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Find out what you can do to get ready for the fire danger season and what your child’s school will do if there’s a bushfire risk.
Check if your child goes to a high bushfire risk school or preschool.
Contact for site closures and other emergency information
Emergency information: 1800 000 279
Families can contact the department's Security and Emergency Management (SEM) Unit during the fire danger season and at other times as needed for information about school and preschool closures as a result of forecasted catastrophic fire danger days and bushfire activity.
The SEM Unit is available weekdays from 8.30am to 4.30pm. A monitored messaging service is available outside of these times.
Bushfires and your child’s school
Prepare for a bushfire
Families should follow these steps to prepare for the fire danger season:
- read the bushfires and your child’s school or preschool brochure (PDF 4 MB)
- talk to your children about what will happen if a bushfire happens when they're at school or preschool
- read all bushfire information given to you by your child’s school or preschool
- make sure your emergency contact details are up-to-date and available to your school or preschool before the start of the fire danger season.
Your family also needs to understand the emergency management plan at your child’s school or preschool. Ask your child’s school or preschool for a copy of their plan.
Use the bushfire preparation checklist (PDF 484 KB) to make sure you’re prepared.
Communication with parents and caregivers
It’s important that you understand how your school or preschool will communicate closure information to you. They may contact you via phone, text message or through social media and smartphone applications.
You should only take action in relation to official notifications from your school or preschool or the department’s official information sources (this includes the department’s Facebook page).
Personal bushfire survival plans
Make sure you and your family are prepared for the fire danger season by reviewing the CFS information about preparing yourself for bushfire.
Important: If your family has their own bushfire survival plan in place – for days of extreme or catastrophic fire danger or in the event of a bushfire threat – you must let your child’s school or preschool know if your plan will affect your child’s attendance.
School holidays
On forecast catastrophic fire days the department policy for school and preschool closures will still apply in the school holidays. See bushfire updates for a list of closures (where applicable), or call the SEM Unit on 1800 000 279.
Buses, taxis and excursions
On forecast catastrophic fire days these services will be cancelled in the affected fire ban districts:
- bus services
- taxi services
- any excursions that need bus travel.
See the list of high bushfire risk school and preschools to see if your child’s services will be affected.
