“Every little thing counts in a crisis.” Jawaharlal Nehru

Dealing with the sudden death of a student – A Case Study James Heale, Deputy Headteacher, Sandringham School HERTFORDSHIRE HEADTEACHERS’ PARTNERSHIP CONFERENCE Safeguarding and Schools Tuesday 15 th June 2010

The aim of this seminar is to: Develop an understanding of how your school might deal with the sudden death of a student(s), the immediate aftermath and the longer term effects By the end of this seminar Headteachers will be able to: Reflect on current practice in their school Identify key staff and external agency links that they can call upon in a ‘crisis situation’ A greater understanding of the help that is out there when dealing with the sudden death of a student Take away examples of letters to parents, communications with staff and the media

The seminar will include: A case study from Sandringham School and shared experiences A practical ‘hands-on’ approach to help you reflect on how you and your staff would react in such a situation An opportunity to draw up an ‘action plan’ to prepare for the unthinkable The chance to learn from a school about what went well and lessons learnt An opportunity to ask questions

Case study What would you do? What did we do? Questions

Our experience Tues 28 th April 2009 – 2.45pm Call put through to the Deputy Headteacher. Notified by the police of critical incident involving a Yr 10 student Headteacher out of school

Next steps Immediate response Next 12 hrs Next 24hrs

Our experience Wednesday 29 th April 2009 Life support turned off

Our experience Thurs 30 th April – 9am Headteacher notified by police of a second critical incident involving a Year 10 girl

Next steps Immediate response Next 12 hrs Next 24hrs The 7 days

What went well? Regular communication – Staff, students, parents, the press, local schools Honesty One source of information Accept help – MAPS, External agencies, community, Police Clear points of focus Crisis HQ County Press office

Lessons learned Be prepared for the school to be the focus /hub Contact the parents of the bereaved early Check and double check information More bodies in the student area on day 1 Tighter control over where students are

What are we now doing differently? Strategy meetings Vulnerable students’ log Clear bereavement procedures Identified person responsible for bereavement work