GILSON NS
Critical Incident Policy
Introduction:
At all times, Gilson NS aims to protect the wellbeing of its students and staff by providing a safe and nurturing environment as defined in our Mission Statement. The BOM through the Principal and the staff has drawn up a critical incident management plan. They have established a Critical Incidents Management Team to steer the development and implementation of the plan.
Aim:
The aim of the Critical Incident Management Team (CIMT) is to ‘help school management and staff to react quickly and effectively in the event of an incident, to enable them to maintain a sense of control and to ensure that appropriate support is offered to students and staff ‘. Having a good plan will also help ensure that the effects on the student and staff will be limited. It will enable the school to return to normality as soon as possible.
Definition of a Critical Incident
‘A critical incident is any incident or sequence of events which overwhelms the normal coping mechanism of the school and disrupts the running of the school’.
Critical Incidents may involve one or more students or staff members, their family members or members of the local community e.g.
Critical Incidents Management Team
Leadership Role: Mark Carey (Principal)
Communication Role: Máirín O’Reilly (Deputy Principal)
Student Liaison /Counselling Role: Pauline Hetherton
Chaplaincy Role: Fr Ray Kelly
Family Liaison Role: Síle Ní Chéidigh
Administrator: Connie Maguire
Parents Association Rep: Ann Crawley
B.O.M. Rep: Cora Finnegan
Roles and Responsibilities
Leadership Role:
Intervention
Postvention
Communication Role:
Intervention
Student Liaison / Counselling Role
Intervention
Chaplaincy Role:
Intervention
Family Liaison Role:
Intervention
Administrator:
Action Plan
Short-Term Actions (Day 1)
Media Briefing (if appropriate)
Medium-Term Actions (24-72 Hours)
Longer Term Actions
Monitor students for signs of continuing distress
If over a prolonged period of time, a student continues to display the following, he/she may need assistance from the Health Board. Constant communication with family is essential.
Formalise the Critical Incident Plan for the future
Critical Incident Rooms
In the event of a Critical Incident:
Confidentiality and Good Name Considerations
The management and staff of Gilson N.S. have a responsibility to protect the privacy and good name of the people involved in any incident and will be sensitive to the consequences of any public statements. The members of the school staff will bear in mind, and will seek to ensure that students do so also. For instance, the term ‘suicide’ will not be used unless there is solid information that death was due to suicide, and that the family involved consents to its use. The phrases ’tragic death’ or ‘sudden death’ may be used instead. Similarly, the word ‘murder’ should not be used until it is legally established that a murder was committed. The term ‘violent death’ may be used instead.
Critical Incident Policy
Introduction:
At all times, Gilson NS aims to protect the wellbeing of its students and staff by providing a safe and nurturing environment as defined in our Mission Statement. The BOM through the Principal and the staff has drawn up a critical incident management plan. They have established a Critical Incidents Management Team to steer the development and implementation of the plan.
Aim:
The aim of the Critical Incident Management Team (CIMT) is to ‘help school management and staff to react quickly and effectively in the event of an incident, to enable them to maintain a sense of control and to ensure that appropriate support is offered to students and staff ‘. Having a good plan will also help ensure that the effects on the student and staff will be limited. It will enable the school to return to normality as soon as possible.
Definition of a Critical Incident
‘A critical incident is any incident or sequence of events which overwhelms the normal coping mechanism of the school and disrupts the running of the school’.
Critical Incidents may involve one or more students or staff members, their family members or members of the local community e.g.
- The death of a member of the school community through accident, violence, suicide or suspected suicide or other unexpected death.
- An intrusion into the school
- Major accidents, serious injury to members of the school community
- An accident/tragedy in the wider community
- Serious damage to the school building through fire, flood, vandalism etc.
- Disappearance of student from home or school
- Unauthorised removal of student from school or home.
Critical Incidents Management Team
Leadership Role: Mark Carey (Principal)
Communication Role: Máirín O’Reilly (Deputy Principal)
Student Liaison /Counselling Role: Pauline Hetherton
Chaplaincy Role: Fr Ray Kelly
Family Liaison Role: Síle Ní Chéidigh
Administrator: Connie Maguire
Parents Association Rep: Ann Crawley
B.O.M. Rep: Cora Finnegan
Roles and Responsibilities
Leadership Role:
Intervention
- Confirm the event
- Activate the Critical Incident Response Team
- Liaise with the Gardaí/Emergency services
- Lead briefing meeting for staff on the facts as known, give staff members an opportunity to express their feelings and ask questions, outline the routine for the day
- Express sympathy to family
- Clarify facts surrounding event
- Make contact with other relevant agencies
- Decide how news will be communicated to different groups (staff, pupils, outside school)
Postvention
- Ensure provision of ongoing support to staff and students
- Facilitate any appropriate memorial events
- Review plan
Communication Role:
Intervention
- With Team, prepare a public statement
- Organise a designated room to address media promptly
- Ensure telephone lines are free for outgoing and important incoming calls
- Designate mobile numbers for contact
- Liaise with relevant outside support agencies
- Review and evaluate effectiveness of communication response
Student Liaison / Counselling Role
Intervention
- Advise the staff on the procedures for identification of vulnerable pupils
- Alert staff to vulnerable pupils
- Outline specific services available in the school
- Provide materials for staff ( from critical incident folder)
- Provide information
- Provide counselling
- Provide ongoing support to vulnerable students
- Monitor class most affected
- Refer as appropriate
- Review and evaluate Plan
Chaplaincy Role:
Intervention
- Visit home(s), if appropriate
- Assist with prayer service
- Make contact with other local clergy
- Be available as personal and spiritual support to staff
- Work in partnership with Critical Incident Team
- Review and evaluate Plan
Family Liaison Role:
Intervention
- Co-ordinate contact with families(following first contact by Principal)
- Consult with family around involvement of school in e.g. funeral service
- Assist with all communication dealing with parents of any student affected by the critical incident
- Provide ongoing support to families affected by the incident
- Involve as appropriate the family in school liturgies/memorial services
- Offer to link family with community support groups
- Review and evaluate plan
Administrator:
- Maintain up to date telephone numbers of parents/guardians, teachers and emergency services
- Take telephone calls and note those that need to be responded to
- Prepare and send out letters, emails and faxes
- Photocopy material needed
- Maintain records
Action Plan
Short-Term Actions (Day 1)
- Immediate contact with family/families
- Consult with the family regarding appropriate support from the school, e.g. funeral service
- Ensure that a quiet place can be made for students/staff
Media Briefing (if appropriate)
- Designate a spokesperson (Leader)
- Gather accurate information
- Prepare a brief statement (Team)
- Protect the family’s privacy
- It is important to obtain accurate information about the incident
- What happened, where and when?
- What is the extent of the injuries?
- How many are involved and what are their names?
- Is there a risk if further injury?
- What agencies have been contacted already?
- Contact appropriate agencies
- Emergency services
- Medical services
- H.S.E. Psychology Departments/Community Care Services
- NEPS
- Convene a meeting with Key Staff/Critical Management Team
- Organise a staff meeting, if appropriate
- Ensure any absent staff members are kept informed
- Organise timetable/routine for the day. (Adhering to the normal school routine is important, if this is possible)
- Class teachers to take note of any absentees who might need to be contacted, list of friends etc, or any other relevant information. This is to be given to the Student Liaison person.
- Arrange supervision of students
- Liaise with the family regarding funeral arrangements/memorial service
- The Chaplain/Principal will liaise with the family, to extend sympathy and clarify the family’s wishes regarding the school’s involvement in funeral/memorial service
- Arrange a home visit by two staff representatives within 24 hours, if appropriate (Student Liaison person + Class teacher)
- Have regard for different religious traditions and faiths
Medium-Term Actions (24-72 Hours)
- Preparation of students/staff attending funeral
- Involvement of students/staff in liturgy if agreed by bereaved family
- Facilitation of students/staff responses, e.g. Sympathy cards, flowers, Book of Condolences etc.
- Ritual within school
- Review the events of the first 24 hours
- Reconvene Key staff/ Critical Incident Management Team
- Decide arrangements for support meetings for parents/students/staff
- Decide on mechanism for feedback from teachers on vulnerable students
- Have review of Critical Incident Management Team meeting
- Establish contact with absent staff and pupils
- Arrange support for individual students, group of students and parents if necessary
- Hold support/information meeting for parents/students, if necessary, in order to clarify what has happened
- Give any teacher who feels uncomfortable with involvement in support meetings the choice of opting out
- Arrange, in consultation, with outside agencies, individual or group debriefings or support meetings with parental permission
- Plan for the re-integration of students and staff e.g. absentees, injured, siblings, close relatives etc.
- Student Liaison person to liaise with above on their return to school
- Plan visits to injured -
- Family Liaison person + Class Teacher + Principal to visit home/hospital
- Attendance and participation at funeral/memorial service (to be decided)
- Decide this in accordance with parent’s wishes, school management decisions and in consultation with close school friends
- School closure (if appropriate)
- Request a decision on this from school management
Longer Term Actions
Monitor students for signs of continuing distress
If over a prolonged period of time, a student continues to display the following, he/she may need assistance from the Health Board. Constant communication with family is essential.
- Uncharacteristic behaviour
- Deterioration in academic performance
- Physical symptoms e.g. weight loss/gain, lack of attention to appearance, tiredness, restlessness
- Inappropriate emotional reactions
- Increased absenteeism
- What went well?
- Where were the gaps?
- What was most/least helpful?
- Have all necessary onward referrals to support services been made?
- Is there any unfinished business?
Formalise the Critical Incident Plan for the future
- Consult with NEPS Psychologist
- Inform new staff/new school pupils affected by Critical Incidents where appropriate
- Ensure that new staff are aware of the school policy and procedures in this area
- Ensure they are aware of which pupils were affected in any recent incident and in what way
- When individual pupils or a class of pupils affected by an incident are transferring to a new school, the Principal should brief the Principal of the new school
- Anniversaries may trigger emotional responses in students/staff and they may need additional support at this time
- Acknowledge the anniversary with the family
- Need to be sensitive to significant days like Birthdays, Christmas, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day
- Plan a school memorial service
- Care of the deceased person’s possessions. What are the parent’s wishes?
- Update and amend school records
Critical Incident Rooms
In the event of a Critical Incident:
- The staff room will be used to meet the staff
- The hall for meeting the students
- Learning Support room No 13 for parents
- Learning Support room No 16 for NEPS
- Learning Support room No 15 for Media
Confidentiality and Good Name Considerations
The management and staff of Gilson N.S. have a responsibility to protect the privacy and good name of the people involved in any incident and will be sensitive to the consequences of any public statements. The members of the school staff will bear in mind, and will seek to ensure that students do so also. For instance, the term ‘suicide’ will not be used unless there is solid information that death was due to suicide, and that the family involved consents to its use. The phrases ’tragic death’ or ‘sudden death’ may be used instead. Similarly, the word ‘murder’ should not be used until it is legally established that a murder was committed. The term ‘violent death’ may be used instead.