Criterion HS105
There is an emergency plan and supplies to ensure the care and safety of children and adults at the service.
Documentation required (written or digital)
An emergency plan that includes at least:
an evacuation procedure specific to the premises and relevant to its location, which apply in different emergency situations and are consistent with the building’s fire evacuation scheme
designated assembly areas outside the building that keep children safe from further risk
a list of safety and emergency supplies and resources sufficient for the age and number of children and adults at the service and details of how these will be maintained and accessed in an emergency
details of the roles and responsibilities that will apply during an emergency
a communication plan for families and support services and
evidence of reviewing the plan annually and implementation of improved practices as required.
Guidance
How to show you are complying
Emergency plan
You need a documented emergency plan that covers emergencies that could potentially happen in your area. The plan should help to prepare you to respond and recover effectively in the event of an emergency.
When developing your plan, you should consider your specific location and the kinds of emergencies that could happen. At a minimum, you should have a plan in place to respond to:
earthquakes
external threats (for example, a chemical spill)
floods and storms
situations where a lockdown is required.
If you are based in a tsunami zone, we would expect there to be a plan specific to tsunamis.
Designated assembly areas should make sure children or adults will not be trapped in an area. They should be away from where Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) vehicles and personnel might be when they are responding to a fire.
Emergency supplies
There is no prescribed list that covers the supplies and resources that you must have in an emergency.
You will need to consider the number of people and their needs when deciding the supplies to keep. For example, if your service includes children under 2 years old, your emergency supplies will likely need to include infant formula, clean bottles, and nappies.
When assessing whether you comply with HS105
Questions we are likely to ask
What steps have you taken to identify the risks relevant to your context and location?
Where do you keep your emergency supplies and how are these maintained?
Where is the assembly point after evacuating the building, and how can you tell if that location is safe?
How do you make sure everyone is accounted for in the assembly area?
How do you keep families informed during an emergency?
When was the last time you reviewed your emergency plan? What changes did you make, if any?
How do you make sure that specific roles identified in your emergency plans are understood and able to be implemented?
What roles do specific adults have in the event of an emergency? Is there a back-up plan for when these adults are away or on leave?
We are likely to look at, measure or count
Emergency supplies you have on hand, and consider it against the number of children and adults likely to be on-site.
Where emergency supplies are stored.
Location of the assembly points, and how they protect children from further harm, especially if they are off-site.
We are likely to request
A copy of the emergency plan.
Evidence of the annual review of the emergency plan.
The tools below are here to support you. You do not have to use them. You can use other tools or methods that work better for your service.
Guide to support emergency plans and supplies
The National Emergency Management Agency | Te Rākau Whakamarumaru and the Ministry of Education have produced a template that can be used for planning for a variety of emergencies. The guide provides practical guidance and information for emergency management plans for early learning services.
Planning and preparing for emergencies [PDF, 1.33 MB]
When working out what supplies you will need, you can consider National Emergency Management Agency | Te Rākau Whakamarumaru guidance against the age and number of children and adults at your service. For example, if your service has children aged under 2 years old, your supplies will likely need to include formula, clean bottles, and nappies.
Template emergency plan
You can use this template to prepare an emergency management plan.
Emergency management plan template [DOCX, 522.72 KB]
Preparing children for an emergency
The National Emergency Management Agency’s ‘What’s the Plan Stan’ website focuses on preparing children for an emergency. This includes a section designed to help teachers develop children’s knowledge, skills and attitudes to respond to and prepare for an emergency.
What's the Plan, Stan? Get ready – NZ Civil Defence
Evacuating from above ground level
It may be more difficult to evacuate children from centres that are not at ground level. A specific guidance tool is available for services based in high rise buildings.
Guidance for service providers, evacuation plans for ECE services in high rise buildings [PDF, 1MB]
Pandemics
Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, you must manage potential or real outbreaks of communicable diseases. These include influenza, measles and COVID-19.
The Ministry of Health has information about the New Zealand pandemic plan.
By having an emergency plan in place and the right supplies readily available, you will be well prepared to keep children and adults safe. It should also help to build trust with families and supports a strong, prepared team.
Doing more than the minimum can shape better outcomes for children. Here are some ideas or examples you might like to consider.
Access to supplies
It might be useful to keep a 'grab bag' near the exit if you need to evacuate the premises quickly.
It could include emergency supplies, including children’s medication. It could also include items designed to help calm and occupy children while waiting at the assembly area, such as toys and books. This would be beneficial because it might not be safe to go back into the building, depending on the emergency.
Mataara
The Ministry operates Mataara, an emergency contact system.
We use Mataara to connect with early learning services as quickly and simply as possible. We will text and email your emergency cell phone number and email address if there is an emergency in your area. If you wish to use this service, you should let us know if your contact details change at any time.
We are only able to send the first message. You can reply after the first message is received.
Messages will come from 8707, a number only used by us. We recommend you save this number to your contacts list so that you know the messages are from us.
Sharing information with Police
Police use a tool called Realtime Intelligence for Operational Deployment (RIOD). This helps them to respond to your service quickly, if needed.
To add your service's information to RIOD, you should send them your:
contact details, including important cell phone numbers
emergency management plan
site plan, including a helicopter landing site (in the local area), and where keys are kept
shelter-in-place or lockdown procedures.
Plans will be saved securely and geotagged in the RIOD tool.
Email your plans to the Police.
Email: plans@police.govt.nz
For more information, contact your local Police.
Email: schools@police.govt.nz
Scenarios
Below are a range of scenarios that you may find helpful to support reviews of your procedures.
HS105 Scenarios [PDF, 112KB]