Critical Incident Manual - Ministry of Education

Guidelines for Developing a Critical Incident Management Plan for a Safe School EnvironmentCritical Incident Life CycleA critical incident has a life cycle. Such an incident could become a perennial occurrence ifthe necessary steps to minimise its regularity are not prudently implemented. If properlymanaged, the impact of a critical incident on lives and properties will be reduced. Althoughthe ‘life cycle’ principle is better known in the construction industry it can be applied to themanagement of critical incidents in schools.The life cycle of a critical incident has three (3) phases:Phase One: Onset PhaseIn this phase, the school recognises that there is a crisis and the response plan is initiated bythe team leader. This person could be the principal or his/her designate.Phase Two: Incident Management PhaseIn this phase the incident is contained and the team focuses on providing counselling andassistance to the affected person or persons.Phase Three: Incident Conclusion PhaseThis stage brings closure to the incident and to the management of the incident by the criticalincident management team. Before this is done, however, a debriefing session is held. Thisstage provides an opportunity to review and evaluate the plan.Incident Outbreak Post Critical Initial Incident Incident ClosurePoint Point Closure PointPhase One - Critical Phase Two - Incident Management Phase Three - IncidentIncident Plan ConclusionFigure 1: : Critical Incident Life CycleMinistry of Education 2007 / 24