Would the children in your Centre be safe in an emergency?
While we don’t like to think of them happening, they can occur at any time.
So, as part of your duty of care, you need to have a plan for how you will safely evacuate and transport the children should one arise.
Let’s explore the emergency evacuation options available to you now.
Emergency Evacuation
Having an Emergency Evacuation procedure is critical to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the children in your care, staff and visitors should a fire, natural disaster, or any other emergency situation occur. The specific procedures may vary depending on your location, the Centre’s size, and your local regulations.
Generally, the process involves these key steps:
- Have A Plan: ECEs should have a well-defined evacuation plan that is tailored to your facility. It should include detailed procedures for what to do in various types of emergencies, along with evacuation routes, assembly points, and the responsibilities designated to each team member during an evacuation.
- Train And Educate: There is no point in having an evacuation plan if no one knows what it is! So, make sure your staff know how to follow the plan should an emergency arise. Take regular opportunities to go over your evacuation procedures and what everyone needs to do to guide and assist the children in the event of an emergency. You should also practice evacuating with the children using age-appropriate drills and discussions.
- Establish Exit Routes: Your exit routes should be visible, easily accessible and clearly marked. They must be kept clear and unobstructed at all times. They also must be wide enough to accommodate the safe evacuation of the children, your team members and any visitors.
- Emergency Equipment: It's not just the plan that you need to have on hand. Also, make sure you have assembled the necessary emergency equipment too. That emergency kit should include things like a first aid kit, flashlights, whistles and any necessary medical supplies. Key team members should know exactly where it is and it should be easy to grab in a hurry.
- Meeting Points: Identify and establish safe assembly points that are outside of the facility and away from danger. This is the spot where everyone will gather so that staff can take a roll call and ensure everyone is safely evacuated.
- Initiation Signs: While some emergencies are obvious, some are more subtle, so you will need an initiation signal that triggers all staff members into action. That may include an alarm system, intercom notification, or designated signals.
- Transport: When you have a large number of children of varying ages, you can’t simply gather them together and walk out of the facility. You will need to have safe provisions for all ages, including children who are too young to mobilise themselves. A KinderPod Arohanui stroller could just be the perfect safety solution for this.
Safe Evacuation
We understand that you want to get the children out of the Centre as quickly as possible in an emergency, but this needs to be done in a safe manner. We’ve heard of a lot of options being used to transport children quickly, but many of these methods do not meet safety guidelines.
Such as:
❌ Cots On Wheels
The wheels on a cot are there so that you can move the structure into place before putting a child in. They are not a safe option for transporting children as you cannot restrain them within the cot. The cot itself may also tip while you are trying to move it in a hurry as the weight distribution will be off centre with children in it.
❌ Wagons
While wagons are handy for throwing your emergency supplies into for transport, they are not a safe way to transport children. Just like the cot, you are unable to restrain the children in a wagon and it would be very easy for them to fall out while it is moving. There is also the added danger of little fingers being caught in the wheels or trapped under the handles.
❌ Carrying Children
When you evacuate a home, you can get your family out by carrying the younger members if you need to. But, this is not a practical option for a childcare centre as there are simply too many children who need your help. Carrying them out to the meeting point one by one is inefficient and unsafe for the ones left inside awaiting evacuation.
✅ Multi-Seat Stroller
The most effective and safest option for transporting multiple children in an emergency is a multi-set stroller like the KinderPod Arohanui. With the ability to harness up to 6 children safely, the KinderPod meets ECE industry safety standards and gives you a practical way to transport children of varying ages quickly and efficiently.
The Many Uses Of The KinderPod Arohanui
The KinderPod Arohanui stroller gives an awful lot of bang for your buck! With a double stroller base and the ability to add four additional seats in various configurations, this is one effective multi-use stroller. Use the double stroller as a standalone piece or add in baby/newborn seats, recliner seats or toddler seats to cater for children of all ages.
Not only do you have all these seat options, but you also have different configuration options with those seats, so you can set it up to meet the individual needs of your Centre.
The KinderPod Arohanui is a safe and effective option in an emergency. Sturdy, manoeuvrable, and safe, you can harness the kids in and get them moving to the evacuation meeting point in a hurry. Plus, there is plenty of space to store your emergency kit and other supplies too.
While the Arohanui is awesome in an emergency, that is not all it's good at. It is also great for excursions and getting the children out into nature. Easily pushed by one team member, that leaves the others free to engage with the children and maintain safety procedures. Plus, it folds down easily and is stored in the same space as a standard double stroller.
Love the idea of keeping the children at your Centre safe in an emergency? Then, explore the option of getting a KinderPod Arohanui stroller at your Centre now. Check out all the features here, or contact our friendly team with any questions you might have