Every year, the Managing Partner, Ugochi Obidiegwu organises the School Safety Summit for educators in order to bridge the safety education gap. She believes that when educators are equipped they will be able to act effectively in an emergency. The stage is now set for the fourth edition of the annual School Safety Summit with the theme, “First Aid and Casualty Assessment for Educators”. This Summit will hold on the 16th May, 2020. It will feature opening remarks by the DG, Lagos State Safety Commission, Lanre Mojola and a keynote address by Funmi Adegbola, CEO, Combined Training Solutions. The audience will get a chance to participate in a First Aid Masterclass and learn from experts in a panel discussion: Dare Akinfosile, Bola Edwards, Lola El-Imam and Abike Awojobi. The Summit promises to increase the knowledge levels of educators in attendance.

Participants can register at www.schoolsafetysummit.com

On the 17th May, the second edition of the School Safety Summit themed Emergency Response Preparedness in Schools held. We had safety professionals answering questions on the importance of policies and procedures, basic first aid, training children on safety, preventing abduction in schools and related areas. We had the public presentation and review of the second book in The Adventures of Muna child safety story book series. The Keynote speaker, Taiwo Akinlami shared on the importance of preparedness in child protection. And then we had the panel with representatives of State agencies: Lagos State Safety Commission, Federal Road Safety Corp, Fire Service and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps. They answered questions from  regulatory requirements to preventing accidents with students in school buses, choosing security for schools and important tips to ensure fire safety in school buildings.

Here are some of the things we learned:
Importance of a safety plan
Wherever you see people gathered, you should expect that anything can happen to compromise safety. Safety is for everybody and therefore emergency response plans should be in place. It is imperative for all schools to have a safety plan for the students otherwise there will be penalties. School owners should take safety as seriously as collecting school fees or employing teachers. It shouldn’t be left as a ‘God forbid’ factor.

First Aid knowledge is key
Each school must first decide and know the kind of students they can handle as an institution (special needs or not). Then you must train staff as first aiders to meet the first aid needs of your school population. Children should also be taught as they can save lives too.

Be proactive about fire prevention
Every school must conduct a proper risk assessment to note the possible causes of fire in that particular school environment (quality of material for AC, TV, electrical connection). Depending on the findings of the risk assessment, schools can have a fire alarm system right from the onset, the right fire extinguishers and constantly carry out workplace inspections and audits.

Play your role to prevent child abduction
Teach children to avoid collecting things from strangers. Teach them to scream and flail their arms if someone is trying to take them aware. Ensure that when you drop off your children at school, church or home, they have gone into the building before you drive off as sometimes abductors lurk around gates. Report immediately  you notice a child is missing.

School bus safety is possible
For starters, you need to ensure proper regular maintenance of your school bus. Any school with a minimum of 3 vehicles is a fleet operator and so should be registered as that and comply with safety principles laid down by the Federal Road Safety Commission. Each school bus must have 2 exits and there should always be an assistant in the school bus. Ensure your school bus tyres, brakes and essential parts are in good condition.

School bus drivers play an important role
The safety of children can be compromised by drivers. Therefore it is essential to train and re-train drivers. Schools could sign up with the Federal Road Safety Commission to ensure their drivers are properly trained and can be monitored. Teach drivers that when students alight from school buses, they need to hear the doors get shut first then visually check before they drive off to avoid children getting trapped by the vehicle

There are penalties for failure to comply with set safety standards 
Irrespective of the reasons school owners get into the business of running a school, it is important to find out the necessary safety standards and comply. Schools must ensure that there is an existing safety policy, child protection policy, standard operating procedures that ensure the school is a safe place, periodic evaluation and review. The Lagos State Safety Commission sends consultants to audit schools and it is advised that schools take note and implement recommendations. Failure to comply could result to fine and school shut down but there will be dialogue first to help the school meet up to set standards.

Security of schools should be done by trained professionals
Some times, schools get untrained personnel to man their gates because it is cheap. This could backfire on the schools because usually such persons are not properly trained and you might not have their records to trace them in the case of a problem. Therefore it is important to get security personnel from professional outfits as it reduces the risk associated with random staff at such a sensitive position.

Were you present at the Summit? What other lessons did you learn that are not captured here? Comment below

More pictures from the Summit can be found here

The School Safety Summit 2017 with the theme, “Protecting the Child in School” held on the 17^th May, 2017 at Eden Comfort Place, Ikeja. The Summit was a platform to educate parents, teachers, educators and school owners on the  loopholes in the school safety system and proffer solutions to bridge the gap.

The Summit had senior stakeholders from the Ministry of Education, Lagos State Safety Commission, Federal Road Safety Corps, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and the Nigerian Police in attendance.

The event was put together by Ugochi Obidiegwu also known as The Safety Chic. During her speech, she shared her passion for increasing safety consciousness in individuals and business activities which arose due to illness, deaths and loss of businesses to avoidable causes.

The worrying trends of abduction, illness and death in schools led to organising a Summit to equip educators with more knowledge to keep children in their care safe.

Barrister Taiwo Akinlami, a seasoned total child development expert educated the audience on Child Protection policies and the benefits of implementation. According to him, one of the responsibilities of school owners is to protect the kids placed in their care. He exposed the audience to safety scenarios that are usually taken for granted and proffered solutions on the way forward.

Miss Obidiegwu, in her speech also said safety education should be a formal part of school curriculum and not just advice handed down by parents. She advised schools to take advantage of the free Train Them Young Initiative (#2TYI) her organisation runs to equip students with basic health and safety skills. She also encouraged school owners to put in place necessary safety systems and train teachers to handle different emergency situations because emergencies can happen anywhere and anytime.

Mrs Rhoda Odigboh, a curriculum theorist and one of the panelists suggested that a day should be set aside, where safety scenarios are woven into all subjects. “This would help to impart the right knowledge whilst still teaching the original subjects” she opined.

The School Safety Summit had featured in it a panel discussion featuring Mr Taiwo Akinlami, RonkePosh Adeniyi, Adelola Edema, Rhoda Odigboh, Ugochi Obidiegwu and the Panel moderator Victoria Ibiwoye. The discussion covered areas such as safety education in the school curriculum, protecting special needs kids, efficiency of safety systems in school and importance of safety education. The audience had an opportunity to interact with the different speakers.

Would you like a DVD of the event? Fill the form here

What is the School Safety Summit?

It is a forum for stakeholders to discuss loopholes in the school safety system and proffer solutions to bridge the gap and keep the children safe.

Who should attend?

It is open to parents, teachers, school owners, representatives of security agencies and concerned citizens

How much is it?

It is free

How can I register?

Register by filling the form here https://tinyurl.com/kjmche7

Who are the organisers?

Ulomka Multi Solutions Ltd and TeamMasters

How many people can attend?

As many as possible

Venue?

Eden Comfort Place, 17 Alade Avenue, off Obafemi Awolowo Way, Ikeja

How do I get there?

Once you get onto Obafemi Awolowo Way, Ikeja, the street directly opposite Lagos Airport Hotel is Alade Avenue. Eden Comfort Place is located at number 17, Alade Avenue.

Time?

9am

Who are the speakers?

Taiwo Akinlami
Rhoda Odigboh
RonkePosh Adeniyi
Adelola Edema
Bisi Sotunde

What is the event all about?

It’s about discussing loopholes in the safety of children in school and showcasing innovative solutions to close the gap

What if I want to volunteer at the event?

Please send an email to Ugochi@thesafetychic.com

How do I become a part of The Safety Chic Team?

Please send an email to Ugochi@thesafetychic.com expressing your interest

How can I sponsor the School Safety Summit?

Please send an email to Ugochi@thesafetychic.com to discuss the details of your interest

How can I partner with this event?

Feel free to send an email to Ugochi@thesafetychic.com

Do you run safety training for schools?

Yes, visit www.thesafetychic.com to register. You can also send an email to Ugochi@thesafetychic.com

Do you run safety training for other businesses?

Yes, send an email with the brief to ugochi@thesafetychic.com

Is this an annual event?

Yes

There are a variety of factors that could lead to your child being safe or unsafe in school. In the previous article, we discussed quality of water and the sanitary conditions of the school environment. Now, let’s talk about food and medical surveillance. Food source, its preparation and handling has a potential to lead to ill health if not carefully managed. In the home, what is the source of the meat used? Where do you buy your vegetables? In schools where feeding is part of the package, where is foodstuff obtained? What does the kitchen environment look like? What is the water source for cooking? How is hygiene maintained among the catering staff? Answering these sort of questions help you know what you are doing right and the loopholes in your system. It is important to have regular inspections to ensure nothing compromises your safety standards. Before a safety incident occurs, there must have been a chain of errors. These little errors when taken for granted eventually snowballs to a big incident. It is therefore better to nip an error in the bud before it gets out of control.

This is the reason medical surveillance is also necessary in schools. For starters, there should be a clinic or a functional First Aid unit depending on the size of the school. Emergencies are emergencies because they occur unexpectedly therefore preparedness is key. When children begin to have similar symptoms, that is the time investigations should begin to ascertain the root cause and squash it. Things like this should not be neglected on any account. Remember we are dealing with children with different immunity threshold. All schools should have a medical procedure and plan of what to do in a medical emergency. It is not enough to have it alone, compliance is key. Staff should be trained on basic First Aid skills to enable them act effectively in a medical emergency. Contact details of a hospital that the child can be referred to must be readily available too.

Now parents, do you think these things are  considered in the school your child attends? School owners, how do you think you can now improve school safety standards to ensure your students are protected?

Remember, if you see a mistake and refuse to do anything about it, it becomes your mistake.

Join us at the #SchoolSafetySummit, let’s chart the course of safety for the Nigerian child. Register here https://tinyurl.com/kjmche7  to join the movement.

To be continued next week…