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Whole school community

Managing incidents that have serious impact on individuals and/or the school

Develop and implement agreed policies, strategies and procedures in handling serious incidents

Provide debriefing and support for those involved.

• Summary
• Examples

Summary

Serious or traumatic incidents can affect all school communities and individuals within those communities.

The powerful dynamics that are associated with such incidents mean that it is essential for schools to have comprehensive management plans to respond to serious incidents and support school community members, both at the time and afterwards.

Within this whole school plan, key school staff members are trained to understand the nature and impact of incidents on those directly involved, and on their families and other school community members; to provide assistance; and to seek the support of specialist professionals where necessary.

Any approaches taken need to restore a sense of wellbeing and repair the harm caused by the incident. Successful approaches avoid arguments, demonstrate respect, concern and understanding of the issues, and attend to the rights, emotions and psychological safety of those involved.

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Examples

Responses may include:

• providing appropriate programs and strategies for those students and others who are directly involved, for example mediation, counselling, peer support networks and training in relationship skills
• engaging the participation of teachers, carers, specialised school support staff and community support professionals, possibly in an ongoing collaborative support team
• ensuring a safe haven and easy access to a respected adult for reporting difficulties, listening, and problem solving
• · incorporating support strategies into the regular teaching and learning situation
• taking wider actions to restore and rebuild inclusive relationships for the peer group affected by the behaviour
• recognising and addressing other factors such as individual learning difficulties and learned social and cultural priorities that may play a role in the behaviour.