Guidance notes on safer school construction

This document provides a framework of guiding principles and general steps addressing the construction of safer and more disaster resilient education facilities. It is aimed to be adapted to the local context and used to develop a context-specific plan to address a critical gap to reaching the Education for All (EFA) and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

It covers the need and rationale for safer school buildings; recommends a series of suggested steps that highlight key points that should be considered when planning a safer school construction and/or retrofitting initiative; and identifies basic design principles and requirements a school building must meet to provide a greater level of protection. Finally, the it provides a list of key resources for more detailed, technical and context-specific information.

Developed in a widely consultative manner under the leadership of the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) at the World Bank, and in partnership with the Coalition for Global School Safety and Disaster Prevention Education, the IASC Education Cluster and the International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction, these notes are the results of a combined virtual and face-to-face consultative process involving all key global stakeholders (World Health Organization, the Pan-American Health Organization, the World Bank, etc.) as well as inter-sectoral communities of practice (representatives of shelter design, construction, and other relevant professional groups).

The publication was presented at the 2nd Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in June 2009 and is intended to be a widely used advisory tool for policy makers, international agencies, and civil society organizations.