Critical incidents and school communities: Exploring experiences of senior school staff and the support of an Educational Psychology Service in Wales.

Critical Incidents (CIs) that affect members of school communities can take many forms, ranging from natural disasters to human-generated events including acts of violence, suicide, and terrorism. Increased awareness of the impact that major traumatic incidents can have on children and adults has highlighted the need for a timely and informed response from services. The role of the Educational Psychology Services (EPSs) in providing support to school communities regarding a CI is a well-established aspect of service delivery, documented in the professional literature since the mid-1990s, with the most contemporary research published in 2016. However, there appears to be a scarcity of research exploring perceptions of the CI support offered by the EPSs from school staff themselves. Furthermore, despite the impact of CIs on children and young people having been researched extensively, there appears to be a lack of research regarding the impact a CI may have on school staff. This study sought to develop an understanding of the experiences of school staff responding to a CI, as well as gaining their perceptions of a model of preparation for and response to a CI implemented by a Local Authority (LA) EPS in Wales. Seven members of senior school staff, from different schools, across the LA, took part in semi-structured interviews that were analysed using thematic analysis. Key themes pertaining to participant’s experiences of a CI were identified including the Event, Initial Impact, Pressures, Psychological Impact, School System, and Post Impact. Key themes regarding participant’s perceptions of the model of preparation and response offered by the locality EPS were Preparedness, Educational Psychologist Presence, Educational Psychologist Approach, Approach to Direct Support, Screening and Monitoring, Crisis Intervention, Written Procedures and Protocols, Multi Agency Working, Pre and Post Coping and Lessons Learnt. The experience of senior school staff responding to a CI and their perceptions of an EPS model of CI support are discuss and their implications for EP practice