Managing Tragedy and Loss in Schools

According to official statistics, one British child in 25 aged between five and 16 will experience the death of a parent or sibling. Hence more than 70% of schools are likely to be dealing with bereavement at any one time. Add to these the very large number of children who have to face parental break-ups and divorces and it is easy to quickly realise that every school has pupils facing both considerable stress and sadness at home. The loss of a much loved pet can also lead to considerable feelings of grief.

The notions of 'tragedy and 'loss' are part of the overall strategy, but are specific in their effects. The tragedy may be the death of, or major injury to, a member of staff or a pupil, or there may be a tragedy or loss affecting a pupil or member of staff. All these events carry implications for the individuals directly involved, those further removed but touched by the event, and those who have to respond to and manage the repercussions

All schools should have considered their responses to various crises and to have formulated policies on the responses available to them in order to manage the school through the particular crisis.

Emotional Responses

Some students and staff may react with severe emotional responses such as grief, post traumatic stress syndrome, or even fear. There will be natural human responses to these demonstrations of feelings, but in a large community like a school care has to be taken to ensure that difficult situations are not made more problematic. For example, when a significant portion of a school's population is affected, major facets of a school's functioning can be jeopardized. Or, when too little effort is made to intervene, the aftermath can interfere with school and home performance, and trigger long-term psychosocial and educational problems.

Handsam Resources

CP13 Dealing with Tragedy in Schools

CP14 Guidance on Handling Grief Amongst Pupils

All Schools Should Consider Their Overall Approach and Determine:

• What procedure and processes will click in - taking into account the added implications of an off-site event;

• Who should be in charge of the response;

• Who should be in a wider team of responders;

• What expert responses the school can provide;

• What help will be needed immediately and what after-care will be needed in the follow-up;

• Who needs to know; who does the communicating and with whom •

• Taking into account pupils, other staff, Board members, parents, the media, the wider community;

• What training is (a) necessary, and (b) desirable; and

• What rehearsals might be useful, and how often.

Intervention and Management

The aim of the intervention and subsequent management is to ensure that proper sympathy and comfort Is provided to whoever needs it, and to minimise the impact of the tragedy both on the school as an institution and on individuals. The emphasis will be on the school's need to regain stability and a sense of normality so that students and staff can resume learning and teaching.

It is likely that all schools will be able to respond to any physical/medical requirements, but unlikely to be able to deal with many of the psychological considerations. The school's access to a range of needs should be taken into account and included in the general - . policy for the management of loss and tragedy and in the briefing of those tasked with managing the specific event.

All of these should be included in an overall school policy for responding to tragedy and loss. The main points of this policy should be known by all staff and members of the Board.