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CRITICAL INCIDENT POLICY

Introductory Statement

This policy has been formulated in consultation with the staff, students, parents and Board of Management of the St. Sylvester’s Infant School and in consultation with the National Educational Psychological Services (NEPS).

Copies of this policy are kept in the Principal’s office, staffroom and the Health and Safety Officer’s room (Ms Shevlin).

This policy is written in keeping with the recommendations made in circular PBU4/04 “Contingency Planning in the context of a National Emergency” and the 2007 Department of Education and Science (D.E.S.) Publication (second edition) “Responding to Critical Incidents, Guidelines for Schools” and accompanying resource pack “Responding to Critical Incidents, Resource Materials for Schools”.

Definition

In this policy the term “Critical Incident” denotes “any incident or sequence of events which overwhelms the normal coping mechanisms of the school and disrupts the running of the school”. The Principal in consultation with the Chairperson, will determine should the school need to close and make a decision on other incidences and extraordinary events. This

includes:- The death of a member of the school community through sudden death, accident, terminal illness, suicide, major illness/outbreak of disease, or through any other tragedy

 A physical attack on staff member(s), school worker or student(s)  A criminal incident occurring during school time

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 Serious damage to the school building through fire, flood, vandalism technological (or other) disaster etc.

 Lack of essential services e.g. electricity, heating

 The disappearance of a member of the school community  An accident/tragedy in the wider community

 Sexual, physical or psychological abuse/attack/crime/infringement  Civil unrest, war

 Unauthorised removal of student from home or school  Extra ordinary/unforeseen events

Note on use of the term ‘suicide’

St. Sylvester’s Infant School follows the guidance of N.E.P.S. (National Educational Psychological Service) regarding the use of the term suicide.

N.E.P.S. strongly recommends to schools that great care should be taken in the use of the term ‘suicide’. It should not be used until it has been established with a good degree of certainty that the death was as a result of suicide. Families may be very sensitive about the use of the term. A staff member should contact the family to establish the exact facts and the family’s wishes about how the death should be described. The phrases ‘tragic death’ or ‘sudden death’ may be used instead (Responding to Critical Incidents, Guidelines for Schools (2007), D.E.S. p.30.

Key Roles and Tasks in the Critical Incident Management Process

The critical Incident Management Team consists of:

 Principal and Deputy Principal  Health & Safety Representative  Secretary

 Chaplain/Priest  Caretaker

 Chairperson of the Parents’ Association  N.E.P.’s Representative

The roles of the Critical Incident Management Team members, staff, and Parents Association are detailed below. The Critical Incident Management Team will delegate the responsibilities of any member of the team who may be unable to fulfil their responsibilities.

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 Confining the event

 Activating the Critical Incident response team  Expressing sympathy to family

 Clarifying facts surrounding event

 Deciding how news will be communicated  The care of and communication with staff  Organising the supervision of students

 Liaising with the administrative and care-taking staff  Liaising with the Parents’ Association

 Liaising with external support agencies, the emergency services, the Board of Management, the Parents’ Association and the Department of Education & Skills

 Drawing up a letter informing all parents of the critical incident and the school’s response

 Reporting incidents to the Health & Safety Authority  Communication with the media

The Health & Safety Representative will normally be responsible for:

 Assessing the Health & Safety issues

 Liaising with the Principal, Deputy Principal, Caretaker and other members of the Critical Incident Management Team

 Assisting the Principal with reports of dangerous occurrences or accident for the Health & Safety Authority

The Secretary will normally be responsible for:  Ensuring the office is staffed at all times

 Liaising with the Principal, Deputy Principal and other members of the Critical Incident Team

The Chaplain/Priest will normally be responsible for:  Visiting the home if appropriate

 Assisting with prayer services

 Being available as personal & spiritual support to staff as required

The Caretaker will normally be responsible for:  Controlling access to the school premises  Maintaining security procedures

 Maintaining services e.g. heating

 Liaising with the Principal, Deputy Principal and other members of the Critical Incident Team

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 Assisting in identifying and supporting students at risk or in distress

 Assisting in information gathering  Maintaining normal procedures

Other Non-Teaching Staff will normally be responsible for:  Maintaining normal procedures

 Assisting in identifying and supporting students at risk or in distress

The Chairperson of the Parents’ Association will normally contribute by:

 Representing parents’ concerns and wishes regarding the school’s response to the critical incident

Critical Incident Rooms:

In the event of a critical incident, the hall will be the main room used to meet staff, students, parents and visitors involved. The “quiet room” to be made available will be room 8A.

Contact Numbers/Emergency Information:

The secretaries have equal responsibility for maintaining an up to date list of contact numbers for staff, students and their parents/guardians. The Health & Safety Representative has responsibility for ensuring that a list of contact numbers for the emergency support services is displayed in the staff room, the Secretary’s office the Principal’s office and in every classroom.

Evacuation Procedures:

The evacuation Procedures are displayed on the back of the door normally used as a fire exit in every classroom, as well as in the secretary’s office, principal’s office, PE Hall, drama room and library. The evacuation procedures (Fire Drill) are practiced at least once a term.

Training and Staff Development:

The school provides opportunities for staff and members of the Board of Management to attend information/training meetings on issues such as suicide, grieving and first aid.

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Visitors, including parents must report to the school’s reception office, identify themselves and state their business in the school. Visitors will not be allowed beyond the secretary’s office except at invitation of a member of staff.

The Media:

Members of the media must report to the school’s reception office, identify themselves and state their business in the school. Members of the media will not be allowed beyond the secretary’s office except at the invitation of the Principal or Deputy Principal.

Only the Principal or Deputy Principal will communicate with the media. Students and staff have a responsibility to protect the privacy and good name of the people involved in the incident and need to be sensitive to the consequences of any public statement.

The Principal and Deputy Principal will prepare a brief written statement to include:

 The sympathy of the school community for the affected/bereaved family

 Positive information or comments about the deceased/injured person(s)

 The facts about the incident (following consultation with the affected/bereaved families)

 What has been done to date  Actions planned and agreed

Resources:

Resource materials including sample letter to parents, information on stages of anxiety etc/dealing with aftermath are available for download from www.education.ie (Responding to Critical Incidents, Resource Materials for Schools). Some books for use when discussing a critical incident are available from the staffroom and Room 3 (learning support room).

Procedures to Be Followed In The Event Of a Critical Incident: Short Term Actions (1st Day)

 Ensure the safety of students, staff and visitors

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 GATHER ACCURATE INFORMATION (incident report form and record)

 Identify high risk students

 Contact the Department of Education and Science, the Board of Management, N.E.P.S. and the Parents’ Association

 Appoint people to assist the secretary and caretaker in handling phone enquires, manning the office and front gate

 Arrange the supervision of students (call roll first)

 Hold a staff meeting and distribute the resource material  Organise a timetable for the day

 Make contact with the affected/bereaved family to offer sympathy regarding appropriate support from the school & funeral services  Respond to the media (Principal and Deputy Principal)

 Arrange visit to affected/bereaved family

 Report to the Health & Safety Authority, if necessary

As far as possible, maintain normal school routine. Medium Term Actions (24-72 hours)

 Convene a meeting of the Critical Incident Management Team to review the events of the first 24 hours and to delegate responsibilities

 Arrange support for students, staff and parents  Update staff and students

 Update the Department of Education & Science, the Board of Management, the Parents’ Association and the relevant external agencies

 Update the media, if necessary (Principal and Deputy Principal only)

 Liaise with the family and clarify the school’s involvement in funeral/memorial services

 Plan visits to the injured/bereaved

 Plan for the reintegration of students and staff

 Assess the roles of the Board of Management and the Parents’ Association

 Plan the restoration of normal school routine  Consider the legal and financial consequences  Prepare students/staff attending funeral

Long Term Actions

 Monitor students and staff for signs of continuing distress  Plan the long-term counselling needs of individuals

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 Evaluate the school’s response to the critical incident and amend the Critical Incident Policy appropriately

 Evaluate the effect on the student/teacher relationship

 Evaluate the long term effect on the educational progress of students

 Evaluate that new staff are aware of the Critical Incident Policy and are informed of which student/staff were affected in any recent incident

 Ensure that a report is sent to the new school when a student is transferring

 Evaluate the legal and financial consequences

 Report to the Board of Management, the Parents’ Association and the Department of Education and Science

 Update and amend school records

Monitoring, Review and Evaluation:

The Critical Incident Policy committee will review the policy every 3 years or before the formation of a new Board of Management. Ongoing review and evaluation will take cognisance of changing information, legislation, developments in the school-based programme and feedback from parents/guardians, teachers and students. The policy will be revised as necessary in the light of such review and evaluation and within the framework of school planning.

Other Policies

This policy should be read in conjunction with other relevant policies including: the Health and Safety Policy, Fire Safety Policy, Child Protection Policy, and Emergency Closures Policy.

Ratification and Communication

This policy was ratified by the Board of Management on 13th November

2013 summarised version of the policy was distributed to parents of children in the school on website. Arrangements are made to communicate the policy to all new parents via www.stsylvestersinfantschool.com. This policy will be reviewed in 2016.

The Board of Management reserves the right to add to or amend this policy from time to time as deemed necessary.

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____________ Denise Boyne Chairperson

References

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