Communications guidelines

It is essential students, staff, parents and the wider communities are kept informed of the current status of a pandemic and how it is affecting your ECE/school/TEO. Therefore, it is important you plan ahead of time and establish the methods of communication you will use before, during and after a pandemic. Robust communication processes and procedures can save lives.

Plan how you will communicate with your community

It is likely there will be anxiety during a pandemic and this is likely to contribute to increased absence and/or increased stress to boards of trustees, managers, staff, parents, whānau and students. Ways to manage this may be to: 

• Communicate early the possibility of a pandemic, and your preparedness to manage it, to your board, managers, staff, students, parents and whānau.
• Discuss with staff possible health and safety issues, and leave arrangements for them if they are ill or need to look after dependents.
• Have a comprehensive plan in place which is clearly communicated to your board, managers, staff, students, parents and whānau. Ensure that communications management during the pandemic is part of the plan. It will be important to have systems in place to allow you to communicate effectively in a pandemic.
• In activating your plan, provide clear, timely and pro-active communications to your board, managers, staff, students, parents and whānau explaining how you are handling the situation. 
• Utilise the posters, notices, letters and other support material available in the Ministry of Education's Pandemic Planning Kit.
• Explore different ways to communicate with students, parents, staff and teachers if the ECE/school/TEO has to be closed.
• Establish a "communications tree" for your ECE/school/TEO to circulate important messages. Consider how you might maintain communication with:
  - board, managers, staff, student, parents and whānau
  - other ECE/Schools/TEOS in your area/cluster
  - relevant agencies and community support networks
  - key suppliers and contractors.

Use other channels if they exist for communication by text and email or for example schools have access to communications channels through the likes of New Zealand School Trustees Association (NZSTA) and the New Zealand Principals' Federation (NZPF). Web-based Emergency Preparedness Applications are available in the NZ market, but ECE/school/TEO will need to research and evaluate products for themselves.

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Plan how you will communicate with staff

It is likely there will be anxiety regarding a pandemic and this is likely to contribute to increased work absence and/or increased distress to staff. The suggested ways to manage this include:

• Communicate the possibility of a pandemic, and your ECE/school/TEOs’ preparedness to manage it, very early on to staff. The `influenza fact sheet' available from Ministry of Health's website will help you to do this. You can download the document from the Ministry of Health's website at: www.moh.govt.nz/pandemicinfluenza. 
• Discuss with staff possible health and safety issues, potential for stand down, and leave arrangements if they are ill or need to look after those who are or who have been "shut out" of childcare and school. 
• Have a comprehensive management plan in place which is clearly communicated to staff. Ensure that communications management during the pandemic is part of the plan. It will be important to have systems in place to allow you to communicate in a pandemic.
• In activating your plan, provide clear, timely and pro-active communications to staff, including how you are handling the situation. 
• You may wish to establish a "communications tree" so that people can keep in touch during a pandemic.

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Explore different ways to communicate

During a pandemic your ECE/school/TEO may be closed. Therefore all correspondence with staff, students, parents and the community may need to take a different form than usual. Consider the following communication methods: 

• Text messaging
• Standard postal pervice or courier service 
• Signs on the ECE/school/TEO entry points
• A message board on the ECE/school/TEO Website
• Email broadcasts
• Fax broadcasts 
• Telephone audio conferencing (see your telephone service provider) 
• Broadcast phone messages (see your telephone service provider) 
• Notices via the media e.g. community newspapers, radio 
• Message on ECE/school/TEO voicemail or answerphone
• Professional call centre services - inbound and outbound calls.

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Build communication links

Build communication links with key contacts, relevant agencies and community support networks: 

• Staff, students, parents and whānau
• Ministry of Education regional or local office
• New Zealand School Trustees Association (NZSTA): phone 0800 STAHELP or email helpdesk@nzsta.org.nz 
• Other ECE/schools/TEOs in your cluster/area
• Health authorities – public health services, district health board or emergency planner in the first instance - who will direct you to the correct `point of contact'. This may vary from region to region. Approach as a cluster rather than as an individual ECE/school/TEO. Medical officers of health will be part of the region's health response co-ordination team.
• Doctor or public health nurse (Important note. during a pandemic public health nurses are unlikely to be available) 
• Child Youth and Family (CYF) local offices 
• Welfare Advisory Group (WAG).

Local government Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) groups and Regional Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) groups are consortia of local authorities, emergency services (police, fire, health), lifeline utilities and others working together within regional boundaries - administered by regional councils.

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Sample communications tree

ECE/schools/TEOs should follow Ministry of Health advice at every stage of a pandemic. Ministry of Health announcements will be made through media reports and on their website. There may also be direct communication with education providers from the Medical Officer of Health (district health board or public health service). All major decisions such as ECE/school/TEO closures should be made in close consultation with local health authorities.

You can down a copy of a sample communications planning tree from related downloads below.