Safeguarding and welfare

Guidance for emergency situations

The EYFS requires providers to take all necessary steps to keep children safe and well. This includes having contingency plans for emergencies and ensuring that staff are trained to implement these plans.

The EYFS 2024 states:

‘Providers must have clear procedures in case of fire, evacuation, lockdown, or other emergencies. These procedures should be regularly practiced and reviewed.’

‘Emergency plans should be based on thorough risk assessments that identify potential hazards and risks. These assessments should consider the needs of children and staff, including any special requirements or medical conditions.

Martyn's Law, which comes into force in 2027 requires public premises with over 200 people to be prepared for terrorist attacks. Early Years, primary, secondary and further education settings that can be expected to host 200 or more individuals at the same time are considered to be standard duty premises under the Act. If your school or early years setting has fewer than 200 people, it is considered 'out of scope' for Martyn's Law. However, it is still recommended that schools and nurseries out of scope develop security plans, create a strong security culture, train staff on their roles in preventing and responding to incidents, and regularly test these plans to ensure they are effective.

What is an emergency?

The Civil Contingencies Act, 2004, defines an emergency is an event or situation which threatens serious damage to:

• Human welfare in a place in the United Kingdom
• The environment of a place in the United Kingdom
• The security of the United Kingdom or of a place in the United Kingdom

A critical incident may be defined as any sudden and unexpected incident or sequence of events which causes trauma within an early years setting, and which overwhelms the normal coping mechanisms of that establishment.

Key Principles to keep children safe in emergencies

Having clear emergency plans in place to deal with a range of emergency situations and incidents is essential and a little preparation now, can make a big difference later. To help you with your planning we have developed guidance for emergency situations (PDF, 1.5 MB) and a ‘One Minute Guide (PDF, 272 KB)’ to support all Early Years Providers working with children aged from birth to five years, with a focus on good practice in relation to emergency situations.