School preparedness: building a culture of risk awareness

Schools across Europe face increasingly complex challenges. Climate change is intensifying storms, floods and heatwaves; cyberthreats and violence are global concerns; and other unexpected crises like pandemics or power outages can strike with little warning.  

The EU Preparedness Union Strategy aims to improve Europe's capability to prevent and respond to various emerging threats. A key aim of the strategy is to include preparedness in school curricula and offer suitable training for school staff.  

In a series of articles, we will explore how schools already include preparedness in daily life and how they can further strengthen it. In the first article, we look at existing national guidelines and practices.  

Assessing potential risks  

Preparedness begins with a risk assessment. Schools should evaluate local hazards and develop clear emergency protocols to cover evacuation routes, safe assembly points, communication systems and roles for staff. Plans should be regularly updated and reinforced with drills and scenario-based exercises. 

Several national and regional authorities have already put in place safety guidelines and action plan models, for example: 

• In France, the school safety plan (‘Le plan particulier de mise en sûreté’ (PPMS)) is the main framework for schools to evaluate major risks and threats and define specific measures in response to each.  

• The Finnish education authority's website on safety and security topics in school provides comprehensive information on planning and preparing for unusual situations.   

• The Estonian authorities offer guidelines for educational institutions’ emergency plans, including instructions for creating a crisis team, communicating in emergency situations and carrying out follow-up activities. 

Raising risk awareness 

Fostering a culture of risk awareness, integrating safety and resilience into everyday school practices, is essential. Teachers can embed aspects such as climate science, critical thinking and problem-solving into their lessons, helping pupils understand both the causes of hazards and possible responses. Pupil-led projects, such as pupil safety committees or first-aid clubs, also empower young people to take responsibility for their surroundings.  

Schools should have access to tailored, age-appropriate teaching materials on emergency planning and awareness. Some examples include:  

• The ‘Decisive moment’ project in Italy, which offers comic books and videos to teach children about civil protection. 

• ‘BE-Ready’, an interactive game created by the Belgian government to help pupils learn how to act in different emergency situations. The game is available in French, Dutch and German.   

• Information on preparedness for Swedish schools on a central platform managed by Skolverket (the Swedish National Agency for Education). The guidelines include, among other topics, how to practise for different types of crises. 

• Videos by the civil protection authorities in Romania that explain to pupils how to act in case of earthquakes and other emergency situations like flooding, heatwaves or storms.