How to develop an Emergency Management Plan Kit
Licensed Children’s Services
Frequently Asked Questions
(FAQ)
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
Eastern Metropolitan Region
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How to develop an Emergency Management Plan Kit
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. Are all licensed children’s services required to have an
emergency management plan?
Yes. All services are required to develop an emergency management plan.
The Children’s Services Act 1996 (Act) and the Children’s Services Regulations 2009
(Regulations) include requirements for the development and practical implementation of emergency
procedures within licensed children’s services. In an emergency situation at a licensed children’s
service or family day carer’s residence or venue, it is important that staff or carers are able to take
immediate and appropriate action to ensure the safety of all children and adults.
2. Do licensed children’s services have to use the 2010 DEECD
Emergency Management Plan (EMP) Template?
Yes. It is strongly advised that children’s services use the 2010 DEECD EMP
Template when completing the EMP. Many services have provided the regional
office with an emergency management policy which does not address the key areas
mandated by DEECD as minimum requirements. Some services have provided an
updated version of an older plan using a different structure to the DEECD
requirement. Current DEECD Guidelines and the accompanying training program
(2010) recognise that previous plans can be used again for the 2011 EMP. This is
on the understanding that the mandatory components of the template have
also been provided.
3. Can our local emergency procedures be retained in the EMP?
Yes. Children’s Services will have a range of local emergency procedures that they
have developed over time. Some services use ‘Code Red/Blue/Green’ or other
procedures for the range of hazards they are likely to face. Services will also have
context specific procedures for evacuation, lockdown or lockout. These procedures
do not replace the EMP, but most of them will complement it. Accordingly, these
local procedures can therefore be included in the appropriate sections of the
template (or as an Appendix), provided they are consistent with the 2010 DEECD
EMP Template. Many services still refer to the Licensee Representative, Primary
Nominee or Nominee/Manager as ‘Chief Warden’ or ‘Emergency Coordinator’ rather
than use the new terminology of ‘Incident Controller’. Local procedures should be
reviewed against the EMP template and adjusted accordingly.
4. Our service is located within a large non-government school
with its own EMP. Will the school’s EMP suffice?
No. There are many examples of services that operate within other organisations
including large schools, universities, shopping centres, fitness centres and other
places. These larger organisations will have an Emergency Management Plan or
evacuation procedures.
Some aspects of these plans may fulfil DEECD
requirements, but sometimes they do not. What needs to happen is that within the
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practices of the larger organisation, the service needs to develop its own procedures.
There must be an IMT for the service. There must be contingency plans for
relocation. A site plan must be submitted etc. In short, the 2010 DEECD EMP
Template should be fully completed for services in this situation. The service should
consult with the larger organisation to ensure that the two plans are viewed in
context and that people know what to do in the event of an emergency.
5. Will a Primary School EMP cover the Out of School Hours Care
(OSHC) program?
Not quite. Out of School Hours Care programs will need to have their own EMP
document that mirrors many aspects of the school EMP. The OSHC plan should
recognise the full range of possible hazards and assume that the Principal and other
teachers are not present. The OSHC Incident Management Team (IMT) needs to be
separate from the school IMT.
6. In an emergency, does the Licensee Representative, Primary
Nominee or Nominee of a service relinquish control to an
Incident Management Team?
No. In an emergency the Licensee Representative, Primary Nominee or Nominee or
Co-ordinator of a children’s service (or their delegate), as Incident Controller, is
responsible for the coordination of any response to a specific emergency. Some
services mistakenly believe that the Committee President or Licensee
Representative is the Incident Controller. The key point about an IMT is that the
Incident Controller must be on-site. In many cases Committee Presidents may
live some distance away from the service or work and many Licensee
Representatives are not on-site. There is also no guarantee that volunteers will
always be present. The whole purpose of an IMT is to involve those that are always
going to be on-site (including back-ups) should an emergency occur. If there are
only two adults on-site, then the Primary Nominee, Nominee or Licensee
Representative (if on the premises) will take control of the situation, while another
adult (teacher, assistant or parent) will monitor the children during the emergency.
However, the experience gained from major emergencies involving children’s
services in bushfires, gas leaks or flood/wind storm or other natural events, has
meant that it is often difficult for one person to effectively perform all of the tasks
required. For example, the Licensee Representative, Primary nominee or Nominee
/Co-ordinator cannot effectively liaise with emergency services and deal with frantic
parents at the same time. Analysis of current children’s services EMP’s has found
too many tasks allocated to the Incident Controller/Licensee Representative, Primary
Nominee or Nominee, particularly if there are other staff available. As part of
emergency management planning at the local level, there needs to be consideration
of the tasks that require simultaneous action so that appropriate delegation can take
place if this is possible. The people undertaking various roles need to be
predetermined. Having predetermined back-ups to each role is also critical,
especially when the Incident Controller/Licensee Representative, Primary Nominee
or Nominee is absent. In the absence of the Licensee Representative, Primary
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Nominee or Nominee, who undertakes the delegate’s responsibilities? In emergency
situations the response is more effective when the roles, tasks and possible
contingencies are identified in planning, then documented, allocated and practiced.
An Incident Management Team (IMT) effectively delegates fundamental roles
required in an emergency. DEECD has adopted an IMT structure that has four
critical functions - ‘Operations’, ‘Planning’, ‘Logistics’ and ‘Communication’. However,
this structure puts one individual, called the “Incident Controller”, in charge of the
emergency and decision-making process. See ‘How to complete the DEECD
Emergency Management Plan (EMP) Template 2010 – Licensed Children’s
Services’ Section A ‘Mandatory components of the EMP’, 5. Incident Management
Team
7. Is the IMT structure flexible enough to enable a small children’s
service to staff its IMT?
Yes. An IMT structure is flexible in that it is as small or as large as the service
requires. An IMT of 2 people is quite acceptable, depending on the size of the
service. It is the functions to be performed that are important. Other adults can
also be utilised in an IMT structure, provided they regularly attend sessions. If a
service cannot staff these five areas, then the IMT can be resized to match the
number of staff available. What are critical are the four functions that need to be
performed in any emergency. ‘Operations’ – the doing, ‘Planning’ – thinking ahead,
‘Logistics’ – finding things we will need and ‘Communication’ – IN and OUT. In a
major emergency, communications OUT will need to occur almost simultaneously to
Emergency Services, staff, children, the regional office, impacted families etc. This
will often require more than one person to undertake these tasks (if possible). The
Incident Controller would liaise with emergency services while the communications
officer might handle other calls. At the same time there will be communications IN
from concerned parents, regional office, media etc. If there are sufficient people onsite then it may require more than one person to undertake these tasks.
8. Is the DEECD requirement of two ‘off-site’ relocation assembly
points an over-reaction?
No. DEECD requires your plan to include at least two ‘off-site’ evacuation locations
in addition to on-site assembly areas (such as car parks and entrance areas). This is
not just for bushfire, but also in case of an internal fire, gas leak or release of
hazardous chemicals etc. If the service is prevented from relocating to the primary
off-site relocation point (as a result of prevailing winds etc), then having a secondary
off-site relocation point as a back-up is essential. Having one relocation point close
by (within 150 metres) and another point much further away (perhaps in the opposite
direction) is critical for the development of children’s service relocation contingency
plans. See ‘How to complete the DEECD Emergency Management Plan (EMP)
Template 2010 – Licensed Children’s Services’ Section A ‘Mandatory components of
the EMP’, 6. ‘Area Maps’
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9. We introduce staff to the emergency exercises for the service at
the start of the year and run a lockdown drill in June. Does this
fulfil DEECD requirements?
No. Scheduled Emergency Exercises and Drills are critical so that children and staff
know what to do and how to get to emergency relocation points in an actual
emergency.
DEECD minimum requirements are that 2 emergency exercises or drills should
occur throughout the year. However, DEECD normally expects exercises to be
conducted once per term with a minimum of two per year. There should also be a
range of exercises in addition to lockdown drills (for example evacuation/relocation)
conducted throughout the year.
10. Does the DEECD requirement for the names of children and
staff with special needs contravene the Privacy Act?
No. Provision of information to the Department about children and staff with special
needs for the purposes of emergency management does not contravene the Privacy
Act. However there is understandable sensitivity about releasing this information.
DEECD needs to be assured that this information is regularly updated and kept with
the service’s copy of the EMP. In supporting the service in an emergency, the
regional office and emergency services need to have, at the very least, a summary
of this information so that resources can be provided. For example the region will
need to know that your service has 4 children with asthma, 2 with anaphylaxis, 1
child using a wheelchair etc. See ‘How to complete the DEECD Emergency
Management Plan (EMP) Template 2010 – Licensed Children’s Services’ Section A
‘Mandatory components of the EMP’, 10. ‘Children and Staff with special needs list’
11. Should the final copy of the EMP be distributed widely?
Yes. The EMP should be provided to all staff, committee members, licensees, the
regional office and relevant agencies such as Police, CFA/MFB etc. It is especially
important to remember cleaners and other people that regularly attend the service as
appropriate. Some services might also make their EMP available to their local
council. See ‘How to complete the DEECD Emergency Management Plan (EMP)
Template 2010 – Licensed Children’s Services’ Section B ‘Non-Mandatory
components of the EMP’, 15. ‘Distribution List’
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