Safety and related protocol for students -An outline for the Modern Educator

Teachers today are not only meant to provide education to the students, they are for mentoring them to grow up to be independent individuals. Educators are largely responsible for shaping the personality of students, giving them all the assistance they need for a healthy childhood. As a classroom leader, the safety of your students should be a major concern; but this should not be limited only within the school boundaries; it goes beyond that. Students should be made aware of their surroundings and how to independently care for their safety.

Teachers need to ensure that certain measures are taken for the complete safety of students in the classroom. While physical security measures are pretty much understandable, as an instructional leader, you need to prepare a comprehensive plan for the mental and physical well-being of students, while encouraging a healthy and safe learning environment.

Here is an outline that spotlights on the integral aspects of developing a thorough safety protocol for students.

Regularly update safety guidelines and create awareness

You must have prepared an appreciable safety guideline at the beginning of the session; but you need to review it at least on a monthly basis to see if it needs certain additions or not. You should invest time in studying the changes in school communities across the world, and see if you can adopt certain aspects for the betterment of your students, and add those rules to your list of protocols.

Further, it is important to create awareness regarding your safety blueprint. It should be shared not only with your students, but also with their parents and your colleagues. This pertains to the fact that everyone is working towards a common goal. You can have leaflets distributed to everyone or have an interactive discussion with each group.

Training students to foster a safe physical school environment

A key aspect of child safety is to make their school a safe place for them. As a classroom leader, you can ensure a safe ambience so that children do not end up getting hurt in any way. Here are a few things you can take care of and train children to do the same as well:

Physical health awareness

Children are prone to an unhealthy lifestyle more than ever before. With the advent of the fast food culture, children are more bent towards unhealthy foods. Sessions for discussing healthy eating habits can be arranged. You can have a small picnic where only healthy foods can be allowed so that children imbibe healthy eating habits. They should be encouraged to bring home-made foods.

Child obesity is a real issue and students need to know about this and strive for a fit body. Healthy food habits should be inculcated among students. Awareness regarding food allergies is also important. Proper eating and exercise are quintessential for a healthy body.

Mental health awareness

A school safety plan is incomplete without a section dedicated to mental health. Students today are dealing with a host of stress concerns, ranging from academic stress to family issues and what not. Poor mental health is the root cause of many problems and it needs to be addressed on a regular basis.

Educators should dedicate classes for discussing and addressing the following issues:

A child facing any of the above issues must be struggling with a good deal of trauma. Proper awareness and counseling is the need of the hour. They should be encouraged to raise a voice if they are victims, or be a whistleblower for a friend they know who is facing any such problem. Students must be taught what to do and who to go to when in trouble. As an educator, you should instill the confidence in your students that they can always come to you for any help. Be their confidante, they can always look up to.

Conclusion

Teachers are nurturers who nurture young minds leading them to become confident and kind human beings. Your job is never restricted to the pages of textbooks. You instill knowledge, values, empathy, conviction, discipline and much more. Creating a safety protocol for students may seem like an overwhelming job, but it is one of the many aspects that you can diligently handle, if done with proper planning and time investment. This will surely lead to a positive learning environment and academic excellence.