Ashfield Girls High School. Critical Incident Policy

Transcription

1 Ashfield Gils High School A Specialist School fo ICT Citical Incident Policy

2 Citical Incident Policy 2

3 Citical Incident Policy A Specialist School fo ICT Ashfield Gils High School CRITICAL INCIDENT POLICY 3

4 Citical Incident Policy RATIONALE A citical incident can be defined as a sudden, unexpected and tagic event o sequence of events which causes tauma and confusion within a school community and which ovewhelms its nomal coping mechanism. It may affect pupils, staff, paents and govenos, may elate diectly to The safety of the school community o may involve an incident beyond the school pemises. As a citical incident is likely to have a sevee impact upon the school, both in the shot and long tem, ou aim is to ensue that school stategies and pocedues ae in place to potect the physical and emotional wellbeing of evey membe of the Ashfield Gils School Community. The Citical Incident Policy and Plan cannot cove evey aspect of ecovey fom a citical incident. Occuences may aise which cannot be foeseen o consideed. The citical incident may occu duing the school day, duing the evening, duing the school holidays o on a school tip. 4

5 Citical Incident Policy It is impotant that the incident policy is easily undestood and swings into action immediately. The following must be emembeed in elation to the incident policy: that it is followed as closely as possible; that designated pesonnel undestand thei tasks and ae competent to cay them out; that othe people do not take unilateal actions; that consideation and sensitivity is shown by all; that pupils, staff and paents ae potected fom pess intusion; that nomal outines be esumed as soon as possible; thee is a ealisation that total ecovey may take a long time. The Citical Incident Recovey Team (CIMT) has esponsibility fo ensuing that pocedues ae popely addessed at times of high emotion. If the incident involves legal action, a pecise esponse to the incident should be known and is able to be veified by moe than one peson. 5

6 Citical Incident Policy Aims of the Citical Incidents Policy 1. To maintain a duty of cae 2. To minimise educational and administative disuption within school 3. To enable nomal woking to be esumed in the shotest possible time Objectives To ensue that swift and appopiate action is taken in the case of the school being made awae that a citical incident has occued To ensue that the welfae of pupils and staff is paamount To ensue that the school esponds in a sensitive, consistent and effective manne which educes confusion, panic and exteme emotion To have in place a Citical Incident Management Team, the membeship of which is known to all elevant paties (see Appendix 1) To have in place a Citical Incident Management Plan, the details of which ae familia to all elevant paties (see Appendix 2) To maintain nomality, as fa as possible, in pats of the school which ae not affected and to estoe nomality as soon as possible to the pats which ae affected To have immediate access to all elevant contact details (including outside agencies) 6

7 Citical Incident Policy To offe sensitive, non-intusive suppot in the shot and medium tem to all those affected diectly o indiectly by the incident EXAMPLES OF CRITICAL INCIDENTS A citical incident is likely to involve death o seious injuy to one o moe membes of the school community and, o, thei families eithe at school, jouneying to o fom school, paticipating in a school elated activity, at home o in some othe context. e.g. In School: The death of a student o membe of staff though natual causes An accident involving a student o membe of staff A delibeate act of violence such as knifing o the use of a fieam A school fie, flood o an explosion in a laboatoy e.g. Out of School: Deaths o injuies though accidents Suicide Civil distubance 7

8 Citical Incident Policy GUIDELINES FOR MANAGING A CRITICAL INCIDENT The Pincipal will take chage of the school s esponse. In the case of the Pincipal being unavailable, the membes of the Citical Incident Management Team (CIMT) will take chage. The Pincipal s office will be the cental liaison point The CIMT will assess immediate pactical needs The CIMT will contact next of kin of those diectly involved if equied A shot simple statement of facts will be pepaed by the Pincipal (see Appendix 3) All contacts fom the media will be dealt with by the Pincipal Secetaial staff taking incoming calls will use a statement ageed by the CIMT When necessay, all membes of staff will be infomed and will be guided in elation to infoming pupils The CIMT will detemine the involvement of paents if appopiate Shot and long tem suppot will be offeed to those affected Thee will be an evaluation of the way in which the incident was managed (see Appendix 4) 8

9 Citical Incident Policy APPENDIX 1 MEMBERS OF THE CRITICAL INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM Pincipal Ms A Mungavin Vice-Pincipal - M P McClintock Head of Pastoal Miss J Fia Assistant Vice-Pincipals Ms T Rossboough Ms C Hoey Miss D Dunlop Ms J Shape Ms P Doak Nuse Ms J.Bell Pincipal s Pesonal Secetay Ms J Cooke Chai of Boad of Govenos M M.Few (o an othe boad membe in his absence) Othe membes of staff may be co-opted membes of the CIMT as and when equied. One/two membes of staff may be asked to take esponsibility fo the nomal unning of the school whilst the CIMT is engaged in dealing with an incident.) 9

10 Citical Incident Policy APPENDIX 2 CRITICAL INCIDENT MANAGEMENT PLAN In the Event of a Citical Incident: Initial Response The Pincipal should be contacted fist (if not available the Vice Pincipal) The Pincipal (o Vice Pincipal) should seek to claify fom elevant souces the natue and cicumstances of the incident The CIMT will meet at the ealiest oppotunity and agee on pocedues fo managing the citical incident (See Appendix 4) If the incident is on site, health and safety measues will be put in place and the emegency sevices contacted Longe Tem Issues School stuctues and outines will be e-established Suppotive stategies fo pupils and staff will be implemented Thee will be ongoing contact with paents Actions taken will be eviewed and policies amended if appopiate The PSE and pastoal pogammes will be eviewed Staff will be mindful of annivesaies and othe special dates The use of appopiate outside agencies is cucial to poviding long tem suppot as is the use of appopiately tained membes of staff who ae known to those in need of help. 10

11 Citical Incident Policy Peventative Stategies Regula eview of elevant policies e.g. Child Potection, Health and Safety Fist Aid taining Fie Dills PSE Pogamme All membes of the citical incident management team must: have a copy of the Citical Incident Kit and Policy at home and at school be awae of the oles of each pat of the plan to enable the school to eact swiftly and accodingly have contact numbes of each othe fo 24 hou contact in the event of a school tip /visit, have access to a list of names fo staff and pupils. will have a egiste of emegency sevices and elevant outside agencies Relevant membes of the secetaial staff will have a egiste of emegency sevices and elevant outside agencies Emegency evacuation dills ae familia to all membes of the school community and pacticed egulaly. (see Appendix 5) Oppotunities to exploe sensitive issues such as tagedy and death will be built into the PSE and pastoal pogammes 11

12 Citical Incident Policy APPENDIX 3 SAMPLE ANNOUNCEMENTS Afte a known fatality We ae taking this time to think about, a Yea 12 who died last night in a oad taffic accident. was tavelling with he family to We do not know any details about the accident at this time except that the est of the family is safe and no one is injued seiously... s funeal is being held at on A funeal is a special time to emembe a peson who has died. The school will let you families know about the specific time and addess of the funeal in a witten note which will be sent home tomoow. Let s take a moment of silence to think of, to emembe all the good things about he, and to say goodbye. In ou silence we will expess ou loving thoughts. Afte a suspected suicide A tagedy has happened., a Yea 8 pupil, has died suddenly. Details of. s pematue death will not be eleased to potect the pivacy of family membes. You will be given infomation about funeal aangements as soon as possible. This kind of tagic news is had to accept. You may expeience many feelings within the next few days. Eveyone deals with loss diffeently. It is impotant to espect the way othes gieve. Counsellos ae available in... Feel fee to aange to go and talk to the counsellos. They want to listen to you feelings and concens. 12

13 Citical Incident Policy Sample Pess Release 1 Date School gieves sudden death of pupil As epoted by the PSNI, a pupil at. School died tagically on. The cicumstances of s death ae not known at this time and an investigation is cuently ongoing. This is a tagic loss to. s family and to ou school community. To assist in suppoting ou staff and pupils though this time of gief, additional tained staff fom the ELB s Citical Incident Response Team have been assigned to the school to povide suppot. A lette has been sent by the school to paents, infoming them of this incident and poviding infomation on the suppot sevices available though the school. A special assembly to emembe has been aanged fo. Contact: Pincipal, School at. PRO FORMA LETTER (fo paents) With geat eget, we have leant of the death/deaths of and we extend ou deepest sympathy to the family cicle. PREPARED STATEMENT FOR MEDIA We ae soy to lean of the tagic.of... 13

14 Citical Incident Policy We hope at this time the school would be given the pivacy needed to suppot ou pupils at this difficult time, etc NB: If the Pincipal wishes to comment about the pupil, they may want to gain pemission fom the family to include: Spoting achievements Musical talents Academic success Pesonal attibutes SAMPLE LETTER TO ALL PARENTS Date: Dea Paent/ Cae It is with geat sadness that I have to tell you of the sudden death of NAME, (a pupil in Yea.../ a Yea... Teache/ Leaning Suppot Assistant, etc). The childen wee told this moning by thei class teache/ Pincipal at assembly. NAME died of (an asthma attack, meningitis etc) and the childen have been assued this is something that does not happen vey often. You child may o may not want to talk about it but it is likely that he/ she will need exta love and suppot fom you in the days ahead. This does not mean that anything is wong with him/ he. It only means that this taumatic event has been too poweful fo him/ he to deal with on his/ he own. He/ she may be feeling anxious. Take time to listen to you child and ty to povide a pedictable outine fo him/ he at home. Avoid too many absences to stat with. We have enclosed an infomation leaflet fo you which may be useful at 14

15 Citical Incident Policy this time. Tained staff fom the BELB s Citical Incident Response Team ae helping to suppot us though this difficult time. It is sometimes necessay fo a membe of the team to speak to a class o individual pupils who may be distessed. He/ she will be guided by the Pincipal/ class teache in this. If you do not wish you child to eceive such suppot fom the team please contact us immediately. We ae deeply saddened by this geat loss but ae tying, fo the childen s sake, to keep the school envionment as nomal as possible. Ou thoughts ae with NAME s family at this tagic time and the school community sends them sinceest sympathy and suppot. NAME s funeal is on DAY/ DATE at TIME am/pm at (Name of Chuch o Cematoium). We ae in touch with the family egading thei wishes fo the school s epesentation at the Sevice. 15

16 Citical Incident Policy APPENDIX 4 Pocedues fo Citical Incident Management - Key Roles Pincipal and / a Vice Pincipal Seeks claification Calls emegency sevices if appopiate Summons the CIMT to infom of incident Pepaes elevant statements/lettes fo the media, paents, pupils and office staff Convenes and infoms staff - Assistant + Vice-Pincipals (cove) Miss D Dunlop Contacts the Boys School Head of Pastoal Contacts extenal agencies - BELB / social sevices / consulting Contacts elevant paents Suppots the physical and emotional wellbeing of pupils Aanges staff line if necessay & appopiate Assistant Vice-Pincipal (Miss D Dunlop) Aanges staff cove if necessay & appopiate Assistant Vice-Pincipal (Ms J Shape) Liaise with Facilities Manage to ensue access fo essential pesonnel Ensue health and safety measues ae in place Office Manage Ensues phone lines ae opeative and all office staff available Ensues office staff do not vay fom the scipt School nuse Liaise with school fist aides to offe fist aid as appopiate Othe Assistant Vice-Pincipal Ms P Doak Ms T Rossboough Ms C Hoey } Manages the daily aangements of the school, website / texts to paents / and school infomation 16

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20 Last Updated: Novembe 2013 A Specialist School fo ICT SSAT inquie Inspie Innovate Impact Pincipal: Ms A Mungavin BA DipEd PQH (NI) Holywood Road Belfast BT4 2LY Tel: Fax: info@ashgils.belfast.ni.sch.uk Intenet: