While schools are typically safe places for most children, they are not completely risk free. More than 200,000 children are injured on school playgrounds alone each year. In addition, they face many other risks related to at-school activities, including sport-related injuries, which account for approximately 135,000 visits to emergency departments by kids, ages five to 18, annually.

Because no child is completely immune from potential personal injury, parents and school personnel must work together to prevent emergencies and to develop comprehensive plans for dealing with a broad range of emergencies, including injuries and illness, natural disasters, bomb threats, fire, and violence.

Here are some good questions to ask your school district staff:

• Is there a full-time nurse on duty?
• If the school has a lunchroom, is the staff trained in performing the Heimlich Maneuver?
• Does the school have an emergency plan?  If so, what is it? 
• Are school personnel informed about how to access the community’s emergency medical care system?
• In an emergency, are school personnel allowed to seek emergency care for a child without having to notify his or her parents first?  If not, make sure to provide a medical consent-to-treat form
• Are school personnel trained in first aid and CPR?
• What school accident prevention and reporting systems are in place? How is information from these reports used to modify risks for students?
• How are emergency medical service providers involved in educating and training school-based health personnel and other school staff?

Before the school year starts, be sure to:

• Organize your child’s medical history records and emergency medical contact information. Consider using a service, such as MedicAlert, which can provide yor child’s emergency medical record to the emergency department if they are sick or injured. MedicAlert’s emergency record contains information related to prescription medications, medical problems or previous surgeries, as well as pertinent family history and emergency contacts. Additionally, when responding to an emergency, MedicAlert will notify the child’s designated family contacts. Provide a copy of this information to your child’s school or daycare provider with instructions to take it with them to the emergency department if your child is sick or injured. The form should contain information related to prescription medications, medical problems, or previous surgeries as well as pertinent family history and emergency contacts.
• Fill out consent-to-treat forms and give one to the school or your daycare provider for them to keep in your child’s record and to take with them if your child goes to the emergency department. The form will allow caregivers to authorize treatment in an emergency situation. (For this and other forms, see page __ of this guide.)
• Check out your family’s eligibility for free or low-cost health insurance through the State Children's Health Insurance Program. To find out whether you’re eligible, call the national toll-free telephone number, 1-877-KIDS NOW (543-7669). Even if you are not eligible, your child may be.
• Schedule medical and dental check-ups before school starts. Some children may need immunizations.
• Review and do a dry run of your child’s route to school, explaining potential hazards along the way. This is a good time to discuss safety rules for going to and coming from school. 
• Make sure your children know how to telephone for help. Post emergency-contact numbers on every telephone in your home. Have them practice how to call 911 or the local emergency number, and give their name, address and a brief description of the problem.
• Develop a family emergency plan in case something happens on the way to or while at school.
• Be aware of any emergency and evacuation plans your child’s school may have established.