The Comprehensive School Safety Framework (CSSF) 2022-2030 is a global strategic framework that provides risk-informed guidance to governments and partners to promote safe, equitable, and continuous access to quality education for all learners. It adopts an “all-hazards, all-risks” approach, covering natural and climate-induced hazards, technological hazards, biological/health risks, conflict and violence, and everyday threats.
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Comprehensive School Safety Framework
General Information
ISIG
A policy and planning toolkit used by education and disaster risk management actors to assess, reduce, and manage risks affecting learners, educators, and education systems. The solution outlines foundations and pillars for systemic action to protect learners, keep schools open during crises, and build resilience through risk education and inclusive safety management.
The CSSF aims to:
- Protect learners, educators, and staff from harm in schools and learning spaces
- Plan for continuity of education in the face of shocks, stresses, and threats
- Promote skills and knowledge in risk reduction, resilience, and sustainable development
It integrates with child rights and protection frameworks and promotes risk-informed decision-making across the education sector.
Increasing multi-hazard threats, including climate change impacts, pandemics, conflict, and technological risks, have heightened vulnerabilities in education systems worldwide. The CSSF builds on decades of global school safety advocacy and was revised between 2020 and 2022 to respond to these evolving challenges by providing comprehensive, evidence-based guidance aligned with the SDGs and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. Over 80 countries have endorsed or are implementing aspects of the framework, demonstrating broad global commitment.
The CSSF comprises four interrelated elements:
- Foundation: Enabling Systems and Policies: legal, regulatory, financial, and governance conditions to support child rights, sustainability, and resilience in the education sector.
- Pillar 1 – Safer Learning Facilities: guidelines for hazard-resilient infrastructure and safe school environments.
- Pillar 2 – School Safety and Educational Continuity Management: risk assessment, risk reduction planning, preparedness, and continuity strategies.
- Pillar 3 – Risk Reduction and Resilience Education: curriculum and capacity development to build learner and community resilience.
These pillars together create a holistic approach to school safety across policy, built environment, management systems, and educational practice.
Hazard Type
Geographical Scope - Nuts
Geographical Scope
Population Size
Population Density
Needs Addressed
- Unsafe school infrastructure
- Lack of emergency preparedness in schools
- Weak integration of DRR into education systems
- Fragmented governance between education and disaster authorities
- Limited risk awareness among students and staff
- Education disruption during crises
The CSSF addresses the need for systematic, all-hazards school safety planning embedded within education sector governance.
The CSSF prioritises learners most affected by intersecting vulnerabilities, including:
- Children in hazard-prone regions
- Children affected by poverty, gender inequality, disability, or displacement
- Educators and school staff in high-risk environments
- Communities with limited access to protective services
The framework emphasizes equitable access to safe education for all.
The CSSF is stewarded by the Global Alliance for Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience in the Education Sector (GADRRRES) - a global multi-stakeholder alliance headquartered in Geneva that includes UN agencies, NGOs, and regional affiliates working together to mainstream school safety policies. It provides strategic guidance that national governments and partners adapt to their contexts.
The CSSF focuses on planning and preparedness within education systems, integrating risk reduction and continuity into policy and practice at all levels.
Implementation of the framework supports infrastructure readiness through guidelines for safer learning facilities and resilient school environments.
- Institutionalize school safety within education systems
- Align education and disaster governance
- Ensure accountability and policy coherence
- Strengthen cross-sector collaboration
- Policy consultation processes
- Inter-ministerial coordination
- Capacity-building workshops
- School-level risk assessments
- Participatory safety planning
- Monitoring and evaluation systems
Countries and partners adapt and operationalise the framework within their governance structures, influencing national policy and planning.
At national level: High institutional authority (policy and regulatory integration).
At school level: Shared responsibility between authorities and school communities.
The CSSF fosters capacity building through risk reduction education, technical guidance, and mainstreaming school safety into long-term development planning through:
- Policy-level technical assistance
- Teacher training
- School-level disaster management training
- Integration into curricula
- Risk assessment skills development
The framework promotes systemic empowerment by:
- Embedding DRR into education systems
- Institutionalizing school safety responsibilities
- Building sustained governance capacity
- Strengthening community-school collaboration
Vulnerable Groups
Governance
Emergency Preparedness
Engagement Level
Empowerment Level
Implementation
- All-Hazards & All-Risks Approach: Covers natural, technological, biological, conflict-related, and everyday threats.
- Enabling Policies & Systems: Identifies mechanisms for integration of school safety into national and subnational plans.
- Multi-Stakeholder Roles: Clarifies responsibilities of education authorities, disaster management, health, child protection, communities, and civil society.
- Continuity Planning: Emphasises the need to keep education ongoing in crises.
- Global Alignment: Linked to the SDGs, child rights commitments, and the Sendai Framework for DRR.
- Evidence-Based Tools: Targets, indicators, operational guidance, and assessment tools enable monitoring and evaluation of progress.
English, Spanish, French. Additional information on the Comprehensive School Safety Framework is available in more languages including Indonesian, Russian, Portuguese, Mandarin Chinese ets.
Global Alliance for Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience in the Education Sector (GADRRRES), supported by an international secretariat based in Geneva and a membership of UN agencies and NGOs. Churches, INGOs, regional partners, and education ministries typically act as implementing partners at national and subnational levels.
Potential implementing organizations in other contexts:
- Ministries of Education
- National disaster management authorities
- School boards
- Education NGOs
- Civil protection agencies
- UN country teams
- Local governments
GADRRRES has decades of collective experience in school safety, curriculum development, DRR policy advocacy, and education sector planning, informed by global endorsement feedback and country implementations. Over 80 countries have engaged with or endorsed the framework. The framework has been supported and operationalized by organizations such as UNICEF, UNESCO, Save the Children, Plan International, IFRC and national Ministries of Education worldwide.
- Ministries of Education
- Disaster Risk Management Authorities
- Local Governments
- School Leadership
- Teachers
- Parent Associations
- International organizations
- NGOs
- Civil society organizations
- Community leaders
- National endorsement of CSSF
- Contextual risk assessment for education systems
- Integration of CSSF pillars into sector policies
- Development of safer school facility plans
- Adoption of continuity and resilience management systems
- Roll-out of risk reduction education
- Monitoring and reporting via CSSF indicators
Core resources include:
- Technical expertise
- Policy development capacity
- Training materials
- Institutional coordination mechanisms
- Budget allocation for infrastructure improvements
- Monitoring systems
Implementation resource needs vary by context but align with national education sector planning processes.
Designed as a long-term systemic framework. Implementation typically occurs over multiple years through phased integration into national education systems.
Experience of the Implementing Organisation in DRM
Target Audience
Resources Required
Timeframe & Phases
Participation Results
- School safety must be institutionalized, not project-based
- Infrastructure and education components must be integrated
- Community engagement strengthens sustainability
- Policy alignment is essential for scale
- Inclusion must be intentional and measurable
Institutional fragmentation
→ Addressed through cross-sector coordination mechanisms.
Limited funding for infrastructure retrofitting
→ Phased prioritization of highest-risk schools.
Unequal implementation capacity across countries
→ Flexible adaptation model based on context.
Political turnover affecting continuity
→ Embedding CSSF in formal policy frameworks.
Risks include limited resources for retrofitting school infrastructure, weak policy enforcement, and competing development priorities. Mitigation strategies involve phased implementation, integration into existing sector plans, leveraging international support, and building local risk assessment and monitoring capacity.
Risk & Mitigation Plan
Scalability and Sustainability
Sustainability relies on policy-integration and institutionalisation, meaning the framework becomes part of longer-term education and DRR planning cycles, budget processes, and multi-hazard risk governance. It is designed for long-term systemic transformation, not short-term programming.
Logistical sustainability is achieved by:
- Institutional ownership by Ministries of Education
- Integration into national education plans
- Use of existing governance structures
- Embedding within teacher training systems
The CSSF is highly scalable because:
- It is a framework, not a single intervention
- It can be adapted to any governance system
- It functions at school, district, and national levels
- It aligns with international DRR and education commitments
It has been adopted in numerous countries globally.
The solution is adaptable to:
- Low-income and high-income contexts
- Fragile and conflict settings
- Climate-vulnerable regions
- Urban and rural systems
The CSSF integrates innovation through:
- Risk assessment tools and digital mapping
- Integration with national disaster data systems
- Online training platforms
- Monitoring dashboards
- Climate risk modeling integration
- Data-driven school safety planning
Innovation lies not in a single technological tool, but in the systemic integration of risk data, policy, education, and infrastructure planning into one unified governance approach.
Direct costs: policy review, stakeholder consultation processes, risk assessment activities.
Operational costs: implementation of school safety plans, infrastructure upgrades, teacher training, monitoring systems.
Costs vary significantly depending on country capacity and risk profiles.
- Frameworks succeed when legally embedded
- Multi-stakeholder alliances strengthen durability
- Budget integration is critical
- Regular monitoring prevents stagnation
- Inclusion and equity must remain central
- Political commitment determines long-term success