Critical incident support to schools: educational psychologists and the role of written guidelines

The training and skills of educational psychologists (EPs) mean that they are uniquely qualified to deliver critical incident (CI) support to educational settings. One aspect of this support may involve producing written guidelines for schools; however such guidelines have received almost no attention in the research literature. An exploratory study was undertaken, in two phases, to explore current practice in the production and use of CI guidelines. Phase 1 involved the collection and content analysis of guidelines from a random sample of educational psychology services (EPSs) in England and Wales. Phase 2 involved semi-structured interviews with professionals, predominantly EPs; transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. In phase 1, 97% of the sample stated that their EPS offered CI support to schools and 83% stated that they had produced written guidelines to support schools. Analysis found that the most frequently occurring content covered: how to initiate support (95%); recommended actions for CI preparation (68%) and CI response (95%); website addresses (68%) and booklists (50%); psycho-education about grief and trauma (64%) and examples of scripts and templates (55%). Recommendations and information were largely consistent with evidence in the academic literature. Interviewees described the benefits of written guidelines but maintained personal contact was an essential part of CI intervention. The role of guidelines, their limitations and implications for EP practice are discussed