September is an exciting time of year for students to head back to school. As school administrators, however, it also means that it's high time you should review your students' safety, as well as the risk management strategy of your educational institution since changes year to year could lead to adjustments in your insurance needs. In today's Pacific Prime article, we will feature some key tips on school safety and insurance for you to better prepare for the new academic year.
Back to school safety tips
Educational institutions have the legal and moral responsibility to protect the safety of their pupils and staff. The start of a new school year not only means reuniting with classmates and shopping for new textbooks and stationery, but it may also be a time associated with a heightened risk of unforeseen mishaps. The following insider tips shed light on how you can ascertain your educational institution's safety for teachers, parents, and students:
Regularly update your school's safety plan
After summer vacations, it is most likely there will be new insurance needs and potential risks that school managers have to take into account. These risks, if left unidentified, may jeopardize or even paralyze your school's operation. Thus, it makes sense to revisit your school's safety plan to ensure it is updated and pertinent and determine which particular issue is of utmost concern so that you can allocate your resources accordingly. While every school has to face its own set of unique risks, the main school safety categories include travel safety, outdoor activity safety, emergency preparedness, physical and mental health, bullying, and database safety.
Provide training sessions to teachers
Regular training sessions can help ascertain that teachers possess adequate classroom management skills to maintain safety. There are a plethora of training programs you can offer, for instance, courses that train teachers on how to prevent bullying or identify the warning signs of mental illness in children. Additionally, you can cooperate with professional or community organizations to offer more specialized training sessions.
Educate all parties on your school's safety policies
As a responsible school manager, your duties do not stop at enacting a robust risk management strategy, but also include familiarizing all stakeholders with the safety rules. For example, you can use simple words with graphic images to let pupils understand the rules. You can also issue newsletters to parents to keep them informed.
Schools inherently have to face a diverse range of threats due to the unique nature of their business, from property safety to allegations against staff and stolen teaching equipment. In the previous part, we've mentioned the importance of annually updating your safety plan, and the overarching step is to identify the most prominent risks your schools and staff are facing. In this section, we will discuss in greater detail the most common risks among educational institutions, and how valid school insurance solutions can minimize those risks.
Group health insurance for teachers
Given the high density of pupils, schools could be a hotbed of infectious disease, particularly because September is still a summer month during which bacteria and viruses are more active. Therefore, it is a smart move to review your group health insurance coverage to make sure that it covers check-ups, vaccinations, and GP visits with adequate benefit limits. You may also want to go the extra mile and encourage health insurance for pupils since they may also bring germs home.
Cyber insurance
While advanced technology has made administration work easier than ever, technological systems are also a double-edged sword due to their vulnerability to data security breaches. An effective cyber insurance policy goes a long way in protecting valuable and sensitive personal data (student and staff information, credit card data) from malicious attacks. Should there be a major breach of information, the associated legal and repair costs can be potentially astronomical.
Liability insurance
In this increasingly litigious society, not only teaching staff has to face potential lawsuits, but also members of the board and directors. A professional indemnity and Directors & Officers' liability insurance is highly recommended to meet the potential costs associated with mounting legal defense.
Travel insurance
School trips are indeed the most exciting time of the year, particularly for international and private school students, who may go on field trips abroad. However, organizing a school trip is way more complex than just arranging itineraries and booking flight tickets. Schools are required to take out a group travel insurance policy to cover unexpected medical emergencies and travel-related mishaps during overseas school trips. International student health insurance should also be encouraged.
Contact Pacific Prime for more school insurance advice
The above information is purely a tip of an iceberg of the information related to school insurance. Pacific Prime's insurance specialists have curated the School Insurance Guide 2018 - 2019 to offer a full lowdown on the ins and outs of recommended insurance solutions for private and international schools.
Leveraging our 20 years of experience and a rich portfolio of international school clienteles , Pacific Prime can help you select, manage, and renew your insurance policy according to your school's insurance needs. Contact us today for impartial insurance advice, an obligation-free quote, and plan comparison.
