Crisis Management

Profile

Beijing World Youth Academy (BWYA) is an independent, international, day school located in Beijing. Founded in 2001 with a small cohort of students studying the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, it has now grown into a large K-12 school with over 1100 students. BWYA has developed a reputation for academic excellence coupled with a strong sense of community. We educate students with English and Chinese as the main language of instruction, as well as with a commitment to the Chinese government education policies for national students. BWYA is authorised with International Baccalaureate Organisation (IB), Cambridge International Examinations (CIE), and accredited by Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). The school is also a member of Association of China and Mongolia International Schools (ACAMIS) and East Asia Regional Council of Schools (EARCOS).

Mission

Beijing World Youth Academy strives to provide members of our community excellent learning opportunities that incorporate critical investigation, exposure to different cultural perspectives and assessment against objective criteria. Our mission is to develop principled, open-minded thinkers who are capable of integrating with diverse international communities and who are empowered to shape their environs for the improvement of quality of life for themselves and others.

Values

As a school community, these are our values:

Compassion
We respect and empathise with the rights, opinions, culture and feelings of others.
Trust
We believe that honesty, integrity and reliability in ourselves and others, forms the cornerstone of our community.
Solidarity
We value harmony and oneness while recognising the individuality of each person in our community.
Collaboration
We recognise that the development of the student is the shared responsibility between the student, the family and the school.

Schoolwide Learner Outcomes

We have adopted the International Baccalaureate ® (IB) Learner Profile, which describes a broad range of human capacities and responsibilities that go beyond academic success, as our Schoolwide Learning Outcomes as part of our commitment to help all members of the school community learn to respect themselves, others and the world around them.

As learners we strive to be:

Inquirers
We nurture our curiosity, developing skills for inquiry and research. We know how to learn independently and with others. We learn with enthusiasm and sustain our love of learning throughout life.
Knowledgeable
We develop and use conceptual understanding, exploring knowledge across a range of disciplines. We engage with issues and ideas that have local and global significance.
Thinkers
We use critical and creative thinking skills to analyse and take responsible action on complex problems. We exercise initiative in making reasoned, ethical decisions.
Communicators
We express ourselves confidently and creatively in more than one language and in many ways. We collaborate effectively, listening carefully to the perspectives of other individuals and groups.
Principled
We act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness and justice, and with respect for the dignity and rights of people everywhere. We take responsibility for our actions and their consequences.
Open-minded
We critically appreciate our own cultures and personal histories, as well as the values and traditions of others. We seek and evaluate a range of points of view, and we are willing to grow from the experience.
Caring
We show empathy, compassion and respect. We have a commitment to service, and we act to make a positive difference in the lives of others and in the world around us.
Risk-takers
We approach uncertainty with forethought and determination; we work independently and cooperatively to explore new ideas and innovative strategies. We are resourceful and resilient in the face of challenges and change.
Balanced
We understand the importance of balancing different aspects of our lives — intellectual, physical, and emotional — to achieve well-being for ourselves and others. We recognise our interdependence with other people and with the world in which we live.
Reflective
We thoughtfully consider the world and our own ideas and experience. We work to understand our strengths and weaknesses in order to support our learning and personal development.

Rationale

This Crisis Management Policy and Procedures document is designed as a scale-able procedure from a one campus incident to a citywide incident. It outlines measures taken by BWYA to handle critical incidents should they occur in order to safeguard the safety of stakeholders.

Crises range in scope and intensity from incidents that directly or indirectly affect a single student to ones that impact the entire community. Crises can happen before, during, or after school and on or off school campuses. The definition of a crisis varies with the unique needs, resources, and assets of a school and community. Staff and students may be severely affected by an incident in another city or state.

Terms Used

Guiding Principles

BWYA must work towards implementing appropriate and well-structured procedures for withstanding all crises, regardless of the likelihood of a scenario occurring. Only by being collectively prepared for all potential scenarios can we ensure the safety and well-being of all stakeholders within our school community.

Types of Crises

Communication Management

In all of the emergency situations covered in this document, teachers and staff are to cease and desist all public communication of the situation including filming, pictures, chatting, live sessions, telephoning and others.

Policy and Implementation

In the event that an incident takes place, an Incident Command Post will be set up at, or in the vicinity of the specific campus where the incident occurs.

Emergency Management Team

Roles and Responsibilities

Administration

Emergency Role Position Responsibilities
School Principle / Administrator SLT The critical incident and/or disaster determines who will be the Incident Commander. Until the arrival of the Incident Commander, the site administrator is in charge. The site administrator is most often the principal unless circumstances dictate otherwise.

Management

Emergency Role Position Responsibilities
Incident Commander(IC) Head of Safeguarding The Incident Commander is the individual responsible for all incident activities, including the development of strategies and tactics and the ordering and the release of resources. The Incident Commander has overall authority and responsibility for conducting incident operations and is responsible for the management of all incident operations at the incident site.

Command Staff

Emergency Role Position Responsibilities
Public Information Officer (PIO) Head of Publication This person is responsible for releasing information to families, community members, and the media during a crisis. The media can be a tremendous help in getting information to families and community members. Paper notice on front gates/permanent hold position (Decision of which media to be used and what content will be posted is to be made by the head of CD and directed to PR to create suitable messages for each media outlet, and deploy through WeChat, Website, PTA WeChat, media contacts.
Safety Officer Principal Until Emergency Responder Arrives This person is responsible for the safety of the scene and the individuals at the scene. His or her role might include determining whether students have been evacuated far enough from the school. Often this role will be filled by an emergency responder once they have arrived on site. Then, the safety officer is the point of contact for assisting and cooperating with agency representatives (fire, law enforcement, Red Cross).
Liaison Officer Head of Facilities This person is responsible for coordinating with all of the agencies that have responded to the crisis. It is critical that this person be a good communicator and able to convey important information both to responders about the situation or the school facility and to school staff about necessary actions.

General Staff

Emergency Role Position Responsibilities
Operations Officer Head of Division This person manages student and staff care during a crisis. This includes physical (food and water), medical (CPR and first aid), and mental needs (psychological services), as well as student release.
Planning and Intelligence Officer This person is responsible for documenting the event, analysing what has transpired thus far, and planning for possible further action.
Logistics Officer Head of Facilities This person manages the supply and staffing needs of the situation. The logistics officer focuses on acquiring the supplies needed to assist the emergency responders. The logistics officer’s school staff logistics responsibilities will include long-term needs (beyond the first four hours) for things like food, water, and bathroom facilities, as well as transportation (if students need to be bussed off campus). The logistics officer is also responsible for locating and assigning staff to fill various tasks for emergency situations. This could include finding staff to carry messages from the operations officer to those staff members directly managing students.

Planning/Intelligence

Emergency Role Position Responsibilities
Instructional Staff: Teachers, Librarians, Computer Centre Managers Principal, Head of IT Gather and assess information. These individuals must be able to use communication equipment, gather information in a timely manner and weigh it for significance.

Operations (Implement Priorities Established by the Incident Command Officer)

Emergency Role Position Responsibilities
First Aid Coordinator Campus Nurse Until Head Nurse Arrives Knows where all supplies are located, oversees first aid prior to paramedics' arrival, coordinates with paramedics. This person is usually the head schnurse.
Search and Accountability Coordinator TBC Accounts for everyone on site as quickly as possible. This person must have access to attendance records, visitor sign-in sheets, emergency data cards of students and any other information that will assist in accounting for the school population. This person works closely with the Student Assembly, Shelter & Release Coordinator.
Student Assembly, Shelter and Release Coordinator TBC Oversees location where students assemble, attends to their needs when providing shelter, oversees how parents receive students and the process for releasing students. This person works closely with the Search & Accountability Coordinator.
Grounds and Maintenance Coordinator Head of Facilities Knows layout of building and grounds, location of shut-off valves and utility lines and is familiar with blueprints.
Food, Water and Supplies Coordinator TBC Oversees distribution of food, water and essential supplies throughout critical incident.
Traffic Safety Coordinator TBC Oversees transportation system.
Bi-Lingual Translator: (3) Secretaries Assists in communication in schools which have a significant number of students and parents who speak English as a second language. One for parents, one for Management, and one for Information.

Logistics

Emergency Role Position Responsibilities
Logistics Principal Faculty, staff or administrators who provide support and resource systems for the operations functions. (Obtain resources to support the operations)

Finance/Administration

Emergency Role Position Responsibilities
Administrative and Clerical Staff Head of Finance Individuals responsible for purchasing, paying bills and balancing books are best suited to this function, which involves planning, purchasing emergency supplies and tracking costs following an emergency.

IMPORTANT:

Sequence of Crisis Management

Prevention: A crisis, whether natural or man-made in design, is often not a preplanned event. No amount of preparing can make it a completely safe occurrence, however, awareness of steps to take and practice in taking them, can help in preventing catastrophic results.

Preparedness: Drills and information are essential for all stakeholders to participate in and understand. Communication is essential.

Response: How a school responds to the crisis will help emergency crews in their response to need. Clear, effective communication to all stakeholders is needed.

School should:

Repair/Recovery: A return to normalcy may be determined by the nature of the crisis. As soon as possible, school should return to learning. Reflection by the Command and General Staff is needed. School should continuously audit their stakeholders and facilities for needs, while providing support and stress relief.

Preparedness

Evacuation Procedures

Fire Drill

The fire drill procedures are set for each campus. School runs monthly, semesterly, or termly drills based on campus. All fire drills are documented in accordance with the Chinese law.

Lock-down

School lock-down is a safety first procedure. The goal is to ensure student safety.

Orange Lock-down - Impending Danger

An impending danger is a crisis which prevents student and staff movement between buildings on campus. This may be instances of intense pollution, dangerous animals, perpetrators, civil disobedience or other event on the physical campus.

In this case the following steps will be taken:

Red Lock-down - Immediate Danger

An immediate danger is a crisis which prevents student and staff movement within the campus. This may be an internal intruder. The aim of this lock-down is to prevent a perpetrator from seeing into a classroom from internal and external venues. In this case the following steps will be taken:

Communication with any outside sources, other than emergency services, is forbidden for staff and students.

Students will not be released to parents during a lock-down.

Principals at each campus will conduct safety checks based on the severity of the lock-down (walk through to telephone based checks).

Reverse Lock-down

A reverse lock-down is when students are on the school field and must seek immediate cover inside the school building.

Evacuation

In the event of danger to students within the school buildings, evacuation measures must be taken. Students will follow the same procedures as fire drills, lining up in their appropriate areas, with attendance being taken.

Earthquake Drill

In the event of an earthquake, all persons on campus will assume the turtle position under protective furniture. Train students to “Drop! Cover! Hold On!”.

“Turtle Position”:

All persons will remain in this position until the all clear has been given.

In the event that the earthquake happens and students are outside, students and teachers will move to an open area, away from any falling possibilities.

Bus Evacuation

In most accident situations students are safer inside the protected confines of a bus than they are leaving them. However, in the instances of being stranded on a railway track, the top of a hill, or in the event of a fire, tipping, rolling, or submersion, evacuation is essential.

In the event of a school bus accident or a situation requiring students to leave the confines of the school bus, student safety will always be considered paramount. The driver and the bus monitor/chaperones (where appropriate) must work in tandem to ensure student safety.

School Responsibilities

Creating awareness

Recommendations

Inter-operable communication systems

In the case of a breakdown in infrastructure, common communication methods may not be achievable. The following emergency protocol should be put in place directed by the IC and posted by POI (only person in charge):

  1. When available, the home page of the school website should state the emergency situation and how it is addressing it.

  2. Information will be transmitted via internet; school website, Managebac, and BWYA Official WeChat, BWYA Official PTA WeChat, WeChat by Grade level. During that time, parents should not communicate or ask questions on PTA WeChat, it will distract the important messages that would be sent out from the school. So the communication is one-way.

  3. Walkie talkie should be used between campuses.

  4. Embassies should be contacted.

In the event of a lock-down, the following information will be communicated with parents via internet; school website, Managebac, and BWYA Official WeChat, BWYA Official PTA WeChat:

Ending Procedures

Upon the signal from any emergency services, or the ending of a lock-down drill, release of students from their classrooms will occur via the following:

Incident Command System

Incident Command Post

The incident Command and Management organisation is located at the Incident Command Post (ICP). Incident Command directs operations from the ICP, which is generally located at or in the immediate vicinity of the incident site.

In the event of a citywide or school wide incident, an Incident Reporting Centre will be set up at each campus with an Incident Command Post set up at the Wangjing campus.

As emergency management/response personnel deploy, they must, report to and check in at the ICP.

Media and Information

Communication Procedures

External

Scripted Public Statements (by the POI and administration, as stipulated by the Incident Commander)

Holding Statement

Due to an ongoing incident, BWYA's Wangjing Campus is currently in lock-down/being evacuated. The safety and well being of our students and staff is our utmost priority and we have robust, well-drilled procedures in place to ensure that this process is carried out in a safe and well-ordered manner. While this incident is ongoing our focus is on resolving this situation as soon as possible and we will provide further news updates at an appropriate time. Please refer to BWYA's Official WeChat or website for further updates.

Factual Briefing

At 11.32 this morning BWYA enacted its evacuation procedure due to a suspected fire at our Wangjing Campus. All staff and students were safely evacuated, as BWYA's well-drilled procedures and have all been safely accounted for. Emergency services are currently onsite dealing with the incident. BWYA staff and students will be held at the pre-planned muster point at XXXX until the emergency services have deemed it safe to leave. Parents can assemble at XXXXX in order to collect their child. Please refer to BWYA's official WeChat or website for further updates.

Investigation / inquiry due to misbehaviour of staff etc.

The safety and well-being of our students and staff is our highest priority and we take all incidents such as this extremely seriously. BWYA strictly adheres to all Chinese and International Authority guidelines and requirements and we are currently undergoing a full investigation in to this matter, therefore, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time. Please refer to BWYA's official WeChat or website for further updates.

Internal

Communication to Families

Before Crisis (preparation period)

During

After

Medical Preparation

Basic Emergency and First Aid Supply List

These items will be placed in weatherproof cases in strategic locations known to all staff on campus.

General Emergency

First Aid Supplies

Crisis Response Box

These items will be placed in weatherproof cases in strategic locations known to all staff on campus.

Teacher Crisis Bags

Each classroom will be equipped with a crisis bag in the form of a specifically identifiable backpack. The contents should include the following:

Annually and after each crisis, the contents of each of these boxes will be reviewed, replaced and/or replenished.

Overnight and Excursions

In the event that an emergency happens on campus when there are students off campus, the IC will designate one person to contact the off-campus staff, informing them of the incident and instructing them not to return to campus. In the event that another campus is incident free, students, staff, and bus may be instructed to return to another campus.

Non-School Day Emergencies

In the event that an incident occurs on a non-school day, the campus manager and Principal of each campus will report to campus to ensure student safety. Conferring with the guards on duty and the campus manager as to the events and people on campus, the Principal will assume IC and follow all protocol as if it were a regular school day.

Recovery

Family Reunification Plan

Student Emergency Cards

Student Release Procedures

These procedures should create a flexible, yet simple, system for the release of students. Families will want immediate access to their children, as emotions will be running high. Create a system that considers this, and train staff to expect it. Procedures should require proof of identity; if necessary, wait until such proof can be ascertained. It is important not to release a student to a noncustodial guardian if custody is an issue for the family. Do not release students to people not listed on student emergency cards. A well-intentioned friend may offer to take a child home; however, school staff must be certain that students are only released to the appropriate people so students' families will know where they are.

Responsibilities of School

Related Policies