School safety is complex.
That’s an understatement, isn’t it?
There is the detailed process of integrating safety components into a school’s emergency response plans. A broad spectrum of potential emergency situations needs to be considered. These plans need to be shared with staff, first responders, and approved community stakeholders. Finally, school staff and first responders must be trained in how to implement each part of every plan, should an emergency arise.
As schools brainstorm, make decisions, and prepare their facilities for an emergency, they should consider the many layers of school safety, including:
Physical Environment (a.k.a. School Hardening)
On campus, safety features may include locked doors with badge access, door alarms, panic buttons, phone lockdown codes, ID scanners, bullet-proof glass, metal detectors, armed staff on campus, and more.
Training
Plans are useless if they haven’t been rehearsed. Meetings, virtual trainings, videos and drills are all examples of how schools can review and practice their procedures.
School Surveillance
Surveillance measures may incorporate indoor and outdoor security cameras, AI, and school resource officers patrolling the campus.
Emergency Plans
School safety plans account for every type and phase of an emergency, including actions to take during a shelter or hold in place, lockdown, evacuation, reunification, or incident command.
Behavioral Threat Assessments
During a behavioral threat assessment, the school psychologist and other team members work to identify and support students who may pose a viable threat to themselves or others.
Collaboration and Communication
A strong partnership between the school district and local first responders can make a huge difference. When preparing for or responding to a crisis, a clear communication plan for reporting incidents is essential.
Vigilant Staff
It’s important that all adults on campus – teachers, administrators, counselors, support staff, resource officers and other employees – remain on alert. When something doesn’t seem right, it’s best to report your observations so the situation can be investigated.
What is OSCR360?
OSCR360 is an integral layer of school safety that fits into – and complements – any safety plan.
As a multi-use tool, OSCR360 assists with the training, planning, preparation, and communication associated with school safety. The OSCR360 System includes a Capture Kit for documenting campuses in 360-degrees and Desktop Software for developing and organizing your school safety plans.
Schools use OSCR360 for:
Training
- Easily pull up plans in OSCR360 for review on a regular basis during faculty meetings. In a crisis, people fall back on their training. The risk factor increases if they haven’t been trained, or if their training was too long ago to remember.
- Training with OSCR360 is superior to reading through or listening to emergency plans because it includes a powerful, visual component.
- Virtually visit reunification sites that are logistically difficult to tour in person. Allowing staff to familiarize themselves with an off-campus location helps to minimize the stress and chaos associated with post-emergency reunification.
Creating Emergency Plans
- The safety team can virtually tour the campus while brainstorming and planning to ensure accuracy, rather than relying on memory or physically traveling to a particular location to look around.
- Organize plans in an easily digestible format that is ideal for teaching, editing, and training.
- Develop sets of plans for reunification, after school events, evacuating the building, lockdowns, and more.
- Label, color-code, and add notes, blueprints and maps within the OSCR360 Software. Note specific points of interest on campus to indicate escape routes, safety features, medication storage, security cameras, building access points and more.
Sharing
- OSCR360 projects are shareable with approved parties using the free viewer application. Improve collaboration between schools and local public safety agencies.
- First responders can familiarize themselves with campus and building layouts and can save critical moments during a future crisis.
Interested in seeing how OSCR360 can assist your school with the many layers of school safety? Check out these resources:
