Bushfire Season

What can all families do to Prepare for Bushfire Season?

While the school has an emergency and bushfire response plan for our site, it is essential that we are all prepared for a bushfire emergency.

Communicating with your child during this time is essential. Discussing being prepared for natural hazards, such as bushfires, is not harmful to your child, but avoiding conversations can leave them to worry on their own.

Emerging Minds Australia provides the following tips:

  • Assess Their Awareness: Determine what your child knows about bushfires, as it will guide your discussion.
  • Teach Family Preparedness: Explain that disasters can occur, but when the whole family knows what to do, everyone stays safe. It is important that adults remain calm and confident when discussing the family emergency plan.
  • Open for Questions: Encourage your child to ask questions and share their thoughts about disaster preparedness. This helps clear up any misunderstandings.
  • Offer Reassurance: Comfort your child by emphasising that preparedness makes situations less frightening and much safer.

Including your child in the planning process can help them feel more capable of handling a bushfire threat, providing them with a sense of safety and assurance that you have a plan in place. Your child will know that even if they are affected by a disaster, you and your family will use your resources to work together. For information on how to make a Bushfire Family Plan, go to NSW Rural Fire Service.

The Australian Psychological Society provides the following tips for parents and carers as bushfire preparation needs to go beyond developing a household emergency plan. You also need to prepare psychologically.  It is called the AIME model. 

  1. Anticipate the Stress. How do you usually react to highly stressful situations? Do you

default to fight or flight? If you understand your usual reactions, you can put safeguards in place to manage them.

  1. Identify your response. How do you usually react in stressful situations?
  2. Manage your response. Think of strategies you could use and practice them.
  3. Engage Support. If you feel that the stress or anxiety you or your family are experiencing is getting too much to manage, talk to your GP. 

Bushfire Smoke 

Bushfires can result in a large amount of smoke particles in the air, even when fires may be many kilometres away. Please monitor your child for any potential health implications. 

Signs and symptoms students may experience include runny nose, itchy or burning eyes, headaches, coughing, throat irritation, and shortness of breath. Please contact the school if you have any concerns about your child being at school. 

Frequently Asked Questions  

When and how will I know if my child’s school has been made non-operational?

Your school will notify you as soon as possible by the preferred method of communication, which will be via email or COMPASS notifications.  

What education arrangements will be in place if the school is non-operational?

When non-operational, your school will advise of alternative learning arrangements, including any relocation or learning-from-home plans, in a timely manner. 

If you want to know more, read the Australian Red Cross Booklet: EMERGENCIES HAPPEN: protect what matters most

Source: 

Preparing for bushfires information sheet, APS.

Emerging Minds