Relief Recovery And Reform
Lessons From The Christchurch Earthquake
Ray Webb
Ministry of Education
Where Were You?
4:35 am Saturday 4 September 2010
12:51 pm Tuesday 22 February 2011
Seminal moments in history
What Would You Do?
• You are with a Year 2 class of 28 students
at Phillipstown Primary School
• You are with 5 Geog H on level 4 of the
Main Block at Christchurch Girls’ High
School
Gone Walkabout
• 9600 Students
• 5600 (approx) still not returned to
Christchurch schools
• School A > 144
• School B > 80
• School C > 70
Who Is In Charge?
Minister of Education
Board of Trustees/Governors
Civil Defence Co-ordinator
Secretary for Education
Police
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
Medical Health Officer
Principal
Director National Crisis Management
Centre
Powers And Jurisdiction
In a Civil Defence State of Emergency,
including National Emergency authority over
schools (and ECE) rests with the Coordinator
Note: This jurisdiction includes independent schools
During a state of emergency, or if there is imminent
threat of a civil defence emergency special powers
and emergency powers can be exercised (CDEM Act
2002)
In regions a CDEM Group will co-ordinate a Welfare
Action Group (WAG):
Chaired by Ministry of Social Development
Ministry of Education is a member of WAG
Independent Or State
CDEM does not distinguish
In February the Ministry of Education did not
distinguish:
• Point of contact
• Liaison with CDEM and WAG
• Access to sewerage solutions
• Water
Your School In An Emergency
PS. it did happen!
Emergency procedures do require practice
Establishment of an Emergency
Management Overview Group
TASK
WHO
Overall responsibility
Team Leader
Staff welfare
Student welfare
Communications
Property
Logistics / facilities
Scenario planning
Counsellors(?)
BACK-UP
What Do You Know?
• Present and correct 
• Presence of all staff
• Contact details / next best friend – in the
February earthquake the network was
down and power was out!
A Friend Indeed
Most primary, including intermediate schools
kept children at school until the children
were collected by an adult
Due to aftershocks children were kept
outside: weather, liquefaction, sewage
To Open Or Not To Open
• The Minister of Education can determine term
dates for state and state integrated schools
• Section 65E allows the local office manager to
approve the emergency closure of a state or
state integrated school
• Other than when a civil defence emergency is in
place, the governing body of an independent
school determines when independent schools
are open or closed
Ready To Open
Pressure on schools to open is significant
Use the Ministry of Education checklist:
• Staff
• Students
• Property
• Infrastructure
Government Departments
See these as support agencies:
• Ministry of Education
• New Zealand Qualifications Authority
• Education Review Office
• Ministry of Social Development
• Immigration New Zealand
Responding To NGO
• Lessons from September earthquake
• Best practice
• Co-ordination
When A Traumatic Incident Is Not A TI
•
•
•
•
•
Scale and scope
Education Welfare Response (EWR)
Staff and students
Immediate needs/long term needs
Best practice: New Zealand and overseas
Flexible Teaching and Learning
Environments
•
•
•
•
The timetabled day may look different
Facilities may be different
Non school variables will affect behaviour
The power of IT
ambiguity
complexity
and paradox
Flexible
Reform Of The Schooling Network
• The network will change
• Opportunity to be flexible with the school
day / school facilities
• New ways of learning with an IT focus, eg
GCSN
The Future
CERA will be a key decision making body on
future land use which will influence how the
Ministry of Education will think about the
network of state schools - role of
independent schools