Johannesburg - Differently-abled children face challenges with mobility or communicating effectively during an emergency situation and are extremely vulnerable during disasters. Inadequate safety measures and equipment in schools for Learners with Special Education Needs (LSEN schools) can pose a physical threat to learners, teachers and the school infrastructure.
Santam CSI Manager, Tersia Mdunge, said one example of the critical need for in-depth risk assessment, training and appropriate functional equipment at LSEN schools is deaf learners who are unable to hear sirens when a fire breaks out and may not react quickly enough.
Santam, in partnership with the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC), developed a Standard Risk Assessment tool that assists the DBE in identifying risks in Special Needs Schools, 400 of which have been earmarked by the department and broader schools in South Africa.
This current paper-based self-assessment is a first step for a school to conduct a risk assessment, and it enables the DBE and its partners to ascertain the level of risk in different schools and respond appropriately, thus optimising resources.
The partnership for disaster risk management in LSEN schools was formed to reduce risks to the most vulnerable members of society and was rolled out in a multi-phase programme across four provinces (Free State, Gauteng, North West and Limpopo) in 2018. The programme was first piloted at the St Vincent School for the Deaf in Johannesburg.
“The severity of the level of risk these learners face was evidenced in the 2015 tragedy that occurred at the North West School for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children hostel, where three pupils lost their lives, and another 23 were injured in a fire that engulfed the school’s dormitories,” Mdunge said.
In the latest phase of the programme, Santam partnered with 19 schools in Limpopo and spent more than R3,2m mitigating risks at schools for children with special needs.
“Inadequate safety measures and equipment in special schools can pose a physical threat to learners, teachers and the school infrastructure. As South Africa’s largest insurer, we consider it our responsibility to help society, particularly its most vulnerable members, to be better prepared and become more risk resilient by providing the tools, training and equipment required to withstand the risks they face,” Mdunge added.
Ronnie Mohlabi, Principal at Phatlaphadima Special School, said the school first opened in 1999, serving just 65 learners. It has since grown to incorporate a boarding school and caters to the needs of 216 learners aged six to 21 years with intellectual disabilities.
“Many children with disabilities attend school away from their families and communities and stay in hostels – their safety and security is therefore critical. Since the partnership with Santam commenced in 2022, the school has benefited greatly, and staff members are now more conscious and better equipped to tend to the safety needs of the school and its learners. We are very grateful for the support which has enabled our staff to take responsibility for the special learners under our care and to ensure we maintain well-functioning disaster risk management procedures and equipment at all times,” he said.