Department for Education Guidance - Protective security and preparedness for education settings

Compiling your grab kits:

Your setting will already have first aid and fire safety equipment available, as required by your health and safety and fire risk assessments. You may need to use this equipment during the incident.

Grab kits may also be helpful to include additional equipment that may be required during a terrorism incident response. A grab kit is a selection of essential items that you may need during an incident. These should be prepared in advance and left in convenient locations. Staff should not put themselves in additional danger to collect a grab kit. You should minimise the number of different items that staff need to grab in an incident and should consider including any communications equipment, useful information, and Public Access Trauma first aid kits.

Communications equipment

This is equipment that can assist you to communicate with colleagues and/or parents during an incident. Equipment can include electronic devices or utilising written methods of communication where pen and paper is required in which case, you may want to pack a notepad with some pens and paper in your grab kit.

Where key information and communication apps are stored on devices, you should place a device next to the grab kits so that it is easily accessible. These devices should be placed on silent. Where key information is held on paper-based records, settings should consider how staff will be able to bring this with them during an incident, where necessary.

If using electronic devices, you should remember to include any login details, power cables and supplies are included in the grab kit.

Useful Information

You should consider what useful information you should include in the grab kits and ensure that these are kept up to date. Information to include in grab kits should include:

• site plans to assist local police
• attendance registers and visitor logs
• contact details: emergency contacts for learners and staff, contacts of businesses nearby who you may need to warn, essential contacts who will be able to assistyou during an incident
• bomb threat checklist (tailored in advance) and a pen/pencil
• lockdown/invacuation and evacuation template (completed in advance)
• medication lists, reasonable adjustments or tailored plans particularly for those with SEND

Public Access Trauma first aid kits

A Public Access Trauma first aid kit (PAcT) is a first aid kit which supports the treatment of immediate, life-threatening injuries. The kits are designed to be used by anyone, regardless of their level of first aid training and are usually located in publicly accessible locations for people to easily access.

Settings should consider having PAcT kits readily available. There is no duty to make these available, but you should consider them for your setting. They may need to be kept separate to other grab kits so that they are publicly accessible.

When compiling your grab kits you should also consider:

• what equipment should be included in the grab kits i.e. pens and paper, bottles of water etc.
• what equipment should be included for SEND learners i.e. oxygen machines, medications etc.
• the number of kits your setting needs and whether you need separate kits for specific learners i.e. learners with asthma who need inhalers, learners with anxiety who need safety behaviour equipment
• where these grab kits will be located

This is not intended to be a fully comprehensive list, and you may also add other items that you think could be useful during an incident.