Parent Emergency Information
Shekou International School maintains an Emergency Procedures Plan that provides detailed instructions on actions to be taken in the event of any emergency that may result in risk to the safety of our students or staff members. These emergency plans are designed specifically for Shekou International School and include recommendations provided by leading safety agencies. SIS maintains a membership with Raffles International, giving the school extensive support and information in emergency concerns.
Emergency plan details are flexible and can be modified depending on the circumstances surrounding the emergency. In each case, the school has a response team designated to assess the situation and make decisions about what steps are to be taken, how to communicate actions to students, staff and parents, and what outside agencies are to be contacted for assistance (i.e. local police, fire, or emergency officials). The actions taken during any type of emergency depend on the situation, and flexibility is a key component.
Some important features of the SIS plans include:
- Prepared plans and procedures to address a wide variety of possible emergencies.
- Checklists of actions for each type of emergency are kept in each classroom and office and are reviewed regularly. Staff also practice certain responses with students regularly.
- Most SIS staff are trained in CPR and emergency first aid.
- Emergency supply backpacks are kept in each classroom.
- AED devices for heart attack are kept on each campus.
Emergency Communications to the SIS Community
In an emergency situation, the school will use the following methods of communicating with families:
- E-mail (assuming the school has electric power)
- SMS text message
- Notices on the school’s web site
- School WeChat Account message
- If the above methods are not available, the school will use a student/parent telephone tree
Possible Emergency Events
In case of emergency events, the school will do the utmost first to ensure student safety, to communicate quickly and clearly with parents and the community, and to cooperate with local government and emergency agencies. In case of weather related events, the school closely monitors the official information from local authorities and is obligated to follow their regulations regarding school closure issues. The following circumstances may require special emergency communications from the school:
- Extreme Weather (typhoon, heavy rain, or other weather conditions that could result in a school closure or early dismissal)
- Natural Disaster (flood, earthquake, etc.)
- Major Accident/Injury (school bus, parent drivers, sports events, school buildings )
- Fire
- Civil Disorder/Violence (demonstrations or disturbances within the city that may affect school bus routes, field trips, etc.)
- Bomb or Other Threats
- Disease (SARS, small pox, anthrax, etc.)
Possible School Emergency Responses
- School Closure/Early Dismissal (in case of some unexpected disruption requiring school to close early)
- Campus Lockdown (temporary restrictions on who enters or leaves the school campus until the potential risk to students and staff has been resolved)
- Shelter-in-Place (temporary shelter during a short-term emergency, including a possible overnight stay at school.
- Evacuation (short-term evacuation of facilities for safety reasons)
Reunification of Students and Parents After An Emergency Event
In an emergency, the school’s first priority will be to ensure the safety of students in a secure location. In order to do this, students cannot be allowed to leave the care and supervision of the school on their own or without appropriate communication and documentation by the school. In an emergency situation, students will be reunited with their parents in an orderly supervised way. Depending on the circumstances, parents will be notified (see above for communication methods) of the locations and process for reunification.
Parents should not expect to take students from the school’s care without following the established procedures, nor will students be released to anyone but their own parent or a representative documented in writing. The school must ensure that all children are accounted for and that they only leave with a parent or other authorized adult.
Parent and public access to campuses and to students may be limited while the appropriate steps are taken to ensure safe and documented reunification with parents. Children will NOT be permitted to leave early with friends, neighbors, etc. without documented contact between the parent and the school.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is emergency preparedness?
Shekou International School has an emergency and crisis response plan that identifies steps to be taken for different kinds of emergencies. These steps differ depending on the situation, but include keeping up to date contact information for students, parents and staff, evacuation and emergency procedures, designated “safe” places if students need to be gathered together in a group, “rally points” on campus where all students and staff would be accounted for. The situation will also dictate how emergency communication should be conducted.
How do l get information about an emergency?
Whenever possible, emergency messages will be sent to parents via e-mail, SMS text message, and posted on the school’s web site at www.sis-shekou.org.cn In addition, the school may attempt to make contact with parents via the emergency telephone tree. During emergencies school officials will likely be occupied responding to the situation and not be able to answer phones immediately. During these situations, the school will need to keep phone lines open to communicate with outside agencies, the police, or for the school to initiate contact with parents once all children are safe and accounted for. If all parents try to call the school asking for information about their own child, it may jam up telephone lines and interfere with our efforts to make sure all students and staff are safe.
How do l find out if school is closed due to bad weather or another emergency?
If possible, notice of school closure due to bad weather or another emergency will be sent by SMS text message and email, and be posted on the SIS web site by 6:45 a.m. If these methods are not available, the school will also use its teacher/student emergency telephone tree to assist in communicating with families. School closure for weather events is governed by local government weather signal protocols.
What is a “Lockdown"?
Some emergencies may prevent the safe evacuation of a building or the movement of students from one location to another. In such cases, the school may impose a “lockdown” meaning all students and staff remain in classrooms or other designated locations. School personnel will secure all building entrances and teachers will keep their students inside, and not permit anyone to leave or enter their classrooms until the administration deems it safe to remove the “lockdown” conditions.
What is “shelter-in-place"?
Shelter-in-place is a short-term solution to a short-term problem in the external environment. All students and other persons on campus will be brought inside buildings, doors and windows will be closed, and heating and ventilation systems will be turned off. This “sheltered” indoor space is intended to temporarily safeguard people and the indoor air from any outside environmental hazard.
In the event of a "lockdown" or "shelter-in-place" situation, can l pick up my child at school?
The school strongly recommends that parents not come to school and that children remain at school until normal dismissal time or a designated release time communicated by the school. The school will make every attempt to notify parents of situations and student release arrangements.
Provided it is safe to do so, parents may pick their children up from school during an emergency. However, if access to the campus or to school buildings is restricted for safety reasons, parents may have to wait outside the school campus or outside of school buildings until the school administration determines that it is safe for children and adults to be moving around on the campus. Depending on the circumstances, parents may be requested to wait outside the campus entrance and children will be delivered to them rather than parents going into buildings and searching for their children or those of friends or neighbors. In order not to unnecessarily alarm or frighten children, school personnel will maintain as safe and normal environment for children as is possible, and account for the welfare of all students.
Who can pick up my child during an emergency?
Children will not be released to individuals other than their parents unless such person presents written permission from the child’s parent or the administration has personal contact authorizing the student’s release. This includes drivers, maids, neighbors, friends, siblings, etc. It is essential that the school be able to keep accurate records of all children during an emergency. Thus, any child released from the school’s supervision must be accounted for.
What if my child rides a school bus or taxi?
Students who normally use the school bus or a privately contracted bus or taxi will remain at school until such time as the administration determines that it is safe for buses/taxis to leave the school grounds. School bus drivers will stay in contact with the school’s transportation office for instructions in the event of an emergency. If the hazardous or dangerous situation is off campus, the school bus drivers will be instructed to avoid going near any unsafe area or crisis location and contact parents to identify an alternative site where parents can meet the bus and pick up their children or return to school with the child. If phone contact is not possible, children will return to school on the bus and remain there until reunification with parents can be arranged appropriately.
Can l contact my child while at school during an emergency?
In an emergency situation, school personnel will likely be occupied carrying out the school’s emergency actions and will not necessarily be able to answer phones if parents call to get information about children. During an emergency it is important to keep telephone lines open for school personnel to contact outside support and then to initiate communication with parents once it has confirmed information about each child. Using the communication means outlined above, the school will inform the community as quickly as possible of the circumstances. With approximately 800 students in our care, the school will need to first confirm the welfare of students and then initiate communications with parents. Our campus locations are not capable of accommodating large numbers of cars and parents arriving at once. If parents come to school to pick up students, they will need to follow the schools reunification protocol and may not have immediate access to students.
What happens if my child is off campus, on a school bus, on a feld trip or paticipating at sports or after school or weekend activitiesduring an emergency?
The impact of any emergency on children already on a school bus or on a field trip depends on the specifics of the situation. All school buses have cell phone contact with the school’s transportation office. If appropriate, buses may be recalled to school or directed to a designated safe location where parents may pick up their children. The school will keep children in our care until we can be assured that proper communications and connections are available with parents or designee.
