or continues to ring there is a risk that the issue could be escalated via Environmental Health and therefore costs incurred by the school (noise abatement notice for example).

Please refer to: Workplace temperatures – GOV.UK.

Legislation outlines a minimum of 16ºC, or 13ºC if employees are doing physical work. There’s no legal maximum temperature limit.

Employers are required to ensure that temperatures are reasonable under workplace regulations.

The decision to close a school is usually made by the headteacher in consultation with the governors.  This is a school decision – no permission or agreement needs to be sought with the Local Authority due to the emergency nature.

Such a decision would need to be communicated to parents and families, and the school transport team if appropriate, and also be reported through the school closures webpage.

School premises keyholder contact details are held on the Connect2 (C2) system and this information is available to the DCC Network Operations Control Centre (NOCC) for use in an emergency.

The Connect 2 system is maintained by South West Norse and is available to all schools. Schools are encouraged to check that contact details on C2 are accurate.

Access to schools is managed by: mike.burlace@norsegroup.co.uk

Any school requiring support to use the C2 system should contact the Built Environments Team at : highway.builtenvironmentteamenquiries-mailbox@devon.gov.uk

The Returning Officer for an election has the power in law to requisition any public buildings or premises they want for use as a polling station, including schools.

Schools and public buildings have been chosen because they are an accessible, central, focal part of the community.

Schools will be made aware of the need to use their facilities. Where only part of a School is used for an election, it is up to the Headteacher to decide whether to close the whole School for operational or security reasons.

The Returning Officers work in district councils.  You can find their contact details on DCC’s website.

The Maintenance Panel Agreement (MPA) consists of vetted suppliers and is managed by DCC Procurement. Schools can have a log in and use it to search for contractors for a range of works. Please contact the Standing List of Approved Contractors (SLoAC) and MPA mailbox  procure.contractorstandinglist-mailbox@devon.gov.uk for access and enquiries.

If there is an emergency site issue affecting a maintained school, we would expect a school to contact Built Environments Team if they need support, for example  significant storm damage, no heating, flood event.

For those schools who contract Devon Maintenance Partnership (DMP) the contact details are:

• South West Norse Helpline:  01392 351000 (Office hours) | 07826 858727 (Out of hours emergencies)

South West Norse will support all schools but will charge those not in the DMP.