Emergency Management Policy and Procedures

Lockdown

When a threat is on, very near, or inside the child care centre. E.g. a suspicious individual in the building who is posing a threat.

1)     The staff member who becomes aware of the threat must inform all other staff of the threat as quickly and safely as possible.

2)     Staff members who are outdoors must ensure everyone who is outdoors proceeds to a safe location.

3)     Staff inside the child care centre must:

• remain calm;
• gather all children and move them away from doors and windows;
• take children’s attendance to confirm all children are accounted for;
• take shelter in closets and/or under furniture with the children, if appropriate;
• keep children calm;
• ensure children remain in the sheltered space;
• turn off/mute all cellular phones; and
• wait for further instructions.

4)     If possible, staff inside the program room(s) should also:

• close all window coverings and doors;
• barricade the room door;
• gather emergency medication; and
•  join the rest of the group for shelter.

5)     Supervisor will immediately:

• close and lock all child care centre entrance/exit doors, if possible; and
• take shelter.

Note: only emergency service personnel are allowed to enter or exit the child care centre during a lockdown.

Hold & Secure

When a threat is in the general vicinity of the child care centre, but not on or inside the child care premises. E.g. a shooting at a nearby building.

1)     The staff member who becomes aware of the external threat must inform all other staff of the threat as quickly and safely as possible.

2)     Staff members who are outdoors must ensure everyone returns to their program room(s) immediately.

3) Staff in the program room must immediately:

• remain calm;
• take children’s attendance to confirm all children are accounted for;
• close all window coverings and windows in the program room;
• continue normal operations of the program; and
• wait for further instructions.

4) Supervisor must immediately:

• close and lock all entrances/exits of the child care centre;
• close all blinds and windows outside of the program rooms; and
• place a note on the external doors with instructions that no one may enter or exit the child care centre.

Note: only emergency services personnel are allowed to enter or exit the centre during a hold and secure.

Bomb Threat

A threat to detonate an explosive device to cause property damage, death, or injuries E.g. phone call bomb threat, receipt of a suspicious package.

1)     The staff member who becomes aware of the threat  or Supervisor must:

• remain calm;
• call 911 if emergency services is not yet aware of the situation;
• follow the directions of emergency services personnel; and
• take children’s attendance to confirm all children are accounted for.

A.     Where the threat is received by telephone, the person on the phone should try to keep the suspect on the line as long as possible while another individual calls 911 and communicates with emergency services personnel.

B.     Where the threat is received in the form of a suspicious package, staff must ensure that no one approaches or touches the package at any time.

Disaster Requiring Evacuation

A serious incident that affects the physical building and requires everyone to leave the premises. E.g. fire, flood, power failure.

1) The staff member who becomes aware of the disaster must inform all other staff of the incident and that the centre must be evacuated, as quickly and safely as possible. If the disaster is a fire, the fire alarm pull station must be used and staff must follow the centre’s fire evacuation procedures.

2) Staff must immediately:

• remain calm;
• gather all children, the attendance record, children’s emergency contact information any emergency medication;
• exit the building with the children using the nearest safe exit, bringing children’s outdoor clothing (if possible) according to weather conditions;
• escort children to the meeting place; and
• take children’s attendance to confirm all children are accounted for;
• keep children calm; and
• wait for further instructions.

3) If possible, staff should also:

• take a first aid kit; and
• gather all non-emergency medications.

4) Designated staff will:

• help any individuals with medical and/or special needs who need assistance to go to the meeting place (in accordance with the procedure in a child’s individualized plan, if the individual is a child); and
• in doing so, follow the instructions posted on special needs equipment or assistive devices during the evacuation.
• If individuals cannot be safely assisted to exit the building, the designated staff will assist them to be as safe as possible  and ensure their required medication is accessible, if applicable; and
• wait for further instructions.

5) If possible, the site designate must conduct a walk-through of the child care centre to verify that everyone has exited the building and secure any windows or doors, unless otherwise directed by emergency services personnel.

Disaster – External Environmental Threat

An incident outside of the building that may have adverse effects on persons in the child care centre. E.g. gas leak, oil spill, chemical release, forest fire, nuclear emergency.

1)     The staff member who becomes aware of the external environmental threat must inform all other staff of the threat as quickly and safely as possible and, according to directions from emergency services personnel, advise whether to remain on site or evacuate the premises.

If remaining on site:

1)     Staff members who are outdoors with children must ensure everyone who is outdoors returns to their program room immediately.

2)     Staff must immediately:

• remain calm;
• take children’s attendance to confirm all children are accounted for;
• close all program room windows and all doors that lead outside (where applicable);
• seal off external air entryways located in the program rooms (where applicable);
• continue with normal operations of the program; and
• wait for further instructions.

3)     Supervisor must:

• seal off external air entryways not located in program rooms (where applicable);
• place a note on all external doors with instructions that no one may enter or exit the child care centre until further notice; and
• turn off all air handling equipment (i.e. heating, ventilation and/or air conditioning, where applicable).

If emergency services personnel otherwise direct the child care centre to evacuate, follow the procedures outlined in the “Disaster Requiring Evacuation” section of this policy.

Natural Disaster:

Tornado / Tornado Warning

1)     The staff member who becomes aware of the tornado or tornado warning must inform all other staff as quickly and safely as possible.

 2)     Staff members who are outdoors with children must ensure everyone who is outdoors returns to their program room(s) immediately.

3)     Staff must immediately:

• remain calm;
• gather all children;
• go to the basement or take shelter in small interior ground floor rooms such as washrooms, closets or hallways;
• take children’s attendance to confirm all children are accounted for;
• remain and keep children away from windows, doors and exterior walls;
• keep children calm;
• conduct ongoing visual checks of the children; and
• wait for further instructions.

Natural Disaster:

Major Earthquake

1)     Staff in the program room must immediately:

• remain calm;
• instruct children to find shelter under a sturdy desk or table and away from unstable structures;
• ensure that everyone is away from windows and outer walls;
• help children who require assistance to find shelter;
• for individuals in wheelchairs, lock the wheels and instruct the individual to duck as low as possible, and use a strong article (e.g. shelf, hard book, etc.) to protect their head and neck;
• find safe shelter for themselves;
• visually assess the safety of all children.; and
• wait for the shaking to stop.

2)     Staff members who are outdoors with children must immediately ensure that everyone outdoors stays away from buildings, power lines, trees, and other tall structures that may collapse, and wait for the shaking to stop.

3)     Once the shaking stops, staff must:

• gather the children, their emergency cards and emergency medication; and
• exit the building through the nearest safe exit, where possible, in case of aftershock or damage to the building.

4)     If possible, prior to exiting the building, staff should also:

• take a first aid kit; and
• gather all non-emergency medications.

5)     Individuals who have exited the building must gather at the meeting place and wait for further instructions.

6)     Designated staff will:

• help any individuals with medical and/or special needs who need assistance to go to the meeting place (in accordance with the procedure in a child’s individualized plan, if the individual is a child); and
• in doing so, follow the instructions posted on special needs equipment or assistive devices during the evacuation.
• If individuals cannot be safely assisted to exit the building, the designated staff will assist them to be as safe as possible and ensure their required medication is accessible, if applicable; and
• wait for further instructions.

7)    The site designate must conduct a walkthrough of the child care centre to ensure all individuals have evacuated, where possible.