School safety and security

A safe and secure environment is a prerequisite for effective teaching and learning. Threats to the safety and security of people and property can arise from natural hazards – for example earthquake, floods and storms – or from human actions – such as vandalism, arson, and violent crime. While catastrophic events and human tragedies cannot be eliminated entirely, there is a role for facility designers, institutional managers, emergency response teams, and post-crisis intervention in mitigating their negative impact.

Read more in the OECD Publication "Keeping Schools Safe in Earthquakes”. A review of OECD countries’ implementation of the Recommendation Concerning Guidelines on Earthquake Safety in Schools, featured in the report and approved by OECD Council in 2005, is under way. 

• On 11-13 July 2006, the International Security Management and Crime Prevention Institute, in co-operation with the OECD Programme on Educational Building (PEB), hosted the “International Educational Security Conference” in Adelaide, Australia: website, conference programme.
• Workshop on earthquake safety in schools, Istanbul, 1-2 June 2006, organised by the Economic Co-operation Organisation (ECO) and the Turkish Ministry of Education, with the support of OECD and GeoHazards International (GHI): Workshop announcement, Workshop programme, Recommendations of the workshop, ECO Press Release.
• OECD Recommendation Concerning Guidelines on Earthquake Safety in Schools
  • Press Release: OECD Recommendation adopted by 30 OECD Member countries, 21 July 2005 
  • OECD publication Keeping Schools Safe in Earthquakes (2004)
  • OECD and GeoHazards Internation Experts' Meeting on Earthquake Safety in Schools, 9-11 February 2004
• Lessons in Danger, International Conference on School Safety and Security, Paris, 12-14 November 2003 (BUY this publication)
• "Helping Schools Prepare for and Respond to Terrorist Attacks", experts' meeting in Washington D.C., 13-14 February 2002
• OECD response to the Asian tsunami disaster

For more information, please contact Richard Yelland, e-mail: richard.yelland@oecd.org

Additional references: GeoHazards International (GHI), National Alliance for Safe Schools (United States);

OECD in the News: New York Times; Herald Tribune; Bloomberg.