Eclipse safety plan for schools: 22 July 2028

The plan in six steps

1. Decide what the school is doing

Choose one: glasses and lessons in the weeks before, sent home with every student; a school-run viewing on the Saturday for families; or joining a council or community event. The first is the simplest and reaches every family. A Saturday viewing needs the same staffing, supervision and risk assessment as any weekend event.

2. Order enough certified glasses

Order one pair per student and per staff member, plus about 10% spare for damaged or lost pairs. If glasses are going home, consider a pair for each parent or carer too, since families will watch together. Every pair must meet ISO 12312-2 and come from a supplier who can show an independent test report. Order by the end of 2027: demand peaks in the months before the eclipse.

3. Check every pair when it arrives

Look for the ISO 12312-2 mark and the manufacturer's name on the frame. Hold a sample from each carton up to a bright lamp: you should see only a dim filament. Throw out any pair with a scratch, crease, pinhole or loose filter. Store them flat, dry and out of the Sun. Keep the supplier's test report on file. See how to check eclipse glasses are safe.

4. Teach the rules

• Never look at the Sun without certified eclipse glasses.
• Glasses go on before looking up and come off only after looking away.
• Inside the path of totality, glasses come off only while the Sun is completely covered, and go back on at the first flash of sunlight.
• Outside the path, glasses stay on the whole time.
• Never use sunglasses, welding glass, smoked glass or X-ray film.
• Never look through binoculars, a telescope or a phone camera while wearing eclipse glasses.
• A damaged pair goes in the bin.

A practice run helps: have students put glasses on, look at a bright light, and take them off while looking down. Younger students need an adult with them on the day.

5. Tell parents and carers

Send a note home with the glasses. It should cover the date and the local times, the rules above, how to check the glasses, and that children should be supervised. For NSW schools inside the path, the Sydney CBD times are: partial eclipse from 12:41pm, totality 1:59:33pm to 2:03:21pm, eclipse ends 3:15pm AEST. Times for other towns are in our 2028 eclipse guide.

6. If the school holds a viewing

• Do a risk assessment under your department's excursion or event policy.
• Pick a spot with a clear view of the Sun at the time of totality, which is to the north-west in NSW.
• Have spare glasses at the entry and staff who check everyone has a pair.
• Brief staff on when glasses come off and go back on.
• Plan for winter weather: warm clothes, shade, water and a wet-weather option.
• Keep a first-aid officer on site. If anyone reports eye pain or blurred vision after looking at the Sun, refer them to an optometrist or doctor.

Guidance to follow

Follow your state or territory education department's guidance for the eclipse when it is issued. For eye safety, the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) publishes advice on watching a solar eclipse, and the American Astronomical Society keeps guidance on safe solar viewers.

Questions

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