Guidelines to assist in responding to attempted suicide or suicide by ...

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Coroners Court of Victoria: Family and communitysupport serviceDeaths by suicide, like all sudden or unexpected deaths, are reported to theCoroner to make a legal finding on the nature and cause of a death. Theinvolvement of the Coroner’s Court can lengthen timeframes, sometimesinvolving inquests or inquiries.The Coroners Court in each state and territory has specialist counsellors who willcontact the next of kin shortly after the completed suicide has been reportedto the Coroner. The Coroners Court of Victoria Family and Community SupportService offers assistance to relatives and anyone else affected by the death andinvestigation, including:• free short-term counselling and referral to other agencies for ongoing support• support for individuals and families after exposure to a death occurring intraumatic circumstances• assistance with understanding the court’s processes• advocating with letters of support; for example to employers and schoolsThe Coroners Court of Victoria can be contacted on 1300 309 519. The website –http://www.coronerscourt.vic.gov.au/utility/home/ – has a range of links to griefcounselling services.School involvement with the funeralIn order to support students and staff, the Principal should monitor who attendsthe funeral.Attendance at a funeral should be limited to only close friends and staff andonly after the wishes of the family have been sought. If the family consentsto students attending the funeral, the parents of those students wishing toattend should be advised that they will be responsible for their children whilstattending the funeral.Students and/or family members may wish to hold a memorial in the school.Generally memorials involving large numbers of students are not recommended.Later, staff may use assembly opportunities to acknowledge the grief felt byfamily and friends, particularly at the time of the funeral or an anniversary. It iscritical that these acknowledgements are delivered and managed in such a wayas to ensure that death by suicide is not glamorised for the student population.Advise staff of relevant actionsRegular debriefs are designed to help create calm and restore order. Keepingeach other informed and sharing the postvention responsibilities is a way ofprotecting staff and student wellbeing and demonstrating that a situation isbeing managed.Staff should be debriefed regularly over the first week. The IMT’s relevantactions should be outlined and, at each meeting, staff should be invited toshare any information, concerns or observations which they consider to be ofimportance. The mental health representative on the IMT should attend some orall staff debriefs in the first week.26Section C: First 48-72 hours
School staff need to be partof self-harm and suicidediscussions with students, notremoved from them. Schoolstaff can recognise and confrontdangerous behaviour andsuicidal ideation in youngpeople.- Quote from a PrincipalCo-operation and sharingof expertise and resourcesbetween the schools andacross school sectors is to beencouraged.- Quote from a PrincipalRegular topics for all staff daily incident reviews:Students of concernStaff should be:• provided with a handout which describes what to look out for and respond toin student behaviour (See Appendix D).• encouraged to discuss this information and ask questions aboutinterpretation etc.• directed to immediately pass on names of students to the IMT, WellbeingTeam and/or the Principal whom they are concerned so that appropriateactions can be taken to monitor the health and wellbeing of the individualstudent.Activities of concernUse staff to brainstorm all upcoming events or activities which might need tobe altered or cancelled in view of the attempted suicide or suicide. Staff shouldthink about:• curriculum (e.g. projects, plays, research, novels that invite a focus on suicide)• excursions or camps which may now be seen as inappropriate or too difficultto manage safely• all the roles that a deceased student would have been playing in the nearfuture (e.g. sporting, academic, community)• events where a deceased student would be expected to be honoured, not todecide how to manage the situation immediately, rather to know what has tobe planned.Incident Management Team (IMT) actions• what has been planned for funeral attendance• the presence of additional personnel such as student support services ormental health professionals and their roles• when staff can expect that a deceased student’s name will be removed fromthe roll—this is easier for staff to cope with if it is anticipated rather than asurprise• media involvement• any new requirements (e.g. reporting absenteeism)• collecting information for the documentation process.Guidelines to assist in responding to attempted suicide or suicide by a student27
Page 1: Guidelines to assist in respondingt
Page 4 and 5: IntroductionDealing with the tragic
Page 6 and 7: Privacy: Personal and health inform
Page 8 and 9: A: Immediate responseif the attempt
Page 10 and 11: The loss of a young life is alwayst
Page 12 and 13: B: In the first 24 Hourscontact the
Page 14 and 15: The school’s response,recovery an
Page 16 and 17: Do not provide details ofthe method
Page 18 and 19: The availability of instantsocial n
Page 20 and 21: C: In the first 48-72 HoursSchool l
Page 24 and 25: Monitor studentsIn the first 24 hou
Page 26 and 27: Protecting a deceased student’s b
Page 28 and 29: D: In the first monthSchool leaders
Page 31 and 32: Section E: Suicide cluster
Page 34 and 35: F: In the longer termcontinue to mo
Page 36 and 37: School staff cannot take solerespon
Page 38 and 39: G: Sample documentsletters for pare
Page 40 and 41: Information to assist staff in talk
Page 42 and 43: Parent letter: for use following th
Page 44 and 45: Parent letter attachment No. 2Where
Page 46 and 47: Section H: DefinitionsAttempted sui
Page 48 and 49: Appendicies
Page 50 and 51: Short term: Student focused safety
Page 52 and 53: Restoring wellbeing of parents and
Page 54 and 55: Restoring wellbeing in the schoolco
Page 57: Appendix E: Operationaldebrief refl
Page 60 and 61: Phase 2 - Intervention/postvention:
Page 62: ensure the school returns to its re

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