CRITICAL INCIDENT RESPONSE

Background

The District recognizes its responsibility to ensure a compassionate and timely response to critical incidents of a traumatic nature that affect the normal coping mechanisms of a school.  A critical incident usually involves, but is not limited to, a serious accident or tragedy such as death or serious injury of a student, staff or community member.  Critical incidents can have a significant impact on staff and students and can disrupt the ability of a school to function in a routine manner.  Critical Incident Response Teams, at the school and District level, provide a service that a school can utilize to support the school community in the time of a crisis.

The District supports the establishment of Critical Incident Response Teams at each school as well as a District Critical Incident Response Team.  The school based team works in conjunction with the District based team to respond to any crisis which adversely affects the school or the functioning of a number of people in the school.

Procedures

1. Critical Incident Response Teams have a vital role to play in the event of any crisis which adversely affects the normal functioning and well being of a number of people in the school community.
2. The primary purpose of a Critical Incident Response is to provide immediate support to school students and staff directly after a critical incident, during the “critical period” following the incident and to access community resources as necessary.
3. School environments have a role in fostering resiliency amongst students and staff.This includes measures to address the psychological well-being of the school community. School environments become stronger when crisis situations are effectively and compassionately managed.
4. The District believes that having an effective critical incident response plan in place, as outlined in the District Critical Incident Response Team Manual, will ensure that the effects of the incident on staff and students will be limited and that the school will be able to return to normalcy in a timely fashion.
5. By September 30 of each school year:
   1. Principals are to ensure that their school based Critical Incident Response Team is in place.
      The school based Critical Incident Response Team is to include, but not be limited to:
      1. Principals
      2. Vice Principal
      3. School secretary/administrative assistant
      4. School counsellor
      5. Youth and family counsellor
      6. Integration support teacher
      7. Behaviour support teacher
      8. Any staff members with specialized mental health or counselling skills
   2. Principals are required to ensure that a process for emergency staff contact (e.g. phone fan out, e-mail, etc.) is in place and understood by staff.This process is to be activated in the event of a critical incident.
   3. Principals are to ensure that all members of the school based Critical Incident Response Team are familiar with the contents of the District resource, “School Emergency Critical Incident Response Information.” The team is to meet each year to review the manual and the procedures that it contains.
6. The Director of Instruction, Diversity and Inclusion is responsible for ensuring that principals and vice principals are trained in critical incident response so that they can effectively lead their school based team as necessary.
7. The Director of Instruction, Diversity and Inclusion will organize, supervise, and dispatch the District Critical Incident Response Team.The District Critical Incident Response Team will meet once in the fall and then on an as needed basis throughout the school year.
8. The District Critical Incident Response Team shall include, but not be limited to:
   1. The Director of Instruction, Diversity and Inclusion
   2. School based administrators (principals and/or vice principals) from elementary, middle and secondary school
   3. District Vice-Principal, Learning Services
   4. Teacher counsellors
   5. District psychologists
   6. District Instructional Support Teacher, Learning Services
   7. District Principal, Indigenous Education
   8. District Student Advocates
9. All members of the District Critical Incident Response Team will be trained in critical incident response. Regular in-service will be provided to members of the team to update skills and competencies.
10. The District Critical Incident Response Team Manual will be used to guide the District Critical Incident Response Team practices. The District Critical Incident Response Team Manual and procedures will be modified as needed.