Supporting Schools to Manage Critical Incidents

1. Supporting Schools to Manage Critical Incidents Alison Crossick Principal Educational Psychologist

2. Providing Children’s Services for the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead

3. What is a Critical Incident (CI)? A critical incident may be defined as any sudden and unexpected incident or sequence of events which causes trauma within a school community and which overwhelms the normal coping mechanisms of that school.

4. Support for schools Department of Education general guidance https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/de/guide-to-managing-critical-incidents-in-schools.pdf Local CI booklet for schools on RBWM website https://www3.rbwm.gov.uk/info/200168/schools_and_schooling/1016/educational_psychology_service/4

5. Critical incident A 17 year old young man took his own life at the end of the summer term • What support did his school require?

8. Initial Response to the CI The response is based both on the type of CI and where it happened Following the suicide of the young man, the school contacted the EPS for immediate guidance and to help plan the re-establishment of normal routines. The EPS supported the school to: • Gather accurate information • Ensure the safety of staff and students • Check in on the emotional support for the adults managing the CI • Speak with the police and family • Determine what information was to be shared and how (staff, students, parents, community, media)

9. Next steps… Next steps… • General principles: • Hold meetings for students and parents • Arrange meetings and provide support with those staff directly involved with the incident • Arrange daily briefing meeting for staff to inform and discuss intervention plans • Agree referral procedures for staff and students for individual support • For this CI we: • Met with the Head teacher and senior staff following the phone call • Supported the school to make a plan and manage the situation • Helped to understand what information could/couldn’t be shared • Helped school to respond sensitively to family • Provided containment

10. “Containment is thought to occur when one person receives and understands the emotional communication of another without being overwhelmed by it, processes it and then communicates understanding and recognition back to the other person. This process can restore the capacity to think in the other person” (Douglas, 2007, p.33).

11. Next steps… • Longer Term – 72 hours plus • Attend / organise condolences, memorials, visits to families / hospitals etc. • Continue to monitor staff and students for signs of stress • Evaluate crisis response • “Debrief” critical incident response team • Review School Emergency Plan and procedures • Key times of vulnerability for staff and students. E.g. Coroner’s inquest, anniversaries, exam times etc.

12. Future support & training • As a result of this particular CI the following actions were agreed: • Link with Samaritans, Daisy’s Dream etc. • Educational Psychologists available in attendance in school on the day of the exam results • Educational Psychologists invited to speak to all staff on the first day of the new term • Central training session offered to all staff in RBWM schools on Suicide Prevention • Other examples….

13. Thank you for listening