Critical Incident Management Plan for St. Saviour’s National School

CRITICAL INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM

•	Principal
•	Deputy Principal
•	H.S.C.L. Teacher
•	Senior Staff
•	Secretary
•	Caretaker
•	School Chaplain/Parish Priest

Key Roles Assigned

Task	Name	
OVERALL MANAGEMENT OF RESPONSE	PRINCIPAL –Ciara Kavanagh	
COMMUNICATION	SECRETARY – Jacqui Williams	
ADMINISTRATION TASKS	SECRETARY – Jacqui Williams	
SUPERVISION	DEPUTY PRINCIPAL- Etain Aylward	
MEDIA LIAISON	Fr. LIAM POWER CPSMA 874199	
PARENT LIAISON	H.S.C.L. TEACHER – Brian Partridge	
COMMUNITY LIAISON	H.S.C.L. TEACHER- Brian Partridge	
STUDENT LIAISON	SENIOR STAFF: Etain Aylward, Caroline McGarry,Helen Casey, Edel Tobin, Joanne Wilson.	
STAFF LIAISON	PRINCIPAL – Ciara Kavanagh	

EMERGENCY CONTACT LIST
(To be displayed in staff room, Principal’s office etc)

OUTSIDE AGENCY	CONTACT NUMBERS	
GARDA	051305300	
HOSPITAL	848000	
FIRE BRIGADE	309982	
LOCAL GPS	373444 – Dr. O Carroll	
HEALTH BOARD/FAMILY CENTRE	842800	
HSE South East 	056-7784124	
INSPECTORATE	087-2509785– Noreen Banburry	
NEPS PYSCHOLOGIST	Shirley Murphy 087-6501975 or 0761108919	
DES COMMUNICATIONS	Press Office 01-8734700	
INTO	1850 7087081 – 01-8047700	
PARISH PRIEST/CLERGY	376032 Parish Office Fr. Robbie Grant	
IPPN	1890 212223	
COMMUNITY DEV. OFFICE	350100	
BISHOPS HOUSE	855039	
SCHOOL HEALTH NURSE	087-6297177 – Ann Dempsey	
COVID HELPLINE	1850241850 or 012408787	

USEFUL CONTACT NUMBERS

BARNARDOS	844140 LOCAL OR 01-450355	
THE SAMARITANS	1850 609090	
CHILDLINE	1800 666666	
PARENTLINE	1890 927277	
AWARE	01-676166
1890 303302	
NATIONAL SUICIDE BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT	024 - 95561	
RAINBOWS	01 - 4734175	
THE BEREAVEMENT COUNSELLING SERVICE	01 - 8391766	
BEREAVEMENT COUNSELLING	01-6767727	
NEPS – Shirley Murphy	0761108919 or 0876501975	
CHAIRPERSON – Frank Hutchinson	051-874856 or 086 8245426	
PIETA HOUSE	051-858510	
EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE SERVICE/ SPECTRUM 	1800 411 057
SMS and WhatsApp: Text ‘Hi’ to 087 3690010	

SAMPLE  LETTER TO PARENTS

Dear Parents,

The school has experienced (the sudden death, accidental injury) of one of our students.  We are deeply saddened by the deaths/events.

(Brief details of the incident, and in the event of a death, perhaps some positive remembrances of the person lost)

We have support structures in place to help your child cope with this tragedy. (Elaborate)

It is possible that your child may have some feelings that he/she may like to discuss with you.  You can help your child by taking time to listen and encouraging them to express their feelings.  It is important to give truthful information that is appropriate to their age.

If you would like advice you may contact the following people at the school.  (Details)

Principal

SAMPLE LETTER REQUESTING CONSENT FOR INVOLVMENT OF OUTSIDE PROFESSIONALS

Dear Parents,

Following the recent (tragedy, death of x) we have arranged professional support or students in school who need particular help.  (x…) is available to help us with this work.  The support will usually consist of talking to children, either in small groups or on a one-to-one basis and offering reassurance and advice as appropriate.

Your son/daughter has been identified as one of the students who would benefit from meeting with the x…  If you would like your child to receive this support please sign the attached permission slip and return to the school by ………….

If you would like further information on the above or to talk to the psychologist, please indicate this on the slip or telephone the school.

………………………………………………………………………

I consent to having our daughter/son met by …………….

I understand that my daughter/son may meet x… in an individual or group session depending on the arrangements which are thought to be the most appropriate.

Name of student_______________________

Class:                ________________________

Date of Birth:    ________________________

I would like my daughter/son ………………….to avail of the support being offered by x………..

Signed:  _______________________

St. Saviour’s National School Crisis Response Policy

Critical Incident Plan

Introduction
The school of the 21st century faces the real prospect of having to respond, at short or no notice, to crises of various kinds. While critical incidents of their very nature tend to occur without warning and at any time of the day or night, this policy provides guidance for those whose task it is to manage such incidents. However, the policy is more advisory than prescriptive - since each crisis situation will demand a different set of responses.
A critical incident may be defined as any event that seriously affects members of the school community. The following list, though not exhaustive, delineates the kinds of incidents that may be categorised as critical incidents.

•	Family bereavement. 
•	Death, serious illness or serious accident involving a member (of the school community)
•	Suicide of a member of the school community
•	Serious damage to the school buildings through fire, flood, vandalism or some other cause. 
•	Serious emergency on school premises
•	Serious violence or the threat of serious violence to a member of the school community either within or without the school
•	Serious injury or death of a student while involved in a school activity
•	Intrusion into the school 
•	Disappearance of a member of the school community
•	An accident or a tragedy in the wider community
•	Positive cases of Covid-19 during a global pandemic

Procedures to be Followed in the Event of a Critical Incident Occurring

1.	Hearing the News 

Once a critical incident comes to the attention of a member of the school community, he/she should, where possible and practical, inform the senior management of the school forthwith. However, where it is apparent that an emergency situation exists, it may be necessary to call one or other of the emergency services in the first instance.
The principal or deputy principal, in conjunction with the Chairperson, should decide when a critical incident has taken place and the plan should be followed.

2.	Establish the facts
Before taking any action, it is crucial that the school has the correct information regarding the crisis. Therefore, it is important that senior and involved staff gather to establish the facts -- this may involve contacting Hospitals, Gardai, Emergency/ Medical Services, Parents, etc.

3.	Senior Management to Convene a Meeting of the Critical Incident Team 
Once the facts of the crisis have been established, a meeting of available members of the Critical incident Team should be called forthwith. This group will need to agree an immediate plan of action, which may involve:

•	Informing staff' and students – where feasible all staff should be informed in the first instance.
•	Contacting parents. 
•	Visiting families most intimately touched by the crisis
•	Organising a school assembly / Mass
•	Liaising with relevant support groups. -. Counsellors, Health Board, NEPS, DES, etc.
•	Agreeing a factual and sensitive statement with regard to the crisis - with a view to dispelling rumours while not adding to the distress of those involved or invading their privacy.
•	Assigning tasks to members of the Critical Incident Team 
•	Appointing person(s) to handle phone inquiries and/or to deal with the media
•	 Organising a timetable for the school to respond to the crisis -- wherever possible adhering to normal timetables and routines - while avoiding any signs of insensitivity to those touched most intimately by the crisis.
•	Where a funeral is involved and the school proposes to be involved in the funeral in some way, it will be necessary to liaise with the bereaved family regarding any such involvement; it should not be automatically assumed that the family will be happy to go along with whatever the school decides.
Indeed, any public actions on the part of the school at the time of any such bereavement should be discussed with the bereaved or their representatives before being embarked upon.
•	Organising a staff meeting and deciding whether or not an outside professional will be invited to that meeting. Where students are going to be in the school, it is critical that appropriate supervision be put in a place for all students whose teachers or supervisors may be involved in meetings.

4.	Staff Meeting

Al1 staff ,including support staff should be invited to the meeting. The following matters should be addressed by the meeting.

•	A sensitive account of the facts as known, having regard for the privacy of those involved in the incident. Information needs to be provided on a need to know basis.
•	The views and feelings of staff.
•	How, by whom and in what setting students and other members of the school community should be informed of the incident.
•	An outline of-the timetable that the Critical Incident Team has drawn up for responding to the crisis - the timetable may, if necessary and feasible, be amended at this meeting.
•	Details regarding the outside agencies that have been contacted and the support programmes that will be put in place for staff, students and other members of the school community.
•	Procedure for identifying vulnerable students.

5.	Informing Students

It is important that all those needing to be informed of the incident receive the necessary information as soon as is practicable. In the course of preparing to inform students, the following matters should be taken into account.

•	It will be helpful if a common statement is agreed before students are informed.
•	Consideration should be given to providing those delegated the task of informing students with an agreed script. But, of course, each person will have his/her own way of relating to his/her group of students.
•	If at all possible, all students should be told at the same time in class groups no larger than normal class size.
•	The ideal person to inform a group of students is someone who knows them well and has their trust. Where a member of staff indicates that he/she is would be uncomfortable undertaking the task of informing a group of students, his/her view should be respected. Indeed, where a member of staff feels, for whatever reason, that he/she is unable to be involved in the school's direct response to a serious trauma, he/she should be allowed to opt out readily.
•	In the event of a death of a family or near relative of a pupil, the pupil should be removed from the class when the class is being informed.
•	Clear unambiguous information (the facts as they are known) will reduce the spread of rumours. However, it is important to recognise that everyone does not have to be given full details of the event. Again, information needs to be provided on a need-to-know basis.
•	Details of a critical incident will obviously need to be communicated to a group of students in a sensitive manner and those informing a group of students should check the list of those they are informing carefully and note if there are any students in the group who are likely to be more seriously affected by the information than others.
•	Those informing students of the details of the incident should spend a reasonable amount of time with the students to allow them to react to news of the incident.  Where news of the death of a member of the school community is being communicated to students it should be acknowledged that young and old would all find it difficult to cope with the sad news and that support will be provided through the chaplain (Fr. Robbie Grant) and other support services.
•	The statement should highlight the support that will be available to students in respect of the incident – both in the immediate and longer term.
•	Where a clear plan of action has been agreed in respect of the incident this should be conveyed to the students. Where a plan is in the process of being prepared the students should also be advised of this and of the time/date that they may expect to be advised of the details of such a plan.
•	In the case of a suspected suicide, great care should be taken not to use the term “suicide”. Sudden or tragic death will be the term used.

6.	Where an Accident has Occurred on a School Activity/Trip

Different situations will call for different responses but the following points should be considered.

•	The preparation of a clear statement to assist those contacting the relatives of those who have been injured or affected by the incident.
•	It is preferable to have a group of people involved so that all concerned are informed in or around the same time.
•	Those contacted should be offered as much practical help as possible – transport, phone numbers, relevant contact persons and other resources.
•	Those contacting the most affected by the incident should check to see if the contacted are on their own and therefore in need of support.
•	Ideally, the most seriously affected should be spoken to face to face rather than by phone.
•	The communication should contain some element, which allows the person conveying it to check that it has been fully understood.

7.	Liaising with the Press 

It is important that the school plan for the distinct possibility that the media will enquire about the incident, by nominating one person only to act as the spokesperson.  In preparing a press statement the following issues need to be considered. 
 
•	The principal or deputy principal will act as spokesperson, when necessary.
•	Priority should be given to the sensitivities and needs of those affected directly by the incident. 
•	Other than where it is manifestly in the interest of those affected by the incident, the names, addresses and phone numbers of those affected by the crisis should not be provided to the media.
•	Statements should be confined to the facts as known and conjecture should be avoided - other than where it is manifestly in the interest of those affected to speculate on what may have happened.
•	Give some thought, in advance, to the kinds of question that the media are likely to ask. Where possible and practical, seek the advice of someone who has experience in dealing with the media prior to talking to the media (CPSMA Office)
•	Understand that the media are not necessarily the enemy. Reporters also have a job to do and the public is entitled to information that neither impinges on the privacy of those affected by the incident nor exacerbates the incident.
•	Do not feel that you have to answer a question from a reporter simply because it is asked. Where there is good reason for not answering a question, the reporter should be informed politely that you do not wish to answer it.
•	There are two ways in which the media may be spoken to - on the record and off the record. You are essentially giving the journalist the right to report what you say. On the other hand, if you speak off the record to a reporter, you are not giving them the right to report what you say. It may be good idea to, at the outset, talk to the reporter off the record and then only go on the record when you are clear on what you are happy to see reported in media. Indeed, before initiating any discussion with a reporter, it may be prudent to clarify the issue of ‘off the record' and ‘on the record’.
•	Agree a specific time and place for media briefings - either on a once-off or ongoing basis.
•	When liaising with the press, no meeting should take place on school grounds and no photographs should be taken.
•	A Press Statement should be simple and brief.  It should, where appropriate, express the sorrow of the entire school community at the sudden death of one of their members and it should extend sympathy to the bereaved family.  Again other than where there is a clear need to do otherwise, the statement should be adhered to - and not elaborated on - in all communications with the media and it should be familiar to every member of the school staff.

This policy was updated on ______________________________

_______________________

Chairperson of the Board of Management