Incident Management Software: 10 Questions Every School Governor Should Ask Before The Next Emergency

Written by Dr Shalen Sehgal | Crises Control  

The Headteacher finishes presenting the annual safeguarding and emergency preparedness update.

Policies have been reviewed, lockdown drills completed, emergency contact lists updated and business continuity plans refreshed.

The governing board thanks the leadership team and moves to the next agenda item.

For many schools, this is where the conversation ends.

For effective governance, it is where the most important questions should begin.

School governors are not responsible for managing emergencies. Their role is to provide strategic oversight, challenge assumptions and ensure the school is prepared to protect pupils, staff and visitors when an incident occurs. That responsibility extends beyond confirming that policies exist. It requires confidence that those policies can be translated into effective action under operational pressure.

This distinction matters because schools are expected not only to have emergency plans, but also to demonstrate that those plans can be implemented effectively under pressure. Schools face a wide range of potential disruptions, from severe weather and utility failures to safeguarding incidents, cyber attacks, medical emergencies and security threats. While each incident requires a different response, governors share the same responsibility in every case: ensuring the school can respond in a coordinated, well-governed and resilient way.

This is where Incident Management Software can support school leadership and governance. Rather than simply providing a platform for reporting incidents or sending emergency notifications, it helps schools demonstrate that emergency plans are supported by clear responsibilities, structured communication, operational visibility and documented decision-making.

The question for governors is therefore not simply: “Does our school have an emergency plan?”

It is: “How do we know that plan will work when it is needed most?”

The ten questions in this guide are designed to help governing boards move beyond compliance and evaluate whether their school’s emergency preparedness is genuinely effective.

What Is School Emergency Preparedness Governance?

School emergency preparedness governance is the process of providing strategic oversight to ensure a school can respond effectively to emergencies while protecting pupils, staff, visitors and normal operations. It involves challenging assumptions, reviewing evidence, understanding risks and confirming that emergency plans can be implemented successfully under real operational conditions.

For governors, preparedness should not be measured by the existence of policies alone. Effective oversight requires confidence that leadership teams can communicate quickly, coordinate multiple responsibilities, maintain safeguarding, support business continuity and demonstrate accountability throughout an incident.

This means asking questions that go beyond compliance.

Instead of asking whether a plan exists, governors should ask whether the school can demonstrate that the plan has been tested, understood by staff and supported by the processes needed to make informed decisions during an emergency.

The Common Assumption Governors Should Challenge

One of the most common assumptions in school governance is that if emergency plans have been written, reviewed and approved, the school is prepared.

In reality, documentation is only one part of preparedness.

A school may have comprehensive policies covering safeguarding, lockdown procedures, evacuation, business continuity and emergency communication. However, the existence of these documents does not automatically mean staff can implement them confidently during a fast-moving incident.

Operational pressure changes everything.

An emergency rarely unfolds according to a written procedure. Information is incomplete, decisions must be made quickly and several incidents may occur simultaneously. Headteachers, senior leaders and support staff must balance pupil safety, safeguarding responsibilities, communication with parents, coordination with emergency services and the continuity of school operations, often within the first few minutes.

This is where governors have an important role.

Their responsibility is not to manage the incident itself. It is to ask whether the school has demonstrated that its plans can be translated into effective action when normal routines no longer apply.

Preparedness should therefore be measured by evidence, not assumption.

Why Governors Need Evidence, Not Assurance

Many schools review emergency plans annually, conduct lockdown exercises and confirm that emergency contact details remain up to date. These activities are important and should form part of every school’s emergency preparedness programme.

They should not, however, be mistaken for proof that the school is ready.

A plan may never have been tested under realistic operational conditions. Staff who understand their responsibilities during an exercise may respond differently when faced with uncertainty, conflicting information or the pressure of protecting pupils while making time-critical decisions.

This is why effective governance depends on constructive challenge.

When leadership presents emergency preparedness updates, governors should feel confident asking how the school knows its arrangements will work under operational pressure. That does not mean questioning the commitment or competence of school leaders. It means seeking evidence that supports confidence.

Governors should therefore look beyond whether activities have been completed and ask what those activities revealed.

For example:

• Did the exercise identify communication gaps between staff and leadership?
• Were visitors, contractors and temporary staff included in emergency procedures?
• Could leadership monitor which staff had acknowledged emergency instructions?
• Were responsibilities clear throughout the incident?
• Did the exercise improve the school’s emergency response plan?

Evidence may also include the outcomes of business continuity reviews, incident reports, acknowledgement records, emergency communication testing, post-incident reviews and the improvements made following previous exercises.

These conversations move governance beyond compliance and towards operational confidence. Rather than simply confirming that emergency preparedness activities have taken place, governors can evaluate whether those activities have genuinely strengthened the school’s ability to respond when it matters most.

Schools that can demonstrate continual learning are generally better prepared than those that simply confirm policies are in place.

The following ten questions provide a practical framework for governing boards to evaluate school emergency preparedness more effectively. Rather than focusing on compliance alone, they encourage governors to examine the leadership, communication, accountability and operational processes that determine how their school is likely to perform during a real emergency.

1. How Do We Know Every Member Of Staff Will Receive Emergency Instructions?

During an emergency, communication must extend beyond permanent teaching staff. Schools often rely on supply teachers, teaching assistants, administrative staff, contractors, catering teams and visitors, all of whom may have responsibilities during an incident.

Governors should ask how emergency instructions are distributed, how quickly they can reach everyone on site and whether the school can confirm that critical messages have been received.

Questions worth exploring include:

• How are emergency messages delivered?
• Can acknowledgements be monitored?
• Are temporary staff included in emergency communication?
• What happens if someone does not receive the alert?

Emergency Notification Software can help schools move beyond simply sending messages by providing visibility into who has received, acknowledged and acted upon emergency instructions.

2. Can Leadership Build A Clear Operational Picture During An Incident?

The first few minutes of an emergency are often characterised by uncertainty.

Different members of staff report different pieces of information. Reception receives calls from concerned parents. Senior leaders begin speaking with emergency services while safeguarding leads assess immediate risks.

Governors should ask whether leadership can quickly build one reliable understanding of the situation rather than relying on multiple phone calls, emails and verbal updates.

A useful discussion might include:

• How is incident information collected?
• Who verifies new information?
• How are decisions recorded?
• Can leadership see what actions are already underway?

Good decisions depend on accurate operational awareness rather than fragmented updates from different departments.

3. Have We Tested More Than The Plan?

Many schools carry out lockdown drills and emergency exercises every year. The more important question is whether those exercises identified weaknesses. An exercise should challenge assumptions rather than simply confirm procedures.

Governors should ask:

• What did the most recent exercise reveal?
• What improvements were made afterwards?
• Were communication gaps identified?
• Were responsibilities clear throughout the exercise?

Every exercise should strengthen the school’s emergency preparedness rather than simply demonstrate compliance.

4. Are Roles And Responsibilities Clearly Defined?

During an emergency, uncertainty about responsibility can delay important decisions.

Governors should understand whether every critical role has been clearly allocated before an incident occurs.

For example:

• Who declares an incident?
• Who communicates with parents?
• Who coordinates with emergency services?
• Who oversees safeguarding?
• Who manages business continuity?
• Who records decisions for post-incident review?

Clearly defined responsibilities reduce duplication, minimise confusion and support more confident decision-making under pressure.

5. Can The School Demonstrate Business Continuity As Well As Emergency Response?

An emergency response does not end once the immediate risk has been managed. Schools must also consider how education, safeguarding and essential services will continue during disruption.

Governors should ask whether the school’s business continuity planning covers scenarios such as:

• Severe weather
• Utility failures
• Cyber incidents
• Building closures
• Staff shortages
• Major safeguarding incidents

Effective school business continuity planning helps minimise disruption while ensuring critical services continue wherever it is safe and appropriate to do so.