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Part 1- Developing a School Critical Incident
Management Plan Page
Introduction and Examples of Critical
Incidents
1 Establishing a Critical Incidents'
Committee
1.1 Critical Incidents' Committee
1.2 Risk assessment
1.3 Incident prevention
2 Management of evacuation
2.1 Evacuation procedures
2.2 After evacuation
2.3 Emergency evacuation training, practice and
monitoring
2.4 Advice on evacuation plans
3 Response planning
3.1 Action immediately taken by principal or key
personnel
3.2 Provision of debriefing and
counselling
3.3 Managing the media
4 Recovery timeline
5 Evaluation of management plan
6 People who may be affected by critical
incidents
7 Critical Incidents Flowchart and
Checklist
Part 2 - Specific Critical Incidents
Introduction
Incidents of Violence
Other Support
Fires and explosions
Flood
Severe windstorm
Earthquakes
Bomb threats
Criminal or terrorist activity
Suicide
Extremes of temperature
LIST OF APPENDICES
Examples of local support personnel tp
contact at time of critical incident
Incident Report
Bomb threat report
Introduction
These guidelines have been developed to assist schools in the
development of local plans for the management of critical
incidents.
They are by no means exhaustive and each school will need to develop
its own management plan which identifies the nature and range of
critical incidents to which students and staff may be exposed.
Examples of Critical Incidents
1.1 A critical incident is broadly defined as an event which causes
disruption to an organisation, creates significant danger or risk and
traumatically affects individuals within the organisation. It can
include:
An effective critical incidents management plan will include each of the following six (6) major areas:
1.1 Critical Incidents' Committee
A Critical Incidents' Committee should be established to assist the
principal in the prevention and management of critical incidents at
the school. (Although the principal is normally responsible, the
Critical Incidents' Committee must be prepared to assist the
principal with all aspects of the implementation of the management
plan.) One person should be appointed as the critical incidents' team
leader.
The committee may comprise any member of the school or local
community, but should include the principal, staff, including the
school counsellor, who may have to respond during a critical
incident, and students where appropriate.
The duties of the committee will include:
1.2 Risk assessment
Risk assessment needs to be a priority of the committee.
Risk assessment involves identifying the nature and range of critical
incidents to which students and staff may be exposed.
Useful contacts to assist the committee include regional office
staff, emergency services and Department of Community Services area
contacts (see page 27).
1.3 Incident prevention
When the hazards have been identified and analysed, management
strategies should be developed to prevent or minimise the impact of
the hazards.
The committee should also develop strategies and procedures to
prevent violence in schools. In undertaking this task, the committee
should refer to appropriate policies, resource and support material
including student welfare policies, the kit on Resources for Teaching
Against Violence, and the Director-General's memorandum to principals
of 10 May 1993 concerning violence in schools and covering matters
such as suspension and exclusion and the banning of weapons on school
premises. Staff development for the management of grief and loss
should be included as a strategy.
2.1 Evacuation Procedures
The management plan is to contain procedures for the evacuation of
the school during critical incidents, if required. .These procedures
will include the following action:
2.2 After evacuation
Staff nominated in the management plan should perform the following
functions after an evacuation:
2.3 Emergency evacuation training, practice
and monitoring
Information and instruction relevant to emergency procedures may be
obtained from the NSW Fire Brigade, State Emergency Services, local
Bushfire Brigade, etc.
Trial emergency evacuations should be held to assess the
effectiveness of procedures. Modification should be made if
necessary.
When the procedures have proved to be effective, on-going practices
should be held on a six monthly basis.
At the conclusion of each practice, the Critical Incidents' Committee
should evaluate and record the effectiveness and efficiency of the
plan to determine if further modifications are required.
The evaluation will benefit from including the following factors:
2.4 Advice on evacuation plans
The Critical Incidents' Committee may liaise with the regional office
concerning the development, implementation and evaluation of plans. A
checklist is provided at page 14.
An Emergency/Disaster Planning Guide for Educational Institutions was
published by the Natural Disasters Organisation (now Emergency
Management Australia). The Critical Incidents' Committee should
obtain a copy of this document which was issued to all schools in
October 1992 as an additional resource to assist the committee's work
in developing a management plan.
The management plan should include the following three (3) aspects of
response.
3.1 Action immediately taken by the
Principal or key personnel
Gather factual information.
Ensure appropriate intervention to minimise additional injury
including contacting emergency services (police, fire brigade), and
evacuation, if necessary, for specific emergencies (see Part 2).
Attend to the injured, where necessary. It is vital that first aid
personnel provide emergency care for those with physical
injuries.
Telephone the school Critical Incidents' Committee team leader to
give facts of the incident and, if necessary, receive advice
concerning counselling, managing the media and giving advice to
parents.
Where appropriate, immediately contact the injured person's parents
or family to express the school's sympathy and notify families of
students "at risk" who need additional support and counselling.
Contact the region by phone and ensure the Assistant Director-General
is advised. Fax a copy of the Incident Report to the Assistant
Director-General (See Appendix 1). Incident Reports are official
documents which can become public.
Assess the need for support and counselling for those directly and
indirectly affected. Organise informed support groups in the school,
debriefing by school counsellor or regional debriefing teams. Where
necessary refer staff or students to outside professional counselling
services.
Manage access of the media to the scene, and to staff, students and
relatives. The principal should normally handle the initial media
calls. Principals need to be absolutely certain of facts before
speaking to the media. In some circumstances the principal will need
to nominate another member of staff.
Provide staff and students with accurate information about the
current situation and update this over subsequent days. It may not
always be appropriate to inform the school community of the detail of
some incidents for reasons such as the matter of being sub judice, or
where the privacy of students or staff is obviously of paramount
importance.
Organise assistance, such as transport home, for staff or students
who are distressed. Try to ensure that they are not alone on the
evening after such an incident or, at the very least, provide them
with the phone numbers of colleagues or friends whom they can contact
should they wish to talk.
Act quickly to dispel rumours which frequently spread after
incidents. Be particularly aware of stories which may question an
individual's actions in the incident.
Return the school to a normal situation in as short a time as is
practicable and consistent with the welfare of students and
staff.
3.2 Provision of debriefing and
counselling
Emergency debriefing and trauma counselling for staff and students
should be provided and be included in the management plan. Debriefing
helps people to come to terms with the critical incident and its
consequences and to manage these so as to return to a normal level of
functioning as quickly as possible.
Debriefing in this context is a group debriefing for personnel
involved in a particular incident. It is usually led by counsellors
and is designed to support staff and students by enabling each person
involved to go through the incident and to understand and manage
their own reactions. This form of counselling is short-term.
It is necessary to identify any individuals who need further
counselling. Individual trauma counselling provides the opportunity
to work through the normal grief processes on a one-to-one basis.
The degree of understanding and support within the post-trauma
environment influences the long-term impact of incidents. Principals
and other key personnel need to be aware of:
Access to appropriately qualified debriefing and counselling personnel is part of the support needed. These personnel can be either internal or external providers. Internal providers should be used in the first instance. (A list of some external agencies is attached at Part 3. Schools and regions should add their local agencies.)
3.3 Managing the media
Each critical incident is unique and the dynamics of each situation
will have to be assessed when it occurs. It is important that a
structured approach to media management is developed and is included
in the management plan to ensure the most positive and supportive
response from the media.
The principal or nominated person should handle the initial media
calls. Be sure to return media calls as soon as possible.
It is important that the department has an input in media coverage so
that the story is balanced. Therefore avoid answering questions with
"no comment". Respond to questions accurately, however it may be
necessary to explain to the media that you are unable to answer their
questions at this time because i) of the sensitive nature of the
issue or ii) you do not have the information available. It may be
necessary to check with the police, ambulance or fire brigade etc,
before making a statement.
Officers likely to be contacted by the media need to be alerted
immediately and kept informed as more details come to light. Inform
the regional office as soon as possible that the incident has
occurred, even if the details are unclear. Regional media liaison
officers may need to be informed of the incident. They will be able
to assist by handling media inquiries. The regional media liaison
officer will liaise with Communications and Marketing Directorate at
State office regarding the situation.
The Assistant Director-General, Cluster Director or Principal will
liaise directly with the media as more details are known. Depending
on the nature of the incident, the Minister or the Director-General
may wish to respond.
Enlist the support of the media to report accurate information and
avoid being defensive. Journalists are professionals too. They have
been assigned the job of reporting the story. They feel the public
have a right to know and they will report the story with or without
the department's co-operation. In a major disaster, the media is an
essential means of communicating information, e.g. providing hot-line
phone numbers, etc.
Working with the media representatives as professionals and
providing them with accurate information about the incident means
staying in control. Cooperation can make the difference between
inaccurate reporting resulting in a story that reflects negatively on
the school or the department and one which shows our caring role and
our ability to respond effectively in a crisis.
Emphasis should be placed in media comment on the support available
to students and staff.
Media liaison officers from Communications and Marketing
Directorate can provide advice to regional officers about other
developments or broader issues that may need to be considered when
framing the response. They can also advise about the most effective
methods of responding to newspaper, radio and television
interviews.
Describe the assistance being provided for students and staff
who may have been traumatised.
Explain that the whole school has been deeply shocked, that all
available resources and support services have been gathered and
what steps are being taken to rectify the situation and get things
back to normal as soon as possible.
It is imperative to avoid making comments which imply blame or
fault for any part of the incident, as there could be significant
legal implications. Official inquiries - departmental or by
the police - are likely to follow serious incidents. Media
comments on the public record may have a bearing on proceedings at
such inquiries.
The successful management of critical incidents depends on the school
taking appropriate action and providing support during and after a
critical incident.
The recovery timeline following a critical incident will vary
depending on the circumstances and this guideline should be
considered by the school when developing its critical incidents
management plan.
After a critical incident, a meeting of staff, students, and local
community representatives should be held to evaluate the
effectiveness of the management plan and to make necessary
modifications.
Those involved in a critical incident will play various roles and
encounter different experiences. A useful guide for identifying those
who are most likely to need assistance follows:
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People directly exposed to
incidents |
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Relatives and friends |
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Relatives and friends |
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Helpers or recovery
personnel |
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Community & people indirectly
involved |
Ensure the implementation of the critical
incident flowchart by allocating an officer responsible for each of
the steps in the flow chart.
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Gather factual information |
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Ensure safety & welfare of staff
Name:
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NB: Once police or fire brigade arrive at the
school they will determine if other resources such as State Emergency
Services (SES) are required to assist.
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Contact Regional ADG |
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Telephone Critical Incidents' team leader
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Contact parents or families |
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Fax copy of "Incident Report" form Region's Fax No:
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Convene brief meeting of the Critical Incidents' Committee with School Executive to: | |
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Contact Local Support Personnel | ||
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Support Personnel |
Name |
Telephone |
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Convene full staff meeting of teaching and administrative staff to: | |
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Phone cluster director or other schools for assistance |
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Set up a recovery room in the school: | ||
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Inform students of: | |
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Identify "at risk" students and staff |
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Contact parents or families of "at risk" students and staff |
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Arrange debriefing for "at risk" students and staff |
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Inform all parents by letter: | |
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Restore the school to regular routine as soon as practicable |
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Obtain updated factual information |
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Continue to monitor well-being of students and staff |
This checklist is to be used in the development of a Critical
Incidents Management Plan.
INTRODUCTION
Action guidelines for specific critical incidents that could occur in
New South Wales schools are provided in this section.
The cost of repair or replacement of staff property may be claimed by
staff where this loss or damage has occurred as a result of a
critical incident, e.g. explosion, flood, fire, earthquake.
These claims will be met only for property in the nature of "tools of
trade" that have been used in teaching or to perform a particular
work related task, not for purely personal items, e.g. sunglasses,
jewellery.
Staff who wish to lodge a claim for loss or damage to property should
discuss the matter with the principal and then lodge the claim in
accordance with the department's procedures covering repair and
replacement of property.
When an incident of violence occurs in a school it is essential that
the safety and welfare of staff and students are addressed. This
includes the provision of support and counselling immediately and in
the longer term. When an incident of violence occurs, the following
guidelines should be followed by the principal and other key
personnel:
As well as availing themselves of the processes outlined in these
guidelines staff may wish to contact the region's staff welfare
liaison officer or the Teachers Federation officers to discuss issues
of concern or entitlements such as leave and/or workers
compensation.
Internal fires
The outbreak of fire is to be reported immediately to someone in
authority at the school who must alert the fire brigade, giving the
following information:
A staff member should be designated to ensure that the fire
brigade has access to the site of the fire e.g. gates are opened and
vehicles are not blocking access.
Approximately 80% of fire fatalities are caused by smoke inhalation
or the breathing of superheated air and gases. It is therefore
necessary to evacuate without delay if an internal fire occurs.
If necessary, evacuation procedures as previously outlined should be
implemented. If possible, doors and windows should be closed on
departure in order to prevent the spread of fire and smoke.
Fire appliances, i.e. extinguishers & hose reels, should only be
used in the case of entrapment or potential entrapment.
The use of fire blankets on small fires in areas such as home science
and science laboratories should only occur if the risk of injury to
staff and students will not be increased.
Bush fires
Under normal circumstances, evacuation of students and staff should
take place only under the direction of the officer-in-charge of the
bush fire fighting service. However, if it is apparent that the lives
of students and staff will be endangered unless they are evacuated
immediately, and the principal is unable to contact the bush fire
controller, the principal should make immediate arrangements to
evacuate to a place of safety.
In such cases, transport arrangements as outlined in the school
evacuation plan, should be implemented in consultation with local
police. It would be unwise to permit students to proceed unsupervised
to their homes with possible exposure to the threat of bush
fires.
If the organised movement of students to a safe location is
impossible, the following procedure is suggested:
Explosion. gas leaks, chemical hazard internal
When there is a major escape of gas, chemicals or threat of an
explosion within the school buildings, immediate evacuation from the
affected buildings must be implemented, in accordance with the
general evacuation plan previously outlined.
Fire, explosion, as leaks, chemical hazard transport and industrial
accidents external
Where adjoining buildings or facilities are affected, the principal
should act in accordance with the advice of the fire brigade or
police, or order immediate evacuation where deemed necessary.
In some circumstances, it may be necessary to contain students and
staff within the school buildings rather than evacuate them.
Flood warnings are issued by State Emergency Services (SES). Warnings
may be issued either directly by SES to schools or through other
agencies, e.g. radio, police, council. The predicted extent of the
flood and the amount of time available before it arrives will
determine the course of action to be taken. The principal should
initiate any of the following actions as appropriate:
Warning of an impending windstorm may be received in time to allow
students and staff to go home before the emergency. However, if
warning time is insufficient to allow this, or if high winds develop
during school hours without warning, the following emergency actions
should be implemented:
The effects of an earthquake vary depending upon geographic location,
ground type, intensity of the earthquake and construction of the
building.
In the event of an earthquake, the following procedures should be
implemented:
Indoors
If you are indoors, stay there. You could be hit by falling debris
outside:
Outdoors
If you are beside a big building, seek refuge under archways and
doorways, which could offer protection from falling debris.
When the earthquake stops:
If time permits and it is safe to do so, turn off heaters and
other appliances prior to evacuation.
If damage has occurred, turn off electricity, gas and water at
mains.
Do not use telephones for anything other than saving lives because
telephone exchanges needed for rescue and medical services could
become overloaded.
Bomb threats - receipt of threat
A bomb threat is usually received at the school by telephone. If such
a threat is received, it is important to remain calm as the
information given by the caller and replies to the questions asked by
the person taking the call could be of vital assistance to police.
Efforts must be made to keep the caller on the telephone as long as
possible to obtain information needed by the police.
The following checklist should be used in relation to telephone bomb
threats:
Another manner in which a bomb threat may be received is by a
written or typed note. Such a note should be handled by a minimal
number of people to preserve fingerprints.
The note should not be altered in any way (e.g. not stapled or
written on) but picked up by the fingernails or fingertips and placed
inside an envelope large enough to accommodate the note without
folding.
The following details should be written on the envelope prior to
placing the note in it: contents (e.g. bomb threat note); time
received; date received; person receiving the note; the place where
the note was received; mode of delivery; school name; principal's
name; school address and telephone number. It is vital that all
information is-written on the envelope prior to the note being placed
inside it, to ensure that an impression is not made on the note.
Bomb threats - procedures
If a bomb threat is received, evacuation procedures should be
implemented immediately and the police notified.
Staff and students should take personal belongings in their immediate
possession, e.g. bags, coats, parcels with them and proceed to the
evacuation assembly area. Staff and students should not delay
evacuation procedures by collecting personal belongings.
Notification of the threat should be made to the cluster director or
regional office, who should notify the Security Liaison Group,
Security Services Unit, as soon as possible after the threat is
received.
The person receiving the threat should, as soon as possible after
safely evacuating, fill out a bomb threat report form (Appendix 2).
The form should be submitted to the principal and then to the
police.
Re-occupation of the school will only occur when approved by the
senior police officer at the scene, in consultation with the
principal.
RESPONSE TO A SUSPECTED DEVICE
SUSPECTED DEVICES SHOULD NOT BE TOUCHED, TILTED OR TAMPERED WITH!
If criminal or terrorist activity occurs:
In the event of a suicide of any member of the school community the
school's critical incidents management plan should be
implemented.
Suicide is a major cause of death among 15-19 year olds. It can be
prevented in many cases. Danger signs that someone may be considering
suicide include:
A person who is considering suicide needs to know that others
care.
DO:
DON'T:
Heat
Transient periods of high temperatures will often occur during the
summer months. Schools should continue to operate as usual without
disruption to normal routines and students should not be sent home.
It is possible however to adopt a few simple principles to ensure
that consideration is given to the difficulties caused by heatwaves
so that schools continue to function as effectively as possible.
Staff working outdoors and students and teachers involved in outdoor
activities will be most vulnerable to problems that can result from
exposure to the sun or heat stress in extreme conditions. Heat stress
symptoms will vary from person to person. They include tiredness,
weakness, visual disturbances, headaches, nausea, muscle cramps,
breathlessness, giddiness and palpitations. Recovery from heat stress
will generally be quite fast if the individual is removed from the
heat, rests in a shaded or cool area and is given a cool drink.
Precautions
The following simple precautions should be adopted to assist all
students and staff to deal with transient heatwave conditions and to
prevent problems from occurring:
Cold
Periods of extremely cold weather will also occur. If the body
temperature falls below a certain level, shivering starts. Action
should be taken immediately to warm the body. This can include
exercise, wearing more clothing or moving to a warmer place.
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Organisation |
Name |
Telephone |
Fax |
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First aid officer |
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Police |
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Fire brigade |
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Ambulance |
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Hospital |
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Poisons Information Centre |
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Cluster Director |
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Regional Office |
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School Counsellor |
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Regional Staff |
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Welare Liason Officer |
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Legal Services Unit |
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School Security Unit |
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Community Health Services |
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Local church or clergy |
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Region:
...................................................................................................................... Date:
....................................................................................................................... Contact Person:
......................................................
Telephone No: ...................................... |
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Name of School where Incident occurred
.................................................................................. Name of Principal
.................................................. Telephone
No: ........................................ |
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Brief summary of Incident: Please indicate where, when,
who , why, how as apporpriate. (Further information may
follow, but this summary should provide an adequate outline
for the Minister). |
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FOR STATE OFFICE USE ONLY Date incident was reported to Minister or Minister's
staff
....................................................... To whom was Incident reported .................................................................................... |
TIME OF CALL:
.................................................... DATE:
.....................................
OPERATOR'S
NAME:............................................................................................
...................................................................................................
...................................................................................................
WHERE IS
IT?.........................................................................................................
WHAT TIME WILL IT
EXPLODE?.................................................................................
WHAT TYPE OF DEVICE IS
IT?....................................................................................
WHY ARE YOU DOING
THIS?.....................................................................................
WHAT IS YOUR
NAME?.............................................................................................
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TYPE OF CALL |
VOICE |
ACCENT |
BACKGROUND NOISE |
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LOCAL |
MALE |
LOCAL |
RADIO/TV |
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STD |
FEMALE |
BRITISH |
TRAIN |
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TRUNK |
CHILD |
EUROPEAN |
AIRCRAFT |
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OVERSEAS |
ANGRY |
AMERICAN |
CHILDREN |
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GIGGLING |
OTHER |
TRAFFIC |
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STAMMER |
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CONSTRUCTION |
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CALM |
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OTHER |
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OTHER |
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DID THE CALLER APPEAR FAMILIAR WITH THE
BUILDING? Yes No
This page was last updated 19 July 1996
Enquiries/Comments to: mteach.IT@alex.edfac.usyd.edu.au