Teachers work hard trying to create a positive and pleasant atmosphere in their classrooms. They could decorate the space so that their students would feel inspired and productive during the lessons. However, despite this fun surrounding you, as a teacher should create, do not forget about the importance of safety in your classrooms. You need to make your environment safe enough so that you would not worry about your students that much.
When preparing your classrooms, think of the possible danger factors you or your students might encounter. For that teachers should take some safety measures which would decrease the number of accidents among their students.
If you are one of those busy teachers who is always on the run juggling several jobs and different tasks, you probably do not have so much free time to be extra creative or take care of safety equipment in your classrooms. In case you are going to continue your education or already, but your work takes up most of your time, consider asking for help. Address, for instance, Ph.D. dissertation writing service where experts would help you with all your writing assignments. Thus, you will get professional assistance and will be less stressed.
Yet, if you want to pay more attention to your students’ classroom safety, check the following tips that would help you to create a secure surrounding.
1. Consider your goals
As with any job you might need to do, setting a plan in advance could be beneficial. Detect issues or deficiencies your classroom has, evaluate them, and think of the plan accordingly.
2. Safety of the furniture
Take care of the furniture in your classrooms. You need to be assured that your students especially if they are young kids will not get injured because of some open drawers, doors or sharp surfaces.
3. Have an evacuation plan
One of the easiest, but helpful things you could do is just print a plan of evacuation and hang it in some visible place in your classroom. Introduce it to the students and talk about actions to do in case of danger. Check with the students how familiar they are with all the exit routes and evacuation procedures.
4. Clear exits
You will also need to be sure that all the doors and windows are easily accessed and that people would not meet any obstacles trying to get out of the building.
5. Restrict students’ access to possibly dangerous objects/materials
Classrooms could store cleaning chemicals and teachers must be sure that students cannot reach such materials. Check with your institutional guidance on how to store cleaning supplies and other dangerous materials in classrooms.
6. Be careful with decorations
Surely, teachers like decorating their classrooms for the students, but they should think of safety first. Be sure your decorations do not block the view on the blackboard. They also should not block any exits or cause a fire.
7. Electricity safety
Electric cords are often the reasons for accidents in any building. Be sure they are located in safe spaces where traffic is not so busy and the access is restricted. Do not cover the cords and do not hang them. Moreover, be careful with plugging several extension cords or plugging several devices in one socket. Avoid overloading!
8. Use a Ladder
When hanging decorations use only ladders. Take them also when you try to reach high shelves. Never use chairs or desks since it might be more dangerous.
9. Create a safety culture
All the steps mentioned above are crucial. However, except for them, it would be great if you and other teachers could create a general safety culture where safety management is a common practice. The idea here is to implement a range of preventive measures rather than act only when problems appear. Cooperate with other staff at your institution and make a strategy of how you would design and implement a safety policy.
Teachers and students spend lots of their time in classrooms so it is highly important to manage efficiently all the possible risks they might face. Be aware of all hazards and issues that could appear and equip the environment with resources according to them. You as a teacher should try to make your learning environment not only creative and fun, but also safe.