Critical Incidents in Schools

CHILDREN & LEARNING DEPARTMENT



CONTINGENCY PLAN FOR SCHOOLS









LUTON BOROUGH COUNCIL

February 2008









1

INDEX

CRITICAL INCIDENTS IN SCHOOLS ...................................................................................................................... 5

INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................................................... 5

MAJOR INCIDENTS ..................................................................................................................................................... 5

SCHOOLS/COLLEGES IDENTIFIED AS EVACUATION CENTRES....................................................................................... 6

ON SITE INCIDENTS ....................................................................................................................................................... 6

EMERGENCY CONTACTS ............................................................................................................................................... 6

THE SCHOOL RESPONSE TO EMERGENCIES AND MAJOR INCIDENTS ............................................................................ 7

BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANNING ............................................................................................................................... 8

NOTIFICATION OF AN INCIDENT .................................................................................................................................... 8

KEY HOLDER ................................................................................................................................................................. 8

MINOR EMERGENCIES ............................................................................................................................................. 8

SEVERE/ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS .................................................................................................................. 9

OUTBREAK OF INFECTIOUS AND NOTIFIABLE DISEASE ................................................................................................ 9

FOOD POISONING .......................................................................................................................................................... 9

CHEMICAL SPILLAGE .................................................................................................................................................. 10

INTRUDER ON SITE....................................................................................................................................................... 10

ATTEMPTED ABDUCTION, ATTACK, OR SUSPICIOUS PERSON..................................................................................... 10

DEPARTMENTAL KEY PERSONNEL AND RESPONSIBILITIES.................................................................... 11

MEDIA COMMUNICATION ........................................................................................................................................... 12

SCHOOL INCIDENT RESPONSE TEAM ............................................................................................................... 14

APPENDIX A – PRE-INCIDENT PREPARATION................................................................................................. 17

APPENDIX B – BOMB THREATS AND/OR SUSPECT PACKAGES ................................................................. 26

APPENDIX C - SECTION 9; EVACUATION AND SHELTER PLANNING ...................................................... 30

APPENDIX D - INCIDENT CHECKLISTS .............................................................................................................. 33

APPENDIX E ................................................................................................................................................................ 39

APPENDIX F - AFTER THE EVENT ....................................................................................................................... 44

APPENDIX G - LUTON EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY SERVICE ............................................................... 53

APPENDIX H - THE MEDIA - INITIAL CHECKLIST.......................................................................................... 54

APPENDIX I – TRAINING SCENARIOS ................................................................................................................. 56

APPENDIX J - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ........................................................................................... 69









2

Contributors



This document has been developed & produced by the following officers:

Hazel Bloor Health & Safety Advisor, Schools

Mike Faithfull Business Continuity Manager

Bob Marshall Civil Protection Manager

Katherine Shieber Officer & Member Support Team Leader

Mike Austins Head Teacher, Norton Road Primary School

Anne Featherstone Head Teacher, Leagrave Primary School

Georgie Brown Risk Manager, Beds County Council

Hannah Newton Administration Officer, Civil Protection









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I am pleased to provide Head Teachers with a copy of the Critical Incidents in Schools Plan.



This plan has been reviewed and produced in a revised format to include more information and

practical training exercises for school staff in emergency response. It has been prepared in

conjunction with the Council’s overall Emergency Procedures Protocol, which is currently under

revision (Spring 2008). The document has been developed alongside the Bedfordshire County

Council Critical Incidents in Schools Plan and wherever possible the two documents share

response procedures and contents.



The prime objectives of the plan are to:



 Identify the sort of incident that would cause the School or the Department to operate outside

its normal parameters

 Stipulate departmental procedures and the chain of command to be adopted during a major

incident

 Identify key staff and to define their responsibilities during a major incident

 List those schools within the Borough that could be used as evacuation centres

 Identify additional resources that might be required during a major incident, and

 Ensure that departmental contingency arrangements are compatible with those of other

departments



The plan is being circulated to all schools and I should be grateful if you would ensure that you,

and all your staff, are familiar with the procedures. The plan will be reviewed annually but if you

have any comments or questions regarding the plan, please contact: Hazel Bloor, Schools Health

& Safety Advisor, Telephone: 01582 548042, Email: hazel.bloor@luton.gov.uk or the Civil

Protection Unit, Telephone: 01582 546071, Email: emergencyplanning@luton.gov.uk .









Corporate Director – Children & Learning.









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CRITICAL INCIDENTS IN SCHOOLS

INTRODUCTION

Incidents fall into two categories, major incidents and minor emergencies. Major incidents may

occur off-site but nevertheless have an impact upon schools or occur on-site, or in the immediate

vicinity of school premises. Although it is not envisaged that minor incidents occurring off-site will

have a dramatic impact upon schools, it could involve evacuation of the school and plans need to

be in place to cover this contingency.



MAJOR INCIDENTS

A major incident is any abnormal event, occurring anywhere in or adjacent to Luton, or which by its

nature, causes or has the potential to cause significant or extensive:



 Death or injury (physical and mental)

 Damage to property

 Contamination of the environment and/or

 Disruption to the School’s normal functions

 On a scale beyond the School’s capability to deliver its services under normal conditions



Although there are probably an infinite number of variations to a given type of critical incident or

other event effecting normal running of the school. It will typically fall into one of the categories

given below:



 Transport related accidents

 Severe weather

 Major pollution

 Accidents that take place out of the Borough, but have an effect upon the Borough, and

 Local incidents (e.g. major fires or civil unrest)



Any of the above occurring in the wider community could impact upon schools that could be used

satisfactorily as media centres and/or evacuation centres. Notification of the requirement to use

school premises as a centre will normally come from the Council’s Civil Protection Team to the

Corporate Director’s office. In these circumstances Head Teachers and Chairs of Governors will

be notified by either the Corporate Director, or a Head of Service from Unity House.



However, notification may come direct from the Police who may need to by-pass the normal

Council alerting procedures and who, in exceptional circumstances, may have even opened up a

school for use as an evacuation centre before advising the Council.









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SCHOOLS/COLLEGES IDENTIFIED AS EVACUATION CENTRES

The list of those schools and colleges identified as possible evacuation centres is shown below,

together with their appropriate contact details.



SCHOOL ADDRESS TELEPHONE

Ashcroft High Crawley Green Road, Luton, LU2 9AG 01582 436100

Barnfield Academy South Cutenhoe Road, Luton, LU1 3NH 01582 722333

Barnfield Academy West Emerald Road, Luton, LU4 0NE 01582 601221

Barnfield College New Bedford Road, Luton, LU2 7BF 01582 569500

Barnfield Rotheram Campus Rotheram Avenue, Luton, LU1 5PP 01582 484141

Cardinal Newman High Warden Hill Road, Luton, LU2 7AE 01582 597125

Challney High (Boys) Stoneygate Road, Luton, LU4 9TJ 01582 599921

Challney High (Girls) Stoneygate Road, Luton, LU4 9TJ 01582 571427

Denbigh High Alexandra Avenue, Luton, LU3 1HE 01582 736611

Icknield High Riddy Lane, Luton, LU3 2AH 01582 576561

Lea Manor High Northwell Drive, Luton, LU3 3TL 01582 652600

Lealands High Sundon Park Road, Luton, LU3 3AL 01582 611600

Putteridge High Putteridge Road, Luton, LU2 8HJ 01582 415791/2

Stopsley High St. Thomas’ Road, Luton, LU2 7UX 01582 870900



The Council’s responsibility for providing emergency accommodation for people made homeless

as a consequence of a major incident lies with the Corporate Director of Housing & Community

Living and the schools cited for possible use as evacuation centres have been included on that

department’s list of emergency accommodation. However, it is clearly understood that the

selection of a school will only be done with the knowledge and agreement of the Head Teacher

and Chair of Governors of the school and the Corporate Director, or one of the Heads of Service.



ON SITE INCIDENTS

Incidents may occur at individual schools, which could qualify as major incidents, but not involve

the entire Council, for example a fire or a gas explosion. These will have serious implications for

the school concerned and cause major disruptions to normal day-to-day school operations. There

is therefore a need to pre-plan for such incidents. Schools need to develop an emergency

response plan short, medium, and long term.



These Contingency plans will need to:



 Consider immediate management of communication, safety, and welfare of staff, pupils, and

the wider community

 Identify alternative educational facilities for extended periods of upheaval to school facilities

 Identify alternative office accommodation to ensure an uninterrupted administrative operation

 Operate secure practices to ensure, for example, that I.T. systems are not open to corruption,

that data is backed up off site and that hard copies of data are maintained in damage resistant

safes



EMERGENCY CONTACTS

The schools first point of contact will be those persons identified on the emergency contact card

(which should be kept by key staff on and off site) as issued by the Health and Safety Advisor. As

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soon as practicable notify the Chair of Governors, School Improvement Advisor and Corporate

Director’s Office.



NAME POSITION TELEPHONE EMAIL ADDRESS

Debbie.Jones@luton.gov.uk

Debbie Jones Corporate Director 01582 548400

Hazel.Bloor@luton.gov.uk

Anne.Futcher@luton.gov.uk

Anne Futcher Head of Access 01582 548006

Hazel.Bloor@luton.gov.uk

Geoff.Headley@luton.gov.uk

Geoff Headley Head of School Improvement 01582 548007

Hazel.Bloor@luton.gov.uk

Head of Resources & William.Clapp@luton.gov.uk

William Clapp 01582 548003

Performance Review Hazel.Bloor@luton.gov.uk



This document aims to provide a framework for appropriate action to deal with difficult

circumstances.



The main aim of this document is to provide guidance for schools and governors to:



 Prepare, develop and update their own Incident Management Plan in line with this guidance,

and

 Provide training scenarios and exercises to broaden staff knowledge of emergency

procedures, and

 Be aware of how to access the range of the Council’s and other support services



THE SCHOOL RESPONSE TO EMERGENCIES AND MAJOR INCIDENTS

In recent years events that have affected schools within the UK include:



 A death of a child, parent or member of staff

 Children killed or seriously injured in accidents on school trips

 Suicides

 Major fires

 Health scares

 Missing persons/abductions

 Intruders to the school

 Building collapse

 Flooding or Power disruption



Different events will require different responses and actions. However, the generic responsibilities

and actions for staff members to follow and the support services available to schools can help to

ensure that whatever the incident the schools of Luton are prepared.



It is strongly recommended that each school nominates a Senior Member of Staff, in conjunction

with the Governing Body, to be responsible for completing and maintaining the individual school

emergency response plan. We further recommend a review is formally undertaken annually or

following an incident. This will help to ensure that the plan is an effective working document and

kept up to date.



All schools should identify ‘Incident Managers’ (normally the Head Teacher, another Senior

Member of Staff and the Chair of Governors), one of whom would take the lead responsibility for

liaison with the Emergency Services, Health & Safety Advisor and the Children & Learning

Directorate at the Council in the event of a crisis. The names of these Incident Managers should

be provided and regularly up-dated to the Health & Safety Advisor Telephone: 01582 548042

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All staff and governors should be made aware of the names of the Incident Managers as part of

routine dissemination of information in schools.



BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANNING

In the event of an emergency all relevant staff should be notified as soon as reasonably

practicable. It is recommended that, wherever possible, the school office is used as the central

liaison point for all incidents. Alternative rooms may be utilised strictly for the management of the

incident where necessary. The central liaison point should ideally have IT, telephone, and fax

facilities. It is important to note that parents will be trying to contact the school as well as the

Emergency Services; it may be worth considering using different contact numbers for incident

management only.



The ‘incident’ may be more of an operational disruption than a physical event, so schools should

proactively make ‘business continuity plans’ that are designed to maintain ‘critical’ functions.

‘Critical’ functions are those, which fulfil the fundamental purpose of the organisation. The

problem with this, of course, is that the resources needed to perform those functions, namely

people, buildings, equipment etc may not be available because of the incident. Therefore

alternatives should be explored and questions such as “how can I do this if I don’t have the

resource which I usually use”? “the resource” could be anything including, teaching staff, support

staff, classroom(s), books, computers, telephones, and toilets.



In many respects, the focus of the plan is essentially the same as for responding to an emergency,

but the underlying objective is to continue operation as a school and to deliver the most important

of the services that the school normally delivers.



See the section headed ‘Current Preparedness Assessment’ later in this document for practical

pointers towards the kinds of actions you should consider taking and the sort of information you

might need to have to hand.



NOTIFICATION OF AN INCIDENT

These procedures aim to ensure a speedy response in the event of a Critical Incident occurring in

a Luton School, where the establishment’s normal resources are unable to cope and/or where

urgent additional assistance is required. When this is the case, advice and help is available from

the Local Authority.



KEY HOLDER

The main key holder needs to be identified in the plan and will be the initial contact person in the

event of fire, flood, theft and vandalism. The Head Teacher should therefore, ensure that the key

holder is aware of the emergency procedures and telephone number.



If you have entered into a Buy Back Agreement with the Councils Capital and Asset Management

Division, and require a contractor to attend, please call the dedicated HOTLINE 01582 546335. If

you have NOT entered into a Buy Back Agreement, then you may still use the emergency

assistance Hotline but this will be subject to payment of a fee.



MINOR EMERGENCIES

Examples of minor incidents could be the loss of heating or a flood. If you have entered into the Councils

Property Buy Back Agreement; these incidents should be reported as follows:



 To the Councils Property Repair Hotline Telephone: 01582 546335 during normal office hours

or

 To the Out of Hours Emergency Hotline Telephone: 01582 720703 for them to arrange repair.



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 If you have NOT entered into a Buy Back Agreement, then you may still use the Emergency

Assistance Hotline but this will be subject to payment of a fee.

 Schools should also inform Hazel Bloor, Health and Safety Advisor, Telephone: 01582 548042.



Refer to above section “On Site Incidents” page 5

However, incidents such as severe weather, an outbreak of a contagious illness or food poisoning,

for example require different procedures to be followed.



SEVERE/ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS

The decision to close the school lies with the Head Teacher/Senior Member of staff and Chair of

the Governing Body.



If there is no alternative to the school closing for the day, or if the school opening is to be delayed,

please follow the procedure outlined below, prior to the start of the school day and as early as

possible.



Head Teacher/Senior Member of staff should:



 Telephone Three Counties Radio - 01582 637444

 Telephone Chiltern Radio - 01582 676240

 Place notices outside school premises

 Post notices on school website and Luton Learning Grid



In order for the radio stations to transmit your message you will need to provide them with the

education emergency code word. All schools have been advised previously of this code. If any

Head Teacher/Senior Member of staff is unsure of this code please contact:

Katherine Shieber, Office & Member Support Team Leader, Telephone: 01582 548020, Email:

katherine.shieber@luton.gov.uk .



There may be other persons the school will need to contact; these would include visiting guests,

peripatetic staff, transport contractors etc. Staff should be available at school to ensure that

arrangements are made for pupils who have not heard the message to be sent home. Children,

for whom suitable adult supervision is not available at home, should remain at school.



Before closing the school all of the above should have been considered.





OUTBREAK OF INFECTIOUS AND NOTIFIABLE DISEASE

In the event of a pupil being diagnosed with an infectious disease such as meningitis, the school

will usually be notified by the Health Protection Agency direct. The Head Teacher should notify the

department’s Health and Safety Advisor, Telephone: 01582 548042 as soon as possible.



Any subsequent action will be led by the Health Service and assistance, if appropriate, will be

provided from the Children and Learning Department.



FOOD POISONING

Any suspicion that an outbreak of food poisoning is as a result of food or drink provided by the

Catering Provider should be notified:



 Firstly to the Council’s Environmental & Consumer Services, Telephone: 01582 546173

 Secondly to the Catering Provider

 Thirdly to the Health and Safety Advisor, Telephone: 01582 548042



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CHEMICAL SPILLAGE

Use of chemicals, cleaning materials and other potentially harmful substances are controlled by the Control

of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002, in the form of a COSHH assessment.

Head Teachers should ensure that staff are aware of these assessments and that they are kept where they

can be easily accessed at all times. Accidental spillages should be dealt with strictly in accordance with the

COSHH assessment.



INTRUDER ON SITE

The action taken will depend upon the circumstances and should be at the discretion of the Head

Teacher who will make a judgement as to whether the Police should be contacted.



In any event, the Head Teacher should report the incident to the department’s Health & Safety

Advisor.



ATTEMPTED ABDUCTION, ATTACK, OR SUSPICIOUS PERSON

In the event of an incident at a school or in the vicinity of a school e.g. attempted abduction,

attack, suspicious person, schools should follow the procedure as detailed below.



The following should be taken into account by the department and the school:



 The need to ensure the immediate safety and welfare of pupils and staff, including the possible

need to seek medical attention

 Evacuating the school building

 Evacuating the school site

 Sheltering in the school buildings, known as ‘lockdown’

 Relocating to a different location

 Re-entering the school



All incidents should be reported to the Police, Telephone: 01582 401212, and contact Katherine

Shieber, Telephone: 01582 548020, Email: Katherine.Shieber@luton.gov.uk or Hazel Bloor,

Telephone: 01582 548042, Email: Hazel.Bloor@luton.gov.uk with details of the incident. This

information will then be circulated via email to all other schools as soon as possible.









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DEPARTMENTAL KEY PERSONNEL AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Corporate Director – Debbie Jones

Telephone: 01582 548400, Email: debbie.jones@luton.gov.uk



The Corporate Director has overall responsibility for an effective Departmental response during a

major incident that affects the Children & Learning Department and will form part of the Council’s

Incident Management Team should the incident require this to be established.



The Corporate Director will also be involved with the press and media briefings in conjunction with

the Council’s Communications section and/or the Portfolio Holder.



Head of Resources & Performance Review (R&PR) – William Clapp

Telephone: 01582 548003, Email: william.clapp@luton.gov.uk



The Head of Resources & Performance Review (R&PR) is responsible for ensuring an effective

departmental pre-planning for major incidents, in conjunction with the Council’s Civil Protection

Team and the Corporate Director.



The Head of R&PR is responsible for managing departmental operations during the response to

an incident and for authorising departmental expenditure involved with pre-planning and that

incurred in responding to an incident. Full accounting records must be maintained on behalf of the

department with a view to making a claim for compensation under the Government’s “Bellwin”

scheme or any other source of emergency funding, including insurance claims.



Catering Manager - Ferri Fassihi

Telephone: 01582 538211, Email: ferri.fassihi@luton.gov.uk



On being advised that a school will be opened for use as an evacuation centre, the Catering

Manager will liaise with the Civil Protection Team and Women’s Royal Voluntary Service (WRVS)

who will in accordance with the Emergency Reception Centre Plan, be responsible for making all

the necessary arrangements to ensure that adequate catering is provided for the expected number

of evacuees.



Passenger Transport Unit Manager - Ken Toye

Telephone: 01582 548096, Email: ken.toye@luton.gov.uk



The Council’s Passenger Transport Unit Manager, Ken Toye will be responsible for arranging any

transport requirements arising from the emergency.



Health & Safety Advisor - Hazel Bloor

Telephone: 01582 548042, Email: hazel.bloor@luton.gov.uk



The Health & Safety Advisor will be responsible for notifying the Health & Safety Executive and co-

ordinating matters relating to the Health & Safety of staff and pupils.



Each school/Head Teacher has a wallet sized emergency card with appropriate details. Additional

copies can be obtained from the Health and Safety Advisor, Telephone: 01582 548042.



Hazel is responsible for updating the plan and dealing with issues relating to the plan.



Civil Protection Manager – Robert Marshall

Telephone: 01582 546071, Email: robert.marshall@luton.gov.uk

Out of hours contact may be made using the Duty Emergency Planning Officer Group

Pager-number: 07659 597239

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The Civil Protection team will, if necessary initiate call-out of other agencies, and coordinate the

Council’s response to the emergency.



MEDIA COMMUNICATION



In a crisis it is inevitable that the media will contact the school. This can be seen to be intrusive

and uncaring by school staff, but it is a part of any journalist’s job. The scale of media interest will

depend on the scale of the incident itself – it could range from two/three phone calls from local

media to a number of national/international television crews turning up at the school gates,

demanding interviews with the Head Teacher and parents.



The Communications Team from the Luton Borough Council can field media calls, and issue

statements on behalf of the school, in liaison with the Head Teacher/Deputy/Chair of Governors.



If there is intense media interest, or if the school requests assistance for media handling, a press

officer may go to the school to handle press queries on site (subject to buy back for the relevant

service). See Appendix H for further information and checklists.



If the Head Teacher or Senior Staff Member of a school are approached by journalists seeking

information about an incident concerning the school then refer them to the:



Communications Department, Luton Borough Council

Telephone: 01582 546000, Out of Hours Telephone: 01582 547402



Should it be necessary to communicate with the media direct, it is recommended that you consult

with the Communications Press Officer.



The Press Officer will be able to advise you on the most appropriate way of dealing with the media

and give advice on particularly sensitive issues.







REMEMBER YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO SPEAK TO THE MEDIA







Calls from Parents



Anticipate answers to the following types of questions:



 Was my child there when it happened?

 Is my child safe?

 If injured, where are they, when can I see him/her?

 How serious is the injury?

 Will you help me get to the hospital?



Anticipate the possible questions, and prepare appropriate responses:



 Can you name the fatalities?

 Can you name the teacher involved?

 Have you done a name check of survivors?

 Have you informed the parents?

 Why was there only one adult with the group?

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 Why was the Head Teacher not at the school when the incident occurred?



Support from the Borough Council in times of Emergency



In the event of an emergency situation at a school the safety of all is paramount. The school

continues to have responsibility for ensuring that, as far as is reasonably practicable the education

processes are re-established as soon as possible. The Council will provide full support to enable

an emergency situation to be handled as efficiently as possible.



The Children & Learning Department in conjunction with other Luton Council Departments will

make arrangements for the following, as necessary, in consultation with the school.



Communication with all relevant learning departments, individuals and groups:



 Emergency accommodation

 Additional teaching resources

 Additional staffing

 Transport

 Specialist advice

 Dissemination of information to all those necessary, including parents, teachers and the media

 The Luton Educational Psychology Service (see Appendix G)



The affected school is itself responsible for the recovery of all the education and school

administration processes with assistance, where necessary, from the Children & Learning

Department.



Please refer to individual schools business continuity plans.









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SCHOOL INCIDENT RESPONSE TEAM

Thought needs to be given as to who the key people of an Incident response team would be for

your school in the event of a critical incident. When establishing your team, the number of people

included will be dependant on the size of your school.



Team members may include:



 Head Teacher/Deputy Head

 Senior Management Team

 Identified Incident Managers

 Governors (where applicable)

 Site Agent/Caretaker

 School Secretary and Administration Staff

 Reserves



The following table illustrates the roles and responsibilities of a school incident response team:









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School Incident Response Team

To determine appropriate level of response for an incident and to

What is a School Incident

select necessary roles and actions to be carried out to restore

Response Team? normality and safety to all as soon as possible.

Possible

Role Responsibilities

Candidates

 Consider need to alert other colleagues and external agencies

 Contact external agencies as required

 Establish an Incident Response Team and allocate roles

 Collate all relevant information relating to the emergency/incident

 Co-ordinate the incident response strategy, liaising with relevant

agencies, e.g. emergency services, Luton Borough Council, School

Governors etc Head Teacher/

Incident  Consider contacting parents and/or sending letters home with all Deputy Head/

Manager children Senior Staff

 Monitor the emergency response Member

 Provide regular staff team briefings

 Authorise any additional expenditure

 Consider media handling and any requests for assistance from the

Communications Department

 Maintain a log of key events and decisions, including expenses

incurred

 Assist Incident Manager

 Co-ordinate and manage staff in the Incident Response Team Deputy Head/

Deputy Incident

 Monitor staff welfare and organise staff rotas if required Senior Staff

Manager

 Maintain a log of key events and decisions, including expenses Member

incurred

 Contacts and Informs parents Senior Staff

(firstly parents whose children may be involved) Member

Parent Liaison  Provides key, constant point of contact School Governor/

Officer(s)  Arranges on-site co-ordination of parents (if required) Head Teacher

 Maintains regular contact with parents where appropriate (Incident

Manager)

 Staff telephone lines

 Help to collate information

 Relay incoming and outgoing messages by telephone, email and fax School Office/

Admin  Provide admin support to the Incident Manager and Deputy Incident Teaching

Manager Assistants

 Maintain a master log of key events and decisions, including

expenses incurred

 Will act as ‘THE FACE’ of the school Senior Staff

Communications  Acts as a point of contact for media enquiries Member/

Officer/  Works with the Communications team to prepare media School Governor/

statements/interviews Head Teacher

Media Handling

 Assist with internal communications (Incident

Manager)

 Maintain Supervision Teachers

 Ensure safety and security of pupils assisted by

Teachers

 Provide information and reassurance Teaching

 Monitor pupils physical and psychological welfare Assistants

 Ensure site security at all times

Site Agent/

Facilities  Liaise with Property Contractors/Health & Safety Advisor

Caretaker/

Manager  Provide information about site facilities/layout as necessary

Site Manager

 Assist with access/egress to the school

 To represent the school at the Council’s Emergency Operations

Centre (if activated) Senior Staff

Liaison Officer  Communicate with school on a regular basis and receive Member/

updates/progress reports School Governor

 Relay information to and from the Council



15

Staff nominated for an Incident Response Team role should be trained to an appropriate level.



Staff may also be issued with action cards that can be used as an aide memoir/checklist in the

event that they are asked to undertake their nominated incident response role. Examples of

Action Cards for the roles highlighted above can be found in Appendix E.



Contacts for all possible members of the School Incident Response Team should be recorded and

regularly up-dated. An example of such a record can be found below.





Schools Critical Incident Team Members Contact Numbers





Name Role Home Mobile Work









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APPENDIX A – PRE-INCIDENT PREPARATION

Identification of Possible Hazards



This section looks at highlighting the issues to any Critical Incident or Emergency that may occur

within a school. Some of the following points should be considered in the response to an

emergency by each individual school. The information within this section will give you some further

considerations in developing your local contingency plans.



Consideration of potential hazards needs to be wide-ranging and the corresponding emergency

management and response arrangements must be flexible. Listed below are the sort of major

hazards, which could be considered. For each it is necessary to consider the scope of the threat,

its effects and the counteracting measures. Of course, there may be many other types of

emergencies, which the school would have to deal with (e.g. fire, bomb threat, loss of key staff).



Natural Events



The range of possibilities, perhaps precipitated by severe weather, is wide but needs to reflect that

the school’s area of interest stretches to the community from which its pupils are drawn. The

school itself may not be directly affected. Natural events could include:



 Flooding

 Heavy snow

 Severe winds

 Heat wave



Accidents Involving Death or Injury



This could involve a road traffic accident during a school trip or even one associated with a school

because of the involvement of several pupils or staff. Accidents involving death or injury:



 Transportation incident

 Suicide

 Death of pupil/sibling/parent/member of staff

 Intruder to school premises



Serious Damage/Disruption to School Buildings



There are a number of possible threats, which may cause damage or disruption to school

buildings.



 Utility failure

 Fire

 Bomb threat

 Building collapse

 Asbestos



Fire is one of the most common hazards to schools. It is for this reason that Emergency

evacuation drills should be practiced at the beginning of each school term and again periodically

throughout the year.







17

Emergency evacuation drills should be conducted in accordance with regulations and advice given

by the Health and Safety Advisor.



Health Hazards



 Flu outbreak

 Meningitis outbreak

 Other contagious outbreaks



Industrial Incidents



 Affects upon school from a neighbouring business/facility

 Accident with chemical used in science/technology departments

 Major crime/vandalism



Vital Records/Business Continuity



Schools should establish policies for determining vital records, including:



 Personnel files

 Student records

 Coursework

 Financial information

 Insurance details

 Facility plans/drawings



Schools should then consider methods of storing and preserving them, so in the event of an

incident at the school, i.e. a fire or flood, these documents and records will be protected. For

example:



 Backing up computer files

 Duplicating records

 Off site-storage

 Storing this information in fire/water resistant cabinets

 Storing information in different blocks at the school

 In the event of such an incident arranging for a record salvage company to evacuate records to

a facility for restoration



Warnings



Once these policies are in place schools should develop procedures for alerting staff and pupils of

impending threats and hazards e.g. regular drills and tests should be carried out to ensure all at

the school know what to do and when to do it.









18

Evacuation



In the event of an emergency situation each school should have procedures for:



 Evacuating the school building

 Evacuating the school site

 Sheltering in the school buildings, known as ‘lockdown’

 Relocating to a different location

 Re-entering the school



Risk Assessment



Most incidents are of a nature that staff and students deal with them on a daily basis. There is

however, a range of events, which, by their very nature, could strike at the heart of any

educational establishment. These incidents may be those which the school cannot deal with by

using their own internal resources, those incidents which need the assistance of outside

organisations to support and assist in protecting pupils and returning the school to normality as

soon as possible. Please refer to page 12 - Support from the Borough Council.



In order to assess the individual risks to your school please use the form at page 21 to produce an

individual Risk Assessment. Some generic risks are listed, please add any additional risks you

can identify, also consider what types of buildings and businesses are around your school, think of

the wider environment your school is in as well as more localised risks.



NB: You may also refer to/use the Risk Assessment procedures as detailed in the Health and

Safety manual or as below.



Scale of Risk



There is a need to quantify the scale of risk involved in each area of school activity. This will be

based on consideration of both the likelihood of the risk event and the potential severity of the

consequences.



Scale of Risk - Likelihood



The likelihood – or probability – that a threat may materialise to cause harm is one parameter in

the assessment of risk. When a particular threat is identified, the obvious question to pose is “so

how often do these things occur”? Statistics can only be the most approximate of guides to the

frequency of occurrence of threats. Your school is NOT a statistic – it has its own unique

properties in terms of location, security, ‘housekeeping’ measures, and so on – so something that

may be statistically unlikely in one establishment may be a common occurrence in another.



Likelihood should therefore be assessed using reason and judgment taking all the prevailing

circumstances into account. To make a reasoned assessment, ask “would a ‘Reasonably Prudent

Person’ consider more probable than ”? and then rank them in high/medium/low

categories.



You should be able to justify your assertion by pointing out the evidence to support it, but at the

same time, take into account all the circumstances.









19

To illustrate this with a simple example: you might rate the probability of a school building being

struck by lightning as “high” because, reasonably enough, you can explain that the school is a

small cluster of buildings on an isolated site at or near the top of a hill – ideal conditions for a

lightning strike.



However, compared to the probability of such a site being a target for theft or arson, being hit by

lightning is actually quite UNlikely – especially if on inspection the perimeter fencing is found to be

in poor condition.



Fitting those assessments into neatly labelled “high”, “medium” and “low” categories is necessarily

subjective and it’s difficult to make it otherwise. Therefore, instead of seeing clear boundaries

between the categories, they tend to merge into one another with the extremes being clear-ish but

everything in between rather fuzzy!



As a starting point, you may find the following helpful:



Low - Most unlikely to occur – perhaps less frequently than once in 5 years

High - Likely to occur – perhaps more than once every few months

Medium - Somewhere in between!



This is all very imprecise, but in the real world that’s exactly how it is! The theory says that high

probability risks should be addressed by preventive measures to make them less likely to occur.

In a practical world, however, there are limits to the resources available to deal with risks, so a

sensible assessment of both likelihood and severity is required to decide how best those

resources may be deployed.





Scale of Risk - Severity



The other key parameter in risk assessment describes how bad the damage might be if the threat

materialises. This parameter, severity, is a little easier to measure and articulate than that for

likelihood.



Low



 Consequences are not severe, associated losses are small.

 As individual occurrences, they would have a negligible effect on school activity

 However, if ignored, then such risks could have a more significant cumulative effect.

E.g. minor employee accidents, minor acts of vandalism.



Medium



 Risks which have a noticeable effect on school activity

 Each one will cause a degree of disruption to school activity and impinge on the budget.

 They are generally difficult to predict and are likely to happen infrequently.

 More than one medium loss each year can have substantial consequences for the school

E.g. a major fire, large-scale theft, systems failures, pollution incidents.









20

High



 Risks which can have a catastrophic effect on the school and its activities

 This may result in significant financial loss, major service disruption, or have a significant

impact on pupils/members of staff

 Usually occur infrequently and are difficult to predict (an exception being regular

flooding/severe winter weather in certain areas).

E.g. total systems failure or major local emergency.



The table below is not an exhaustive list, each premises will have its own risk profile.









21

Risk Level/Severity Action Required to

Risk Of….

High Med Low Mitigate Effect

Accidents involving injury at school

Accidents involving death at school

Accidents involving injury away from school

Accidents involving death away from school

Fire (Accidental)

Fire (Arson)

Structural damage to buildings

Contractor failure

Flood (are you by a river)

Severe weather

Serious misbehaviour

Loss of key staff

Failure of essential services: water, gas,

electricity, heating

Health hazards from local businesses

within 3km

Health issues within school:

contagious illnesses

Flight paths over school

Main roads next to school

Intruder entering school

Missing pupils

Theft/vandalism

Contaminated food/water





From the information you have identified above decide which risks and threats need to be

considered further in your Critical Incident Planning arrangements.









22

Current Preparedness Assessment



To ensure that your school is ready to respond to a critical incident it is a vital part of your school’s

preparation that up to date information is always available on and off site and readily accessible.

The tables below will give you some idea of the main issues to consider when formulating

procedures and the types of information and records you will require for effective response.



Once you have identified which areas of risk are of concern, you must implement countermeasures,

to minimise the impact and the likelihood of the threat occurring.



Contacts



In the event of an incident occurring at your school you may need to contact and inform many

different people and organisations. The below table aims to identify the main groups of contacts

you will need to consider.



Contacts

Needs to Not Who is

Information Required In Place

be Done Relevant Responsible



Telephone numbers of all staff 24 hours





Contact numbers for all parents





Contact numbers for all school governors



Contact list of all people, groups,

organisations who may visit or use the

school who would need to be informed

Contact list of people and groups used by

the school, e.g. contractors, suppliers etc



Names and contacts of all key holders



Location of classroom, school keys, key

holders, and access details









23

Resources and Information



To ensure you can return to normality as soon as possible, or at least continue your normal

functions as soon as possible you will need to have access to your key resources and information.

Have you considered storing such information in fire resistant cabinets?



Resources and Information

Needs to Not Who is

Information Required In Place

be Done Relevant Responsible

Student information:

files, reports, exam results

Medical information relating to pupils and

staff both on site and on school

outings/visits

Backup disks of key accounts, records,

inventories, confidential information etc



School financial details





Copy of key policies etc





School Premises and Building Issues



If a critical incident were to occur that affects the school building itself, emergency services and

other contractors may need to gain access to key parts of the school. By identifying key areas and

locations of utility supplies and rooms where hazardous materials may be stored the incident can be

handled quickly and safely.



School Premises and Building Issues

Needs to Not Who is

Information Required In Place

be Done Relevant Responsible

Premises and site plans

Locations of gas, water, electric mains

(key services)

Locations of chemical stores,

science/technology rooms

Location of key salvage priorities, e.g.

coursework storage, school

administration

Copy of asbestos log/water

management (legionnaires) log and fire

log

Oil tanks/fuel stores

Locations of fire doors, emergency exits

and emergency lighting









24

Current Procedures



By examining the current procedures and plans you have in place you will be able to identify what

you are already prepared for and any additional arrangements that will need to be implemented.



Current Procedures

Needs to Not Who is

Information Required In Place

be Done Relevant Responsible

Fire Procedures:

Building evacuation plans

Full site evacuation plans

‘Shelter’ procedures

Procedures for educational visits

Risk assessment for school site

Security initiatives on site, i.e. fencing,

CCTV

Procedures for school closure due to

severe weather, heating failure etc









25

APPENDIX B – BOMB THREATS AND/OR SUSPECT PACKAGES

In most schools, the risk of receiving a bomb threat or suspect package is low.



However, with terrorist bombings and terrorist bomb threats being regular occurrences on the

television news, educational establishments should have plans and procedures in place for dealing

with such an incident. Such threats may be hoaxes, from truants, former pupils/students or ex-

employee, who bear a grudge, or a stranger. However, if in doubt treat as a genuine threat.



It is important that the school’s bomb threat routine is co-ordinated and controlled by the Head

Teacher. The Head Teacher/Senior Member of staff should take the decision whether to evacuate

the school or not. In any event the Head Teacher should contact the police and ask for advice.



A bomb threat is more likely to be real if:



 A codeword is used that is known to the police

 The police are aware of potential terrorist activity in the area

 The threat is specific rather than general

 The threat is credible



Even genuine threats are frequently inaccurate with regard to where and when a bomb might

explode. Also, staff receiving a bomb threat may not always be those trained and prepared for it.

Whilst it is not reasonable to expect them authoritatively to assess a threat's accuracy, truth or

origin, listen to their impressions of the caller.



Be prepared for your staff to be temporarily in a state of shock at the threat, which will be the closest

that many people ever come to acts of terrorism. Take account of this when establishing your

procedures and base your preparation on enabling any member of staff to pass on a threat

promptly, in as much detail as possible, to those tasked with deciding what action to take.

Remember to distinguish between calls referring to your own building and those warning of a bomb

elsewhere.



Any such hoax is a crime and, no matter how ridiculous or unconvincing, should be reported to the

police.



The checklist and actions on the following pages are examples designed to help your staff to deal

with a telephoned bomb threat effectively and to record the necessary information. This checklist

could be printed off and fixed to a wall or by the telephone, out of public/pupil view for easy

reference.



Action to be taken on receipt of a bomb threat:



 Switch on tape recorder (if connected)

 Tell the caller which town/district you are answering from

 Record (in writing) the exact wording of the threat



In the unlikely event of such an incident, the following procedures should be adopted:









26

TELEPHONE BOMB THREAT - ACTION TO BE TAKEN BY PERSON RECEIVING THE CALL



 Do not cut off the caller

 Obtain as much practical information as possible, carefully noting down what is said

 Listen carefully for any helpful clues, such as background noises or accents

 Immediately after the call is completed, use a separate phone to dial 999 and notify the Police

 If you do not use the phone that the call was made to it may be possible to trace the call origin

 However if another phone is not available no further delay should be caused

 Then, immediately advise the Senior Manager of the situation

 Both the person who received the call and the Senior Manager should remain available pending

the arrival of the Police, who will then take control of the situation



DEALING WITH SUSPECT PACKAGES/ARTICLES



On discovery of a suspect package or article, the following procedures should be adopted:



 No one should move, touch, or otherwise tamper with it

 Immediately contact the person responsible for building evacuation

 Notify the Head Teacher of the situation (if he/she is not the person responsible for evacuating

the building)



The person responsible for building evacuation should then carefully evaluate the situation and

either:



 Take no further action if the suspect article can positively and safely be identified as posing no

threat, or:

 In the case of any serious doubt as to the potential threat, which exists, the Police should be

contacted, and advice sought from them as to whether the building should be evacuated.



SEARCHING FOR SUSPECT PACKAGES/ARTICLES



Any search for a suspect package should look primarily at:



 Escape or evacuation routes

 Other high risk areas: public access, areas occupied by people, control equipment, heater/boiler

rooms



On finding a suspect package:



 Its location and description should be carefully noted. A diagram will be useful to the emergency

services but you should not touch the article or packaging. The diagram should be prepared after

leaving the evacuation area and whilst awaiting arrival of the emergency services

 The area should then be evacuated in accordance with local procedures

 In the case of a suspect package up to the size of a brief case, an area of 100 meters around the

device should be cleared

 In the case of a suspect package up to the size of a suit case, an area of 200 meters around the

device should be cleared

 In the case of a suspect vehicle an area of 400 meters should be cleared

 The team should withdraw from the area

 It is important that two-way radios and mobile phones are not used in the area adjacent to the

package in this type of situation



In the event of building evacuation, the location of all chosen assembly points should take

into account the risk of flying glass from any cause whatsoever.



27

BOMB THREAT CHECKLIST



Name of person receiving threat: ……………………………..…Contact No: .………………………….



Exact wording of the threat: …………..…………………………………………………………….…



…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..



…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..



Ask the following questions:



Where is the bomb right now? ...........................................................................................................



When is it going to explode? ...........................................................................................................



What does it look like? ...........................................................................................................



What kind of bomb is it? ...........................................................................................................



What will cause it to explode? ...........................................................................................................



Did you place the bomb? ...........................................................................................................



Why? ...........................................................................................................



What is your name? ...........................................................................................................



What is your address and telephone number? ..................................................................................



…………………………………………………………………………………………………….….………...



Record time call end:……………………………… Length of call: ……….…….…….…………….…....



1471/Caller ID on Telephone? ...........................................................................................................



Contact Police and/or Head Teacher.



Time and date of call: ..…..………….…………………………………….………………………………...



Signature: ..…………………………………………..……………………………………..……



Date: .…...…………………………………………………………………………………..



Print Name: ...………………………………………………….…………………………………..



PLEASE TURN OVER THE PAGE TO COMPLETE DETAILS ABOUT THE CALLER









28

About the Caller



Male  Female 

Adult  Child 

Approx Age ………….





What sort of voice did the caller have?



Loud  Soft  High Pitched  Deep 

Whispered  Poorly Spoken  Well Spoken  Disguised 

Hoarse  Lisp  Slurred  Nasal 

Stutter 



What sort of accent did the caller have?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..



How did the caller speak?



Fast  Slow  Average  Clearly 





What manner did the caller have?



Laughter  Excited  Calm  Crying 

Angry  Rational  Irritated  Irrational 

Muddled  Normal 



Did the caller sound familiar, like anyone you know?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..



Background sounds?



Street noises  House noises  Animal noises  Railway 

Plane  Motor  Factory/Warehouse  Office 

Music  Crockery  Static  Voice 

Clear  Other 



If yes to any, give extra details

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..









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APPENDIX C - SECTION 9; EVACUATION AND SHELTER PLANNING

Does your school have an emergency evacuation plan?



Is it the same as the emergency evacuation you use for fire drills?



The biggest dilemma facing anyone responsible for an evacuation is how to judge where the place

of safety might be. If, for example, an evacuation route would take people past a suspect device, or

past an area of damaged building, or through an area believed to be contaminated by hazardous

materials, evacuation may be a risky course of action.



 Is it safer inside the building than it is outside?

 Think of an armed intruder on site?

 Hazardous substances in the air outside?



The purpose of evacuation is to move people from an area where they might be at risk to a place of

lesser risk.



Evacuation may need to take place in response to:



 A fire

 Building collapse

 The discovery of a suspicious item

 A bomb threat

 An intruder to the site

 Flooding



The decision to evacuate will normally be taken by the Head Teacher or other senior member of

staff. Consideration should always be given to



 Access to emergency exits

 Assembly points

 What the incident is

 Would it be safer to remain indoors and secure the school or to get everyone out?



Evacuation Plans



Evacuation Plans should be prepared, and, in the event of an incident, initiated by the Head

Teacher or other senior member of staff. Depending on the nature of the incident and the

circumstances of your building (its size, the number of exits and public access points) your

Evacuation Plan may involve the following:



 Full evacuation of the school site

 Full evacuation outside the building

 Evacuation of part of the building

 Full or partial evacuation to an internal safe area









30

Evacuation Plan should contain details on the following:



 How the evacuation will be communicated to staff and pupils

 Designated routes and exits

 Designated members of staff to act as marshals during the evacuation

 Once the evacuation is complete ensure all staff and pupils are accounted for

 Pupils should be reassured and kept under supervision

 Training procedures for staff with particular responsibilities, and drills for all staff and pupils

 Details of assembly areas: i.e. playing fields, tennis courts, off site locations. In some cases it

may be more appropriate to evacuate pupils to a ‘buddy school’ or nearby community building

 Arrangements for key staff to attend a rendezvous with the police



Discuss your Evacuation Plan in advance with the police, other emergency services, the local

authority, and neighbours. In response to an actual incident, ensure that you inform the police of

what action you are taking.





Buddy Schools



Where appropriate, prior to an incident, arrangements could be made with a neighbouring school or

community facility to take staff and pupils there during an evacuation of the school site, or if the

school needs to be closed.



Such arrangements could be reciprocal, in that your ‘buddy school’ could use your school if they

suffered a critical incident or needed to evacuate their premises.







Shelter Plans



Shelter plans should be prepared, and, in the event of an incident, initiated by the Head Teacher or

other Senior Member of Staff. Such circumstances could include a chemical accident or threat from

either an intruder on the school grounds or within the vicinity of the school. A recognisable signal is

required to instigate shelter/lockdown procedures and must be clearly distinguishable from the fire

alarm. Suitable signals include the use of a different ring pattern/tone for the school bell.



By ‘sheltering’ the pupils in the school instead of evacuating them another set of issues and

concerns need to be considered:









31

Issue Considerations



How are you going to make sure that everyone in your building

Activation – What method of

knows that there is an emergency and that they shouldn’t go

alarm can be used?

outside?



Can you ‘lockdown’ your facility?

Control of pupils/visitors/staff

What do you do if someone turns up at the door and you’re in

within the building?

lockdown?



What stocks do you have on site?

Are they locked up?

Food and drink?

What time are staff with keys or skills required on site?

Any pupils/staff have special needs?

Can you control the climate of your facility without using a system

that draws air in from outside?

Accommodation

Do you have blankets or heaters?

Could occupants sleep on site?

When to notify?

Would you be able to handle the high number of incoming calls?

Notification to parents?

What if area most at risk is where contact details and phones are

kept?



How will you deal with the requirements that staff, pupils or

Medication for pupils and staff

visitors may have for drugs?





How long can ‘shelter’ within the

school be sustained?





 Staff should ensure pupils are moved into classrooms or safe areas

 Doors should be locked and windows and blinds closed

 Pupils should be kept seated away from windows and doors. There may be circumstances when

it is best to sit on the floor or under desks

 No one should be allowed out of the classroom or safe area during the lockdown procedure

 Pupils, should where possible be engaged in a quiet activity or game and should be kept calm

 Non-Teaching staff should, where possible, assemble in a pre-designated room to form the

Incident Response Team

 If children are outside when the signal for lockdown is given, teachers and supervisors should

consider taking them into the nearest hall or building that can be secured. If this is not possible,

pupils may be asked to hide, disperse, or take cover if this will ensure their safety

 The need to communicate with teachers in classrooms – if it is safe to do so ‘runners’ could be

used for this task, or two-way radios

 Devise a signal for giving the ‘all clear’









32

APPENDIX D - INCIDENT CHECKLISTS

Any form of incident or emergency can be spilt into three main timeframes:



 Short-term

 Medium-term

 Long-term



All these time periods require varying types of response and consideration. Depending on the

nature of the incident, the response and actions taken may return the school to normality within the

short term. However, consideration must be given to the fact that the incident may last a long

period of time. For this reason we include an immediate response checklist and short, medium and

long term actions.









Immediate Response Checklist

The immediate actions and considerations to be taken in the event of an

Immediate Incident

incident at a school in Luton

Activity

COMP WHO

EVACUATION TIME

  BY?

Evacuation of Premises



Call Emergency Services



Roll call



Everyone safe and accounted for



Contact your property consultant

Contact appropriate agencies as listed in “Departmental Key

Personnel and Responsibilities” pages 10 & 11

Liaise with emergency services incident officers at the scene



COMP WHO

DETAILS OF CASUALTIES TIME

  BY?

Obtain information on names



Obtain information on injuries



Obtain information on current location of casualties



Obtain information on current location of relevant others



Obtain information as to whether next of kin have been informed





33

COMP WHO

INJURY TIME

  BY?

Who is accompanying injured person(s) to hospital

Provide accommodation which is restricted to next of kin, pupils and

staff, as appropriate

Provision of immediate transport, assistance, and counselling as

appropriate

Contact the Luton Borough Council Children & Learning Department if

appropriate



COMP WHO

INCIDENT IN SCHOOL TIME TIME

  BY?

Decide whether school will remain open



Decide whether to keep pupils in schools



Decide whether to send pupils home (all or some)



Arrange transport

Ensure staff, parents and governors receive the facts and actions

taken as soon as possible



COMP WHO

INCIDENT OUT OF SCHOOL TIME TIME

  BY?

Decide how to contact parents



Consider announcements via the local radio stations



Consider announcements via local media

Ensure staff, parents and governors receive the facts and actions

taken as soon as possible









34

Recovery Checklists



Actions for consideration by the school in the First 24 hours



Recovery Checklist: First 24 Hours

The actions and considerations to be taken in the first 24 hours

First 24 Hours or next day in the event of an incident at a school in Luton

COMP WHO

ACTION COMMENTS

  BY?

Activate standard emergency evacuation

Ensure safety of pupils and staff

procedures

Ensure notification of the incident

via emergency numbers:

Activate School Incident Recovery

Identify a suitable meeting area

Team

Delegate individual(s) to notify all

staff

Activate your procedure for

Cascades, local media,

informing parents

Will be activated through contact with

Establish media communication Luton Borough Council by use of normal

contact or emergency number

With Luton Borough Council by the

Make Contact

normal contact Emergency Number

Contact school transport

companies

Information line numbers, can be

Establish phone facilities

supported by the Council

Identify possible welfare support The Learning Directorate will arrange this

needs for pupils and staff for you

Review accommodation, catering

needs for pupils arriving/remaining Needs? Areas to provide these needs?

on site

Agree with Luton Borough Council

immediate resource needs

Establish priorities for salvage and

May include: animals, equipment,

advise responding agencies and

records, coursework, registers etc

recovery team

Make alternative arrangements for Neighbouring schools?

examination groups Leisure facilities?

Assess disruption to education

process

Identify items to be removed and an

If safe, activate salvage procedures

alternative storage area.

Keep all staff up to date with

incident progress

Update governors, parent groups It might be helpful to use parent groups

etc as an information focal point









35

Actions for consideration by the school in 24 hours – 2 weeks



Recovery Checklist: 24 hours – 2 Weeks

The actions and considerations to be taken in the event of an

24 Hours - 2 Weeks incident at a school in Luton

COMP WHO

ACTION COMMENTS

  BY?

Review previous actions



Identify most urgent issues Particularly key educational needs



Identify usable facilities on-site

Review health & safety, fire

prevention & safety on site

Review welfare support for pupils

and staff

Establish alternate timetables



Establish additional teaching needs



Establish additional staff needs



Monitor examination arrangements Alternate accommodation? Reschedule?

Update to school and local

community

Review services and deliveries to

site

Prepare inventory to furnish

Desks, chairs, equipment

alternative accommodation

Where pupils and staff have opportunity

Consider introduction of designated

to talk through and express their emotions

areas, groups, sessions

and feelings regarding the incident

Maintain updates to staff

Maintain updates to governors and

parents

Advise other users of school about

alternative arrangements









36

Ongoing longer-term actions for consideration

On-Going Incident Checklist

Ongoing incident checklist

The on-going actions and considerations to be taken in the event of an

On-Going Issues incident at a school in Luton

COMP WHO

STAFF TIME

  BY?

Briefing sessions held regularly

Plan for students returning to school, how will they be welcomed?

Ensure that they feel safe?

Produce a written report of the incident and how it will affect the school,

its staff and pupils

Review education schedule and timetable implications



Review and issue new fire notices and procedures (if appropriate)

Hold a fire a drill as soon as possible so pupils and staff know new exit

routes, assembly points and procedures (if appropriate)

Adapt school programmes and schedule if appropriate (e.g. school trips

etc)





COMP WHO

PREMISES TIME

  BY?

Obtain plans of the building and mark areas mainly affected



Walk through buildings to amend plans



Check for obstacles and hazards to pupils



Identify new routes, exits, entrances

Check fire escape requirements and facilities (consult with Health and

Safety Advisor)

Identify areas with restricted access



Review site security, health and safety, fire safety





COMP WHO

PUPILS TIME

  BY?

Special assemblies, information provision and discussions



Issue new timetables (if necessary)



Issue up-dated site maps (if appropriate)

Issue information up-date sheets to parents and children when

appropriate

Involve pupils in planning remembrances and memorials (if appropriate)

37

COMP WHO

PARENTS TIME

  BY?

Hold regular parents/teachers meetings



Send regular incident up-dates home with children







COMP WHO

GENERAL TIME

  BY?

Provide/change answer phone message on school phone with special

numbers for information and advice, and up-dates on attendance and

arrangements

Provide notices around the school regarding progress







COMP WHO

FUTURE EVENTS TIME

  BY?

Consider whether these are still appropriate, or should be moved or

reorganised





COMP WHO

CONTRACTORS TIME

  BY?

Hold regular meetings



Establish Health and Safety, fire safety arrangements



Establish access for special vehicles (safety of pupils and staff in mind)



Install temporary facilities

Agree working practices and times when noise must be kept to a

minimum

Provide contractors with information about critical timetable issues, e.g.

examinations

Establish a meeting programme with contractors, surveyors, LBC

departments (any other appropriate others)





COMP WHO

OUT OF HOURS USERS TIME

  BY?

Contact and keep informed, reorganise or cancel if needed









38

APPENDIX E

The following pages show an example of a set of School Incident Response Team

Checklists.



Incident Response Team CHECKLIST

The IRM is the Head teacher (or other senior staff member as

Incident Response Manager (IRM) nominated) who leads the school response. They are responsible

for decisions made and priorities to be handled.

Initial Actions

COMP

REF TASK TIME

 

 Complete incident log and record times and activities of decisions,

actions and calls

 Determine whether the Incident Recovery Team needs to be

IRM1

established

 Determine who needs to be notified: if additional support and

assistance is needed from Council or other agencies

IRM2  Arrange initial staff/team briefing

 Take 10-15 minutes to establish an initial plan with other team

IRM3

members, use the “Immediate Incident Checklist” as at page 32

IRM4  Determine the current status of the incident

 Confirm call out and ensure additional support are contacted where

IRM5

required

IRM6  Consult with Communications staff to determine PR implications

 Before agreeing any recovery actions, ensure that such actions are

not being taken without due regard to long term effects

IRM7  The Incident Response Manager must endeavour to ensure that

information on losses or evidence is not destroyed in the response

activity



Ongoing Actions Split

COMP

REF TASK TIME

 

 Assess the requirements of the responding service teams and

IRM8 Luton Borough Council

 Continue to collate incident updates and all relevant information

 Ensure that all decisions are communicated to relevant internal and

IRM9

external parties

IRM10  Arrange further regular staff briefings as appropriate

 Consult with Legal Representative on existing or potential legal actions

IRM11

that may arise from the incident and the response

 Assess whether any damage to the environment has occurred and

IRM12

what remedial actions are required









39

Longer Term Actions

COMP

REF TASK TIME

 

 Consider the need for psychosocial support where trauma has or

IRM13

may have occurred

IRM14  Give staff and pupils the opportunity to talk about their experiences

IRM15  Conduct a debrief meeting

 Ensure there are procedures in place for referring staff and pupils to

IRM16

relevant agencies for further support

IRM17  Maintain a record of continuing issues and actions

 Advise any new staff of what has happened and potential effects so

IRM18

that they can be aware





Incident Response Team CHECKLIST

Deputy Incident Response The DIRM is a senior nominated member of staff responsible for

Manager supporting the IRM in tasks and actions and for co-ordinating

(DIRM) other staff members.

Initial Actions

COMP

REF TASK TIME

 

 Complete incident log and record times, activities, decisions, actions

and calls

DIRM1

 Assist the Incident Response Manager in alerting colleagues, external

agencies etc

 Take 10-15 minutes to establish an initial plan with IRM, use the

DIRM2

“Immediate Incident Checklist” at page 32

DIRM3  Determine the current status of the incident







Ongoing Actions

COMP

REF TASK TIME

 

DIRM4  Continue to collate incident updates and all relevant information

 Ensure all staff are aware of each other’s incident response role and

DIRM5

responsibilities

DIRM6  Assist the Incident Manager as required

DIRM7  Help to keep all staff regularly updated

DIRM8  Organise a staff roster and ensure that staff breaks are scheduled









40

Incident Response Team Checklist

A senior member of staff or nominated other responsible for parent liaison,

Parent Liaison Officers

contact and informing.

Initial Actions

COMP

REF TASK TIME

 

 Complete incident log and record times, activities, decisions, actions

PLO1

and calls

PLO2  Attend staff/team briefing

PLO3  Take 10-15 minutes to establish an initial plan of action with IRM

PLO4  Determine the current status of the incident

 Agree information to be disseminated to parents with Incident

PLO5

Response Manager

 Confirm contact details and be ready to act as first point of contact for

PLO6

incoming enquiries

 Where appropriate, obtain and offer further contact numbers for

PLO7

support and additional information

 Ensure that all incoming and outgoing calls are logged, include:

 Name of caller

 Time and date

PLO8

 Message received/given

 Response

 Further action taken/required

 Agree a meeting/greeting point on site for any parents and relatives

PLO9

visiting the school

PLO10  Ensure that the names of all visitors are recorded

 Make arrangements to ensure parents and visitors are not left alone

PLO11

on site

 Consider the need for additional support for visiting parents and

PLO12

relatives, for example, tea and coffee

 Parents of other children within the school should be informed of the

PLO13

incident and that their child might be upset

 Attend staff briefings and ensure that all information and briefings are

PLO14

updated regularly









41

Incident Response Team Checklist

Teaching assistants or school office staff assisting in collating information

Administrators and recording main issues, actions and decisions taken. Supporting the

Incident Response Team.

Initial Actions

COMP

Ref Task Time

 

 Complete incident log and record times, activities, decisions, actions

A1

and calls

A2  Attend initial staff/team briefing

A3  Take 10-15 minutes to establish an initial plan of action with IRM

A4  Determine the current status of the incident

 Allocate telephone numbers for incoming calls, for:

 Parents enquiries

 Media enquiries

A5

 External responding agencies

 County Council/School Governors

 Outgoing calls

A6  Ensure that all staff are aware of designated numbers

A7  Ensure that there is a stock of blank log sheets

A8  Collate relevant information e.g. parent/next of kin contact details

 Log all incoming and outgoing calls and ensure that messages and

notes are passed to the Incident Manager and relevant staff. Note:

 Name of caller

A9  Time and date

 Message received/given

 Response

 Further action taken/required

A10  Maintain a record of any costs incurred

A11  Assist in recording details of visitors to the site

A12  Assist the incident response team as requested









42

Incident Response Team Checklist

Caretaker or site manager. Ensuring access and egress to school is

Facilities Manager monitored. To provide information about the site as required and to liaise

with property contractors.

Initial Actions

COMP

Ref Task Time

 

 Complete incident log and record times, activities, decisions, actions

FM1

and calls

FM2  Attend initial staff/team briefing

FM3  Take 10-15 minutes to establish an initial plan of action with IRM

FM4  Determine the current status of the incident

 Check access and egress to the school for visiting support agencies,

FM5

parents etc

 Liaise with Incident Manager and Communications Officer (if present)

FM6

to ensure the media re not being intrusive

FM7  Help arrange a specific area for media briefings

 If required, collate plans of school premises and relevant information

FM8

regarding utilities etc





Incident Response Team Checklist

Senior member of staff or nominated other. Act as point of contact for

Communications Officer

media enquiries and to liaise with Communications Department.

Initial Actions

COMP

Ref Task Time

 

 Complete incident log and record times, activities, decisions, actions

CO1

and calls

CO2  Attend initial staff/team briefing

CO3  Take 10-15 minutes to establish an initial plan of action with IRM

CO4  Determine the current status of the incident

 Liaise with Incident Manager to agree media strategy. Offer media

CO5

support of the Communications Department to parents

 Ensure all relevant parties have your contact details and that you are

CO6

the first point of contact for all media enquiries

 Prepare briefing notes and media statements in conjunction with the

CO7

Communication Department and Incident Response Manager









43

APPENDIX F - AFTER THE EVENT

Coping with Critical Incidents: Practical steps to take



Following a traumatic incident there will be action that needs to be taken immediately. Over time,

further action and support will be needed to reduce longer term effects on the emotional well being

and achievements of both pupils and staff.



Feeling shocked and numbed or feeling a strong urge to talk are normal reactions of those thrown

into a major crisis. Try to ensure that adults and pupils are able to make contact with those they

and you trust. Younger pupils particularly are best supported by people they know well i.e. their

families and school staff. Outside agencies can provide support and advice to those directly

involved with the pupils.



Short Term Action



Some of the immediate actions after an event will involve how to communicate the news of the

incident to others. Steps you may wish to take, include:



 Organising the reunion of pupils and parents, if the incident has happened outside school

 Considering which pupils need to be briefed, how and by whom

 Contacting those on the list of outside support agencies, in particular the Educational

Psychology Service or Chums Bereavement Service

 Arranging a briefing meeting for all staff

 Arranging a debriefing session for directly affected staff

 Arranging a debriefing session for pupils, if appropriate

 Checking that procedures for monitoring staff and pupils are in place

 Activating strategies for allowing young people to express their feelings about the situation if they

wish

 Contacting families of those hurt or bereaved to express sympathy



Decisions to be made will include:



 Who will give the news and what should be said?

 Provision of briefing notes to form tutors responsible for informing pupils: ensures the same

message gets to everyone

 Provision of counselling where appropriate, How? In what form? Who by?

 Schools need to ensure that parents are informed of what assistance and support is available to

them and their child









44

Medium term action



Schools will want to maintain as normal a routine as possible. However, some changes may be

inevitable.



Steps you might wish to take include:



 Ensuring a member of staff contacts pupils at home or in hospital

 Making sensitive arrangements for a return to school

 Arranging alternative teaching if necessary

 Arranging support for affected staff

 Arranging consultation so staff feel more able to support pupils

 Clarifying procedures for referring pupils for individual help

 Liaising with parents

 Deciding about attendance at funerals, taking the wishes, cultural back ground and religious

beliefs of parents into account

 Planning memorials and/or a special assembly

 Checking monitoring procedures are in place and being followed

 Advice to parents

 Return of affected siblings or relatives to school



Long term action



The effects of a traumatic incident can reverberate for years within the school and the local

community and it is important to recognise this.



Steps you might wish to take include:

 Introducing strategies to continue monitoring vulnerable pupils and staff

 Consulting and deciding whether and how to mark anniversaries

 Ensuring new staff are aware of the pupils affected and in what way

 Ensuring that new staff know how to obtain further help if necessary

 Recognising that legal processes, enquiries and news stories may bring back distressing

memories and cause temporary upset in school

 Meetings for pupils and parents seriously affected by the incident, to enable them to talk things

through and to help one another should be considered and offered. Advice and assistance can

and should be requested from the Educational Psychologists and CHUMS.

In case of death/bereavement/loss



 Provide something tangible at the school for all: book of condolence, flowers, collection, display

of art work for remembrance

 Consider holding a staff meeting with support agencies to discuss appropriate strategies for

incident response and those affected

 Plan how to manage distress that may be caused by ongoing police/legal proceedings and

media attention

 Pupils may need help in discussing their thoughts and feelings: how will this be done? Through

the form tutor? Outside organisation?

 Should the school close for the day to allow people to attend the funeral?

 Should the school arrange transport for pupils to attend the funeral?

 Should pupils be encouraged or discouraged from attending the funeral?

 Should there be a memorial service at the school? If so when?



Source: “Wise before the Event” W. Yule and A. Gold





45

Those most likely to be affected by the incident



In addition to those directly affected or involved in the incident, children and adults who are most

likely to suffer distress as a result of the incident include those who:



 Are uninjured, but were at greatest risk

 Directly witnessed death/injury/violence of the incident

 Are siblings of those directly involved

 Those who blame themselves

 Those who are being blamed by others

 Are experiencing instability at home

 Have learning difficulties

 Have pre-existing behavioural difficulties

 Have previously suffered bereavement or loss

 Have witnessed a similar incident or event before



Informing Pupils



For all incidents it will need to be decided which pupils are to be briefed about the incident and by

whom. Consideration will need to be given to:



 The nature of the incident

 Which age groups are involved/affected?

 Is a particular group of pupils likely to be more affected than another?



Where possible the first briefing should be given on the day when the incident occurred.



Pupils should be told truthfully about what has happened in a manner appropriate to their age and

stage. This can be done individually, in small groups or in class groups, depending on the needs of

the children. In some cases it may be appropriate to bring the school together as a whole.



Some suggestions for informing pupils are listed below. These suggestions are not exhaustive.

Support agencies will be able to assist and support your school in informing and working with pupils

following an incident.



 Begin by preparing the pupils for some difficult/sad news

 Give simple, factual information using language and concepts appropriate to the age of the

children, taking into account their backgrounds and culture

 Tell facts only: do not speculate on causes or consequences

 If questions cannot be answered this should be acknowledged

 Address and deal with all rumours

 Try to give expression to the emotions that individuals may be experiencing, like shock/

disbelief/anger/guilt.

 Explain that strong and difficult feelings are a normal part of coming to terms with this sort of

experience.

 Say that it is ok to cry and let the children see you cry

 Remember the deceased or injured by name, and perhaps by highlighting memorable and

positive things about them

 Explain what the school has in hand for coming to terms with what has happened









46

For example, the below statement covers the above issues:



‘I have got some very sad news to tell you today that might upset you. There has been a serious

illness called meningitis. Sometimes people with meningitis get better but sometimes people do not

recover from it. Some of you will have known that xxxxxxxx in year 5 was suddenly taken ill last

week. I have to tell you that XXXXX died in hospital yesterday.



Like me, many of you will find it hard to believe that this happened. It is obviously a very big shock

for us all. XXXXX was such a happy girl who got on well with everybody. We will all miss her.



It is important for you to know that strong and perhaps difficult feelings are part of the normal

process of coping with this sort of situation. It will help you to talk about what has happened and

about your thoughts and feelings. Please do take the opportunity to talk to your family, friends,

teachers, and adults in school. This is likely to be a difficult time for us as a school community and

we should all try to support each other. Please come and talk with me if you have any questions or

if you just want to talk.’



Briefing Staff



 A factual account of the incident (what, where, how, when, why)

 What is happening/being done now

 What will be done in the future days

 Details of help and assistance that is available to all

 Information about the press and advice, i.e. if approached by them go to a member of staff and

tell them



Staff briefings should be undertaken on a daily basis at the beginning and end of each day. Staff

should be updated of the situation, for example what exactly the situation is compared with press

accounts and what messages and information needs to be communicated to the students and in

what fashion.



However, some staff may not feel able to talk to children and pupils about the event. All staff must

be given the choice of whether they feel able.



Decisions should be made on whether:



 The incident is to be discussed in school in a controlled way

 How will this take place?

 Will there be a main, group, briefing session in the first instance?

 Will form tutors lead the form groups in discussion?

 Should a senior member of staff produce lesson notes/briefing sheet?



If such lessons and discussions are appropriate, very clear aims and objectives should be identified.

Advice for such sessions should and can be sought from the Council’s Educational Psychologists

and other outside agencies.









47

Some Suggestions Include



 Organising a special assembly/service to collectively acknowledge the incident, what has

happened and how the school is coming to terms with it. Remember to consult with the families

of the those affected

 Give pupils permission individually and collectively to discuss what has happened and their

reactions: do not discourage children from talking

 Consider putting on special classes/sessions to give pupils information about the grieving

process and to enable them to talk through their experiences

 Plan appropriate support for staff to enable them to cope with children’s questions and

discussion



Informing Parents and Governors



A senior member of staff/member of the Incident Response Team/Chair of Governors should ensure

that parents and governors are kept up to date and regularly informed of the incident and what is

happening. This could be done through:



 Letters home to parents at the end of every school day

 Telephone

 Meetings



Information on sources of help and support should be given to all parents and appropriate contact

details of the school, and who to contact, should also be enclosed.



Home visits



Consideration should be given to staff visiting the homes of those pupils who have been seriously

involved or affected by the incident. This should be either, the Head Teacher, Deputy Head or Head

of Year/Form Tutor of the pupil, who is known by the affected family. Before any such visit is

undertaken, staff involved should be appropriately briefed by the school and Educational

Psychology department.



Such a visit could involve:



 Going over the details of the incident, what exactly happened and who was there

 Discussion of support mechanisms available

 What the school etc is doing about the incident

 Make arrangements for someone from the school to visit the injured in hospital

 Memorials and remembrance issues









48

Funerals, Memorials and Remembrance



 Make arrangements to express support/sympathy to families, children and adults who have been

hurt or bereaved

 Consider sending cards and messages from children and staff to those affected

 Consideration should be given to closing the school on the day of the funeral as a mark of

respect

 Consideration should be given to a senior member of staff attending the funeral to represent the

school

 Consideration should be given as to whether staff and pupils are allowed time off to attend the

funeral



 Consider providing transport to take other pupils and staff to the funeral



 Floral tributes and donations at the school



 Consider an appropriate memorial, taking into account the wishes of the family and the age of

the child/children affected, for example:



 A special garden area at the school

 A tree

 A seating area/bench

 A painting

 A sculpture

 A photograph

 A memorial ‘prize’ e.g. for younger children: have a memorial they can relate to, that they can

see and touch, i.e. a fountain, for older children: a sporting or academic achievement trophy



 Future important dates should be noted and prepared for, e.g.:



 Birthdays

 Christmas

 Mothers day/fathers day

 Anniversary of the event



 Discuss how to mark anniversaries and other important dates, for example:



 Commemorative service/assembly

 A concert

 A display

 A sports event



 Ensure that all new staff to the school are informed about the incident, and the emotional needs

of the children and staff affected and important dates to remember regarding the event









49

Coping with Critical Incidents: Helping a Bereaved Person



The Grieving Process



Grief is a normal reaction to the death of a loved one. The grieving process may be short lived or

last a long time. There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to grieve, people do so in their own way.

However in many cases grief moves through several stages. This not necessarily a linear process

and difficulties can occur at any stage.



 Shock and Disbelief

The first reaction to a death can be shock and disbelief. At this stage people may feel very little

and go through the day automatically. They may also experience anxiety and panic.



 Denial

This stage usually occurs in the first two weeks after a death. The bereaved person may

behave as if nothing has happened and as if the dead person were still around.



 Growing Awareness

During this stage the bereaved person gradually begins to realise what it means when

someone they cared for has died. This growing awareness may trigger a number of emotions.



 Yearning

The urge to search, to find a reason for the death, going over the circumstances of the death



 Anger

With the person who has died for leaving, with someone who is blamed for the death and with

themselves



 Depression

Beginning to feel the despair, emptiness, and pain of the loss



 Guilt

The bereaved person feels that they have been unkind or negligent to the person who has

died, this may be real or imagined, the dead person may be idealised



 Anxiety

Anxiety and even panic as the full realisation of the loss begins to come through



 Acceptance

Eventually the bereaved person will adjust to a different way of living and remember the person

who has died without it affecting them in the same way









50

Children may cope with painful emotions in a variety of ways. They may:



 Be reluctant to return to school

 Feel anxious about being separated from a parent or carer

 Start to bully other children

 Be aggressive towards other children

 Be challenging to adults

 Develop a fear of the dark

 Have difficulty sleeping

 Have nightmares

 Fear that they themselves or those close to them will die

 Be prone to infections

 Develop a habit such as biting their nails

 Complain of the same symptoms as those shown by the dead person

 Idealise the dead person; develop their mannerisms

 Regress to an earlier stage of development

 Eat too much or too little

 Find concentrating in class difficult



Planning for a Bereaved Child’s Return to School



Before telling others in the school what has happened, talk to the pupil’s family to find out what they

feel is acceptable. However, while it is important to respect the family’s wishes, this may need to be

negotiated, as information will usually come from another source anyway.



You can then tell the bereaved child’s classmates and if appropriate, the rest of the school. This

may better be done in class groups rather than assembly. Get the information right before you tell

the school.



Be honest and explain how the pupil may react, for example crying unexpectedly. Reassure close

friend that they can help just by listening and being with their bereaved friend. Encourage them not

to worry if their friend wants to be alone.



Make sure that all the adults working with the child are aware of the situation.



If the circumstances surrounding the death are difficult, for example it was violent; think through

beforehand what you will say if you are asked direct questions.



Plan to provide the pupil with somewhere to go if they do wish to be alone at any time and also

consider an appropriate adult to talk to the child if needs be.



Be aware of multi-cultural and multi-faith issues.



Supporting a Bereaved Child



Your instinctive reactions about what to say or do are almost certainly appropriate. Do not worry; it

is very difficult to do any harm to children when trying to help them with their grief.



When the pupil comes back to school, acknowledge the loss but otherwise try to keep things as

normal as possible. The structure and familiarity of school may be a respite and reassuring for the

pupil.





51

Otherwise:



 Act as naturally as possible



 Ask the child what they want



 When answering questions be as clear as possible, phrases such as ‘passed on’ can be

misleading as the child may think that the person will return



 If your school uses “Circle Time” take this opportunity to talk about grief and allow children to

share their experiences



 Let children know it is normal and acceptable to cry and do not worry if you do so too



 Talk to the pupil about where they might go or to whom they might talk to if they feel very upset



 The bereaved pupil’s behaviour may change and some latitude may be allowed but make it clear

that unacceptable behaviour, such as aggression towards others is still unacceptable



 Consider ways of remembering the person who has died, for example making a memory book



 Remember that a pupil’s grief may resurface on birthdays or anniversaries



 Be aware when difficulties may arise in the class, for example making mothers’ day cards when

someone’s mother has died



If you feel that the pupil is not coping or experiencing more difficulty than you might expect dealing

with their grief, talk to their family about additional help.



And finally:



 Remember teachers dealing with bereaved children may need support themselves. Share

feelings with others



 Be aware that the bereavement of another may reawaken feelings in the supporter if they have

previously been bereaved



 Talking and silence are equally acceptable



 The grieving process can take considerable time









52

APPENDIX G - LUTON EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY SERVICE

Critical Incident Response Service



Critical incident response contributes to the psycho-social support provided by the Local Authority

for schools after an unexpected critical incident.



In the aftermath of an incident that has a direct impact on the community of a school the service

adheres to two key principles:



 That any support is negotiated with the establishment in a way that will empower staff, parents,

children and young people to deal effectively with the stress of the event and to facilitate their

natural coping strategies and

 To ensure that support is provided in a manner that is appropriate to the severity of the incident

and that it is available to all of those affected



The Local Authority has a responsibility to ensure that any children and young people and/or adults

involved are able to take up the kind of support that from experience and research has proved the

most effective in minimising the impact of traumatic events and preventing the possibility of future

post traumatic stress.



In many situations a group debriefing or defusing is appropriate. Typically defusing occurs within

about 8 hours of an event and debriefing within 72 hours.



The psychology service is experienced in using a Crisis Intervention model based on the Mitchell

method. The intervention takes from 1–2.5 hours and involves a phased discussion, which includes

understanding the event; thoughts about the event; understanding of the normal reactions and

process of recovery and stress management.



When contacted by a school or local authority organisation, the psychology service will discuss the

level and nature of appropriate support that will meet the needs of those involved in the incident.

Where a number of children and young people or adults are affected it will normally be expected

that some form of group intervention will be most beneficial.



The psychology service will discuss with the school the best way in which to set this up. Depending

on the extent and nature of the event this may involve members of the educational psychology

service working together with colleagues from the Authority.









53

APPENDIX H - THE MEDIA - INITIAL CHECKLIST

The media can be very useful in communicating messages and key critical information to the public,

for example, if a child has gone missing. It is therefore essential that you keep them on side and

update them on a regular basis.



Below is a summary of the key points to help schools handle enquiries that may arise soon after the

incident has occurred when the media may contact you before your support systems are in place.



Please ensure that all members of staff are aware of this checklist and with procedures for

handling the media.



Whatever the incident, and particularly if it involves injury or death on a school trip, the likelihood is

that information will be sketchy at best and possibly inaccurate.



In the immediate period following an incident, and prior to the arrival of a member of the LBC

Communications Department:



 Be clear about which staff/governors are allowed/designated to talk to the press and who are not

 If you can buy time, e.g. the head is not available, but will call back

 Do not say ‘no comment’, if you need extra time and they want more information give them

copies of school newsletters, leaflets: it is likely to be up-to-date and positive

 Do not talk to a journalist by yourself, have a colleague there with you to take notes of what is

said

 Do not provide anything other than the facts

 Do not give any names of those involved or suspected to be involved

 Be sensitive about personal information

 Do not apportion blame or admit liability to anyone, even in conversation

 Give a prepared statement rather than an interview until support arrives

 Establish who you are talking to and their organisation: keep records

 Liaise with LBC Communications Department: They can assist and control media handling while

school handles the incident

 Do not indicate the possible cause: do not blame staff, the Council or third parties e.g. the driver

of the other vehicle

 Prepare key messages and stick to them: regardless of what you are asked

 Refer to people FIRST: ‘All pupils have been evacuated to a safe area’

 Refer to property damage etc SECOND: the coach was travelling south before leaving the road

and ending up in the farmer’s field

 Stick to the facts: do not speculate about the cause of the incident, e.g. ‘The cause will be

established once a full investigation has been completed’

 Immediately correct any misleading comments: For example:

'A witness has said that the coach driver fell asleep at the wheel’







54

‘Our concern at this stage is for the safety of the pupils and the other people involved. We know

that the coach suffered damage and that other vehicles were involved. I do not have any

information about what may have caused the accident and I would not wish to speculate’

 Praise the actions of the Emergency Services and others who are assisting and

supporting you: e.g. the pupil who raised the alarm

 Do not speak ‘off the record’: The media may be able to verify what you said and report it

 Ask the interviewer what will be the first question: time to prepare your response

 Stick to the key points: do not waffle or speculate

 Stay Calm: keep eye contact









55

APPENDIX I – TRAINING SCENARIOS

Case Studies



Learning from others



The information and tasks within this section are taken from ‘David G. Kibble: 1998: Safety and

Disaster Management in Schools and Colleges, A Training Manual’



In this section you will find accounts and details of incidents that have occurred within the past few

years in schools. Some of the details have been changed but the event remains true.



Following an overview of the incident, information is included on the response of the school:



 The immediate action taken at the time of the incident

 Actions that followed after the initial emergency had been dealt with

 Advice that the school would wish to pass on to other schools



Action: Ask yourselves

 Where would you be able to obtain similar resources, both material and personnel, to those used

by each school?

 Note down and act upon any action points or learning outcomes for your establishment

 Would you have done anything differently? Why?



Prevention and Preparation



Discuss in a group:



 What critical incidents may happen in your school? Think of scenarios that include pupils and

teachers on or off site.

 Does your school or college have anything in the way of plans for such incidents? What do such

plans include?

 Has your school developed procedures to try to prevent such disasters from occurring in the first

place? What procedures are in place? How effective are these procedures?



The issues below are examples and exercises designed to stimulate discussions and test any

existing plans and procedures you may have.









56

Task



Take a look at these and discuss which measures your own establishment has adopted and which

could be developed.









Preventative and precautionary measures



Some incidents can be prevented and others minimised by taking some simple precautionary

measures. These can include:



 Ensuring staff are familiar with the school’s fire and emergency routine



 Ensuring they are familiar with the school’s security regulations and ensuring that persons

not wearing a visitor’s badge are challenged and escorted to reception. Reception should

only give badges to visitors once contact has been made with the appropriate member of

staff



 Following the correct procedure with regards to school trips



 Ensuring that pupils sign in/out when they arrive late/need to leave school in the middle of a

session



 Ensuring that staff are aware of children in their class or group with health problems and the

ways in which these should be treated



 Ensuring that back-ups of important information are taken and are stored in a separate

building. Back-ups on the main school computer network are taken every 24 hours: these

are to be stored in the IT officer’s safe. Back-ups of the office computers are to be taken

daily and stored similarly in a separate building. (These back-ups contain all worksheets etc.

generated in the office). Departments and individuals are advised to hold back-

ups/duplicates of important documents in a separate building. They should also hold lists of

stock and equipment similarly in a separate building



 Ensuring staff never go off the campus alone to deal with a potentially violent situation









57

Flooding



Tuesday was to have been a training day following the Christmas holidays. The caretaker had

been in school on the Monday and had checked the premises before locking up. On the

Tuesday morning at 6 o’clock the caretaker found the school’s north wing flooded. The wing

housed the modern languages department, four science laboratories and the music, food and

textile technology departments. The flood had been caused by a fault in the central heating

system and a thaw following freezing weather over the Christmas holidays.



Immediate Actions



 Caretaker to switch off electricity in north wing

 Switch off school boiler and central heating system

 Locate source of problem and attempt to rectify

 Inform Head Teacher and School Administrator by phone

 School Administrator informs Council’s Property Services Department

 Allow all staff in departments not affected to go home. Ask them to return tomorrow

 Brief colleagues in affected departments of the dangers and ask them not to switch on

electrical appliances or lighting



Follow up Actions



 Return central heating to non-affected areas as soon as possible

 Inform cleaning company of situation and ask for extra hours to clean up damaged areas.

Submit forms to LEA to bid for extra cleaning costs

 Arrange to hire water pumping equipment and industrial hot-air dryers

 Take decision that year’s 7-9 will be asked to remain at home until position clear. Inform

local radio station and papers

 Arrange re-rooming of classes affected in years 10-13 for the following day

 Prepare letter for parents

 Inform school bus companies

 Ask Heads of Departments to compile accurate inventory of damaged stock for insurance

claim

 Arrange for heating, ceiling and joinery contractors to effect repairs as soon as possible

 Re-room classes on a daily basis

 Arrange for return of year 9 on Thursday

 Arrange for all electrical appliances and systems to be checked by electrical contractor

before pupils allowed to return



Advice from the School



 Don’t forget electrical checks before pupils return to school

 Ensure staff have duplicate worksheets and back-up disks at a separate location

 Ensure accuracy of insurance claims

 Keep parents and colleagues informed of progress









58

The Motorbike Accident



One Wednesday lunchtime two upper sixth students drove out of school on a motorbike to

have lunch with a friend who had just returned from university. During afternoon lessons

friends of the two students became concerned that they had not returned to school. When the

first period ended two groups of students set out to re-trace their friends’ journey by different

routes. Both arrived at an accident where the Police and Fire Service were involved. The

motorbike had swerved and had hit an oncoming lorry while trying to avoid a car which had

taken a corner on the wrong side of the road. The two students on the motorbike had been

killed. The friends were brought back to school by the Police. The Head Teacher was off the

premises at a meeting some 150 miles away and could not get back to school before 6pm. By

then the school gates were crowded with local and national journalists and television crews.



Immediate Actions



 Contact the Head by mobile phone

 Contact the Director of Education, request contact with the LBC’s Media Officer and

counselling services

 Inform the Chair of Governors

 Make contact with the Police

 Get together an emergency team of senior staff and other key personnel whose task is to

plan for the next 24 hours

 Advise the staff that there will be an emergency staff meeting at the end of the day and the

following morning

 Discuss with the Police arrangements for the visiting parents. Ask for a Police presence on

the school gates

 Check family details of those involved

 Make arrangements to gather together those most affected by the tragedy in an assembly

the following morning. Agree who will speak

 Prepare a printed statement for every form tutor to read out the next morning and a letter for

each pupil to take home

 Ensure that counselling support is available

 Prepare and make the first media statement and offer regular press conferences in the

following 24 hours



Follow up Actions



 Review the school calendar for the next few weeks and cancel events which seem

inappropriate

 Take the flowers which begin to arrive outside the school to the sixth form library

 Establish a condolence book so visitors can leave a message when they bring flowers

 Contact exam boards

 Make arrangements for the handling of donations which will pour in

 Talk through funeral arrangements with the parents and decide which staff and students

should attend









59

The Motorbike Accident



Continued



Advice from the school



 Regard the maintenance of normal patterns as helpful

 Accept that tragic events will have an immediate media coverage and plan to work with the

press rather than against them

 Keep a log of events

 Work to media deadlines. Offer them refreshments and press releases which may appear

verbatim in the papers. Agree pooling arrangements so that, for example, only one

cameraman comes into assembly

 Be aware that the events will hit some students some while afterwards. Alert parents to this









Intruder with a firearm



The natural reaction of a teacher or staff member seeing an intruder with a firearm on the school

premises would probably be to press the fire alarm. However, with a little thought and planning

this staff member may realise that as a result, around 1000 targets would immediately present

themselves to the intruder. It may be an idea for educational establishments to devise a signal

system to indicate situations/emergencies where pupils should remain in their classrooms and

which would alert staff to a life-threatening situation.



This sort of arrangement could be looked at ‘Evacuation vs. Shelter’ developing a ‘lockdown’

procedure for the school.



Task: Discuss



 How might a member of staff react to an intruder on the premises threatening a pupil or

student with a knife?



 If the intruder had a gun: how might staff react then?



 Many staff may react by pressing the fire alarm: what would be the disadvantages of this

course of action?



 What other systems or bells for raising the alarm could you use?



 What routine might a school establish or use to keep pupils in classrooms in the event of a

dangerous intruder on the school site?



 After a critical incident such as this, a school is likely to have a large number of parents

arriving:



 How might the school best deal with such a situation?

 Should pupils be allowed home with or without their parents?

 How might this be effectively organised?





60

Fire Safety &

Procedures



 What are the

arrangements in the

event of a fire in

your own

establishment?

 What different types

of fire extinguisher

are there in your

schools or college

and what should

each be used for?

 What procedures

and rules might a

school adopt to

reduce the risk of

fire?

 Is it clear? Does it

state who is in

control of the

situation? Does it

cover all your staff



Fire Safety



 Combustible

materials should be

kept in a designated

area and should not

be allowed to

accumulate under

stairwells or stages.



 Corridors, stairways,

entrances and exits

should be kept clear



 Displays in corridors

and classrooms

should be well away

from sources of

direct heat.



 Rubbish should not

be allowed to 61

accumulate: use

waste bins

Health Issues



Lunchtime, Friday 14 December, term ends on the 20 th December and your school’s Christmas

performance is due to take place in the December. In recent days you have had high levels of

absence as a result of a virulent gastric flu outbreak.



12.20 pm. Kirsty, aged 7, is reported by friends to be feeling ill. She is almost asleep on a beanbag

in the class area. She is not speaking clearly and has a high temperature and is trembling and

distressed. The school has phoned her mother, but no reply. She is known to work in the local pub

and house cleaning around the area. The grandmother is also unobtainable and the school has no

contacts for the father who is known not to live in the area.



Kirsty vomits twice. She is still only half awake, she cannot stand properly or hold her head up

comfortably. Her form tutor is disturbed by her symptoms. Kirsty is now wrapped in a blanket on a

couch.



1.10 pm. On direction from the GP, Kirsty is taken to hospital (2 miles away) by a teacher. Still no

contact had been made with the family.



2.20 pm. The teacher phones the Head Teacher from the hospital to warn that Kirsty is seriously ill

with suspected meningitis.



Kirsty is due to be picked up at the school at 3.30pm by her mum or grandmother, still no phone

contact can be made



3.00 pm. Three Counties carries news items of a further meningitis incident affecting, a 7 year old

girl in Luton.



3.20 pm. A Three Counties Radio reporter rings the school seeking confirmation that a pupil from

the school has been taken ill with suspected meningitis.



3.30 pm. School ends



3.30 am. Saturday, Kirsty dies in hospital from bacterial meningitis



The Head Teacher and two staff meet at 9.30 am Saturday morning (any other agencies?) A call is

received at 10.15 am. that Kirsty’s class teaching assistant has been taken to hospital with

suspected meningitis.



4.00 pm. Sunday, the Head Teacher and teaching staff meet. Hospital reports state that the

teaching assistant is stable but still very serious. No further cases have been suspected or

confirmed but there is much anxiety with the local community.



What are the issues and actions for Monday and the rest of the forthcoming week?









62

A Critical Incident Occurring out of School.



A Primary School in Otley, just outside Leeds, suffered the deaths of two classmates. The two

girls had been having a birthday party barbeque with their parents by the local river and had

ventured off on their own only to get into difficulties in the water. The bodies of the two friends

were found by police divers the following morning.



One of the school’s responses was to make counselling facilities available to pupils the next day.





Task: Discuss



 What other responses/services would you look to provide and deliver?



 What would you do/say the next day at school?



 What issues of remembrance or memorial would you consider?



 Would you let staff and pupils attend the funerals?



 What other issues would you need to consider in this event?



Scenarios and issues for further discussion



 A member of staff has been seriously injured in a car crash over a weekend. It is unlikely that

the colleague will be able to return to teaching due to the very serious nature of the injuries

sustained in the accident. Decide how the school might respond



 The mother of a pupil in your school dies after a long illness. What advice would you give to

the pupils form tutor?









63

After an incident



A group of sixth formers

have been on an

adventure week in

Wales. Two boys have

been killed as a result

of an accident whilst

potholing. It is a

genuine accident and

neither the boys nor the

potholing instructors are

to blame. The deaths

were caused by falling

rubble in a cave.

Parents have been

informed.





You are arriving at the

school at 9pm

following the

accident, which took

place in the late

afternoon. A number

of decisions need to

be made.



 Who would you

inform of the

accident the next

day and how would

you go about it?



 What information

would you wish to

give to pupils and

students? How

would you do this?

Should all pupils and

students be

expected to continue

with normal lessons

tomorrow? If not,

what should

happen?



 What sources of

help might there be?



 Should members of

the incident

response

team/senior staff at 64

the school telephone

the parents involved

Pupils with Health & Medical Needs



 Make a list of the pupils you know of who have special medical needs/disabilities/access

requirements:

 What particular condition and need does each have?

 Is specific treatment, medication, access or assistance required?



 What are the most common conditions and the needs that the pupils have and what

treatment, medication, access or assistance is required?



 What information or training might staff value in order to better cope with pupils’ medical

conditions and needs?



 How are such pupils and conditions currently managed at your school?



 What conditions may require medication during the course of a school or college day?



 How can you work with parents to ensure that pupils do not give themselves, or are given, an

incorrect dose and that medication is kept safe?



 What would constitute a ‘health emergency’ for one of these pupils?



 What procedures do you have for recording such information?



 Should this information be recorded and kept in a safe place?



 Does your school need to develop a medical needs or disability policy?



 What provision should/could be made for such pupils in a critical incident at the school?









65

Bomb Threats



 How might a school tell whether a bomb threat is a hoax call?



 What action should the school take in the event of a hoax call?



 If the school is not sure whether the call is a hoax, what should it do?



 If a suspect device is found, what do you think the police/colleague finding the device should do?



 In the event of an evacuation of the school site the police may ask for assistance in a search of

the premises. Which parts of the site/building do you think should be searched first?









66

Dealing with the media



Your school is having some structural works carried out to the first and second floors of the main

building (new windows, brickwork repairs, etc). Scaffolding has been erected around the building.



8.45 am. A day during term time



There are extremely high winds and driving rain so many pupils have congregated in the main hall

on the ground floor annex to the main building.



The scaffolding comes away from the building, pulling away part of the side of the building, and

crashes through the annex roof and into the communal room. Pupils leave the building in panic and

congregate on the school car park.



9.15 am.



It is discovered that there are still a number of pupils inside the building, but you can't be sure of the

numbers. There have been five fatalities and ten pupils taken to hospital that you know of. The

uninjured pupils have been put in the school library- they are extremely distressed, as many have

witnessed their friends being injured.



9.20 am.



The local media arrive and you agree to give a press statement/conference at 10.00 a.m.



 Prepare a verbal press statement (no more than two minutes)

 Be prepared to answer press questions (five minutes)



POINTS TO NOTE



 You have tried to contact parents of the injured pupils but have not managed to speak to all of

them (out of date parent telephone numbers).

 The Fire Service are still searching the debris in the building.

 By 10.00 am. The national media are at your school.





YOU HAVE TEN MINUTES TO PREPARE FOR THE PRESS BRIEFING



XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX









67

SCRIPT FOR "THE PRESS"



The local school has been having some building works carried out. Scaffolding has been

erected around the building. There are extremely high winds and driving rain.



You get a "tip off' that the scaffolding has collapsed and crashed through the school roof.



9.20 a.m.



You arrive at the school to be told that the Head Teacher will give a press statement at 10.00 a.m.

This gives you time to do your research, which reveals:



 The Scaffolding Contractor has been the subject of litigation in the past for injuries caused to his

workforce and members of the public, the latest being in 1998.



(The Head Teacher probably does not know this.)



 You know that there have been at least 5 fatalities and your reliable "sources" at the hospital

reveal at least 12 pupils have been taken there.



(Check the numbers quoted by the Head Teacher to see if they 'match up' with yours, if

not....)



 Staff in the school library (where the uninjured have been taken) have stopped you talking to the

pupils.



(Ask why! Don't take no for an answer)



 You have spoken to some of the parents congregating at the school gates-they complain that

they have been told nothing.



(Ask the Head Teacher if there is anything you can tell them. Are the parents going to be

left out in this weather? Etc, Etc)



 You have seen the fire service still searching the building.



(When will the search finish? Why are they still searching? Etc)



Additional information (not substantiated): -



 Yesterday a teacher was slightly injured when a scaffolding clamp fell onto her shoulder



 The Managing Director of the scaffolding company, is the brother in law of the chair of the

School Governors



YOU HAVE TEN MINUTES TO PREPARE FOR THE PRESS BRIEFING









68

APPENDIX J - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: Who dictates the policy on how long the school will be closed and alternative contacts

that will be used?



A: A school should only be closed as a last resort. The governors of the school in conjunction with

the Council will determine the duration of a school closure.



Q: Do we have a list of specific contractors who can provide immediate assistance, e.g.

portacabins etc?



A: The Capital and Asset Management Division in conjunction with Procurement retain a Resource

Database with different types of resources available, from generators to hygiene packs to

portacabins to fencing. If you think you require any such resources in the event of a Critical

Incident at your school please contact the Health and Safety Advisor and Capital and Asset

Management.



Q: Is there immediate accommodation available for the staff/governors/disaster team etc?



A: In the event that your school becomes unavailable for use during the response to a Critical

Incident you could use a ‘buddy arrangement’ with a neighbouring school. If this is not available

the Children and Learning Directorate may be able to assist you in finding suitable alternative

arrangements.



Q: Who pays for immediate clear up work?



A: The school pays for the immediate clear up work. Dependent on the incident such expenditures

may be later claimed through insurance policies.



Q: What about disaster recovery material, should there be guidelines on minimum

requirements that must be kept off site, i.e. staff/pupil details (e.g. Back-up materials)?



A: There is no required minimum for information to be kept off site. It is up to the individual school

to make arrangements and decide upon what, if any material / copies of records are kept off site.

It is recommended, however, that critical information is backed up, copied, kept off site, or kept

in fire / flood proof cabinets.



Q: Will LBC provide immediate arrangements for pupils from 2nd day of a response?



A: Alternative arrangements for the accommodation and continued education of the pupils of an

affected school will be provided as soon as is reasonably practicable through support with the

LEA.



Q: Who is responsible for making the buildings safe, in the short term?



A: Upon notification of a property related incident at a school the Capital and Asset Management

Division in conjunction with the Health and Safety Advisor will ensure the building is as safe as is

practicably possible.









69

Q: Should some kind of Risk Assessment be conducted on each school to ascertain risks -

e.g. kids in playground, vandalism etc?



A: Health and Safety Risk Assessments should be carried out regularly. Risk Assessments should

also be conducted for school trips and visits in accordance with the Education Visits Plan. It is

also advisable to conduct a Risk Assessment for your school with regards to hazards and

possible critical incidents that may occur. A Risk Assessment form for this purpose is included

within the Critical Incident Document. For further information on H&S Risk Assessments please

contact the Health and Safety Advisor for Children and Learning.



Q: Counselling for staff and pupils- is anything available immediately?



A: Yes. Both the Educational Psychology Service and CHUMS can assist in counselling for staff

and pupils immediately following an incident. The Council also has links with a number of

different organisations that can provide counselling. This assistance is available in the short,

medium and long term phases of an incident.



Q: How do we keep the parents informed and keep it continuous? How and when?



A: There are a number of different ways you can keep parents informed of the situation, including,

telephone, letter, meetings, and home visits. Information to parents should be continuous during

and after the incident and as often as you see fit. The Children and Learning Department at LBC

can assist you with this further if required.



Q: Can neighbouring schools assist in any ways?



A: Yes. You can arrange a ‘buddy system’ with neighbouring schools to assist each other in the

event of a Critical Incident and evacuations. If you can think of any additional support and

assistance that could be offered between you and a neighbouring school then discuss this with

your neighbours to make arrangements.



Q: Who does the school need to inform?



A: Who you inform will depend on the nature, cause and effect of the incident. Details for contacts

and who to notify in the event of a critical incident are located within the notification section of

this document. If you are in any doubt of who to contact or feel additional people need to be

contacted please contact the Children and Learning Department.



Q: Should contracts/policies be kept separate or scanned in for security purposes?



A: Yes. This is a very good idea. Again, not regulatory, but will aid in your response and will ensure

that critical information is safely stored. Make sure your IT systems are backed up though!

Copies of such documents can be kept off site or in a different block as long as they are secure

and you have a record of who has them/where they are stored.



Q: Should there be a list of who can gain access into the school during a clear up operation

for security purposes?



A: Yes. Either Council staff or contractors with appropriate identification. Normal school safety

procedures should be adhered to at all times.









70

Q: How is temporary accommodation etc arranged for a major incident?



A: Temporary accommodation in response to a major / critical incident depends on what facilities

are required. Contact neighbouring schools for a ‘buddy system’ or the Children and Learning

Department at LBC who may be able to assist you in finding alternate suitable accommodation.



Q: Should all schools have an inventory log to be kept off site, who would generate this? -

School or LBC?



A: The school. It is an Audit requirement to have an inventory log of all equipment and resources.

You will need such a list for insurance purposes. It is not a requirement to keep this log off site,

although it is recommended that a copy is either kept off-site or in a secure fire resistant cabinet.



Q: Is a list of suppliers who could replace any items lost/stolen/damaged required?



A: Yes. This would be a good idea. Although not regulatory, such arrangements will assist you in

your response and return to normality. A suggested form for recording key suppliers is included

within this document. The Children and Learning Department at LBC will be able to assist you in

this area, if required.



Q: Is a list of all school contractors required?



A: Yes. Although not regulatory it is advised that each school keeps a record of contractors,

including contact details (24hrs) and services that can be provided. During a response you will

not have time to look through directories etc!



Q: Do contingency arrangements need to be considered for teaching materials?



A: Yes. In the event of a fire or if you are unable to use your school for any period of time, critical

resources will be needed to continue your primary function of teaching. Such contingency

arrangements could include recording all your resources (insurance and replacement),

identifying where/how you can replace items and/or making arrangements with your ‘buddy

school’ to share resources. The Children and Learning Department at LBC may be able to

assist you in such an event, if required.



Q: Should details of staff and key personnel be included in the Critical Incident Plan?



A: Yes. This is probably the most important part of your critical incident plan. Further information

on the types of contacts to keep and blank forms for these records are included within the

Critical Incidents Plan.



Q: What would happen if disaster occurred at a key stage in academic year, i.e. SATS, Mock

exams, GCSE, A Levels?



A: The Council should be contacted immediately for assistance and support. The response to such

an incident would be determined by the nature, extent and cause of the event.



Q: Should each key member of the response team have a specific list of tasks, e.g. teachers

should have a list of their class pupils, contacts, special requirements etc?



A: Yes. this is somewhat dependent on the needs that your school has identified to be covered in

the Critical Incident document. Such lists and tasks are a good idea and would make any

response easier. Suggestions for the main actions and considerations for Incident Response

Team members are included within this document.



71