School buildings are not usable

For different reasons, school buildings may sometimes be out of use, preventing pupils from accessing education. The usability of any building, including schools, depends on the quality of its infrastructure and the exposure to risk within and/or outside its walls. Disasters can have four types of impacts: physical, educational, economic, and psychosocial. Consequently, it is important not only to prevent potential damages from happening, but also to try to prepare and mitigate damages. Disaster risk reduction (DRR) programmes aim at saving lives and preventing injuries, the interruption of education, and the development of resilient communities. They can include the promotion of DRR in teaching and learning, the promotion of school safety and disaster management, and the provision of safe school environments.

The usability and safety of school buildings can be guaranteed when certain conditions are observed, such as prevention against natural or human-caused hazards such as earthquakes, windstorms, landslides, fires or floods.

Technical assessment and evaluation of school buildings can help ensure that education is delivered in a safe environment. Indeed, there is a correlation between school safety and learning outcomes, as students may find it easier to concentrate knowing that they are not in danger.

The broad concept of resilience, and more specifically disaster management plans, rely both on the willingness of central and local governments, as well as communities. Communities can engage in the whole construction process at the condition that their members are trained properly and are aware of the possible hazards that may occur. Communities are mostly involved in the construction process in low and middle income countries, when governments do not have a lot of financial resources to invest in this process. However, it is important to ensure that safe schools are built, via external expertise mobilization.

Nevertheless, it is also important that decision-makers support disaster management plans by putting DRR and maintenance on the political agenda, allocating the resources needed, and ensuring that DRR is mainstreamed in the education sector. The following strategies are generally agreed to be efficient in this respect.

Promising policy options

Developing a culture of safety and resilience in the learning environment

To develop a culture of safety and resilience in the learning environment, a number of policies and strategies can be put in place. Ensure that each new school is a safe school, built with the help of the community, which can be possibly be used as a shelter if needed. Also, ensure protection, social-equity, gender-sensitivity, psychosocial support and access to education for all children and youth, and raise public awareness through national evidence and consensus-based key messages.

Engage students and staff in disaster management to create a child-centred and child-led interactive approach. This can involve integrating risk reduction and risk management in the curriculum with quality teaching and learning materials, be it in stand-alone courses, curriculum units, or curriculum infusion, and by providing teacher training and encourage the integration of risk reduction in courses and/or extra-curricular activities. Encourage professionalization and research in DRR in higher education institutes.

School disaster management policies and implementation

Ensure a strong institutional basis nationwide. Link disaster management with public safety policies and plans at national and sub-national levels and create linkages between sectors. Create disaster management committees at national and/ or sub-national levels, with trained members. At the local level, such committees should include school administration, teachers, staff, parents, school neighbours, pupils, and NGOs.

Provide policies and guidance for ongoing site-based hazard assessment and planning and risk reduction and response preparedness, which should be integrated in the school management. Such policies and guidance could include early warning systems, evacuation plans, and regular emergency drills and simulations. Plans must be based on multi-hazard risk assessment, provide specific directions for immediate action, be flexible enough to allow for adjustments during unexpected situations, and have a clear chain of command.

Plans in disaster risk management should include:

• complete contact information (telephone numbers of emergency and support agencies);
• maps and floor plans;
• an emergency warning system to communicate with parents (emails, mobile phones, local radio, television, internet);
• emergency transportation; and
• provision of emergency supplies and equipment.

Support contingency planning for educational continuity (alternative school site, television or radio delivery of lessons, mail delivery of lessons and assignments) and ensure the provision of psychosocial and support services.

School maintenance programmes

Good school maintenance programmes usually include policies such as:

• performing a school building assessment. This usually covers two parts. A technical audit, covering all projects and programmes, assess appropriateness of design, achievement of school project objectives and sustainability of operations and maintenance, and a building evaluation, which involve consultation, representative or statistical sample, in-depth interviews, focus group, direct/ participatory observation;
• educate donors, government, and communities on the usefulness of maintenance investment;
• allocate sufficient budget to local governments for school maintenance;
• be prepared to address maintenance of school buildings 10 to 15 years after construction starts; and
• prioritize modification or retrofitting of existing schools that are found to be unsafe.

Policy options for improving Equity and Inclusion

Gender-responsive policies

Promising policy options

Mainstream gender throughout the development of a culture of safety and resilience in the learning environment

All of the recommended strategies in the general section of the present Policy page apply. Yet, it is important to ensure that gender is being mainstreamed throughout it (UNISDR, 2012). Learning material used to teach disaster risk reduction should be gender-responsive: special attention is provided to the language, content, and pictures included (For precise information on how to make learning material gender-responsive consult Policy page Textbook availability and content).

When integrating disaster risk reduction (DRR) in the curriculum, decision-makers should include the links between DRR, climate change and gender. For example, in 2015 Nigeria performed a curriculum review in order to include climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and gender issues within it. A Teacher’s Guidance Pack which was developed which included a section on gender and climate change (UNISDR, 2015).

Decision-makers, school leaders and teachers should analyse if gendered roles and responsibilities, as well as cultural norms, affect the way in which girls, boys, and LGBTQI pupils:

• access the information concerning DRR;
• are taught the necessary knowledge, skills, and competencies for DRR in schools (Shreve and Fordham, 2018); and
• are effectively participating in disaster risk identification (or if it is less likely for girls, boys or LGBTQI children to participate) (Shreve and Fordham, 2018; UNESCO, 2014).

Mainstream gender in school disaster management policies and implementation

Develop gender-responsive disaster risk reduction (DRR) programmes in schools by analysing the different gender-specific capacities, roles, vulnerabilities, stereotypes, needs, and concerns to develop gender-responsive DRR programmes in school (UNDP Armenia, 2011; UNESCO, 2014; UNISDR, 2012; UNESCO, n.d.). Mainstream gender to develop gender-responsive DRR programmes through cost-effective strategy (UNISDR, UNDP and IUCN, 2009); ‘It makes programming more effective, helps to better target assistance and protection efforts, and provides foundations for sustainable recovery’ (INEE, 2010: 10). For example, previous to 2015’s category-five tropical cyclone Pam, CARE International in Vanuatu had been working with multiple communities to develop gender-responsive DRR programming. After the tropical cyclone, findings revealed that the impact and damage in communities where gender-responsive DRR programmes were implemented were minor to those without it (Care International in Vanuatu, 2016).

Ensure an adequate amount of resources are provided to create gender-responsive DRR programmes (UNISDR, 2012) and empower women to be part of the planning and implementation of school disaster management policies. For example, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2039 states that ‘Women and their participation are critical to effectively managing disaster risk and designing, resourcing and implementing gender-sensitive disaster risk reduction policies, plans and programmes’ (UNDRR, 2015: 23).

Empower girls and women to ensure their active participation in school disaster management policies. Provide adequate and continued capacity building opportunities (CARE International in Vanuatu, 2016; UNDRR, 2015; UNESCO, n.d.; UNISDR, 2015) and promote advocacy and public awareness rising campaigns for disaster preparedness and prevention (UNESCO, n.d.; UNISDR, 2015).

Ensure that the disaster management committees, such as the School Disaster and Climate Change Committees (SDCCC):

• are gender-balanced (CARE International in Vanuatu, 2016);
• guarantee equitable participation between women and men (support and empower women to take leadership roles); and
• involve trusted leaders in the community (UNDP Armenia, 2011).

Mainstream gender into the development of early warning systems; research shows that ‘gender-neutral’ warning systems are not effective as they do not reach the entire population and can ultimately cost lives (UNISDR, UNDP and IUCN, 2009). Tailoring the school’s warning systems to ‘the needs of the users, including social and cultural requirements, in particular, gender’ is thus a cost-effective measure (UNDRR, 2015: 21).

School maintenance programmes

All of the recommended strategies in the general section of the present Policy page apply. In particular, all of the gender-responsive infrastructure and facilities should be maintained (e.g. WASH facilities). In the case of partially or completely destroyed schools, a significant opportunity to build new gender-responsive facilities is given (‘Build Back Better’) (UNDRR, 2015).

Policies for children with disabilities

Promising policy options

Develop a culture of safety and resilience in the learning environment

Ensure that all of the information and materials for disaster risk reduction are accessible (GFDRR, 2018). Information should be represented through multiple ways –such as Braille, large print, sign language interpretation or captioning, audio, video and images. Ensure that persons with disabilities within the school –and the community– gain the indispensable knowledge and skills if an emergency situation were to happen.

Conceive and implement disability-inclusive school disaster management policies

Routine emergency protocols should consistently provide directions on how to support students with disabilities (NCD, 2009). Disaster risk reduction policies, plans, standards and response preparedness should be disability-inclusive (IFRC, 2007). To make this possible, it is essential to:

• empower persons and children with disabilities to actively participate throughout the planning and implementation of school disaster management policies (GFDRR, 2018; UNDRR, 2015); and
• remove all of the physical, informational and communicational barriers that hinder their involvement in the planning and response preparedness phases (GFDRR, 2018).

Capacity building opportunities for disaster risk prevention should be accessible and benefit equally persons/children with disabilities compared to other stakeholders (IFRC, 2007). One way of achieving this is by making sure that disaster management committees –such as the School Disaster and Climate Change Committees (SDCCC)– include persons and children with disabilities. This can be done by involving representatives from the local Disability People’s Organizations (DPOs).

Provide appropriate emergency evacuation from school buildings and accessible warning systems so that no child/person is left behind. This can be facilitated by improving schools’ infrastructure with the concept of Universal Design (UNICEF, 2014). Identify and test key strategies within schools to ensure persons with disabilities are kept safe during risk situations (United States, 2008).

Provide training and perform preparedness exercises so that the evacuation of school members is done in a coordinated manner and no one is left behind (GFDRR, 2018; UNICEF, 2014; United States, 2008). Conceive inclusive and accessible warning systems to reach all persons with disabilities within the school in case of an emergency. Appropriate audio, visual, tactile protocols should be conceived within the school (United States, 2008).

School maintenance programmes

Ensure that school facilities are designed, constructed and maintained in a manner that provides both access and safety for persons with disabilities (for more information consult the Policy page School buildings are not ready).

In the aftermath of a disaster, the recovery and reconstruction phases could provide the opportunity not only to rebuild but also to improve disability-specific facilities and services (GFDRR, 2018).

Policies for displaced populations and host communities

Contents under review

Policies for minority populations

Contents under review