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

Section D:During the first monthThe impact of a suicidewill continue for as longas there are students andstaff in the school whowere present at the timeof the incident.The suicide of a student, or anex-student, will inevitably havean enormous impact on a schoolcommunity but these incidentsalso affect the broader communityso a coordinated communityresponse can be required.- Quote from a PrincipalMonitor staff and student wellbeingThis conscious and deliberate process should continue to be a focus for the IMT. Theimpact of a suicide, more than an attempted suicide, will continue for as long as thereare students and staff in the school who were present at the time of the incident.In the first month, the IMT should be looking for obvious signs of staff or studentdistress and responding to them in the ways outlined in Sections B and C and inpartnership with mental health professionals.The IMT may consider that the needs of staff and students and the impact on IMTmembers themselves warrants extra longer term support. The interim appointmentof an additional, experienced school leader, which may need to be negotiated withyour regional contacts, can provide invaluable support to a school managing suicidepostvention. This is more likely to be needed if there is substantial media coverage, orthe risk of suicide ‘clusters’ where the development a community plan for preventingand responding to suicide clusters is required (See Section E). An additional staffmember can relieve school leaders of the day-to-day administrative responsibilitiesand allow them to devote their attention to specific postvention tasks.The school should be aware that any other crises in the school community are likelyto be felt more profoundly by those who have been affected by the attempted suicideor suicide. If further deaths, or attempts occur, many staff and students will return totheir earlier levels of grief and require their earlier levels of support and monitoring.Plan for school events of relevanceDuring the first month the IMT may need to make decisions about planned events ordocuments that would have involved or represented a deceased student. Examplesare year books, graduation nights, and awards the student may already have beengiven. Schools can and should celebrate the deceased student’s achievements in thenormal way without fear that they are sensationalising the suicide. However, verycareful liaison with the family is required and their wishes should be respected.Each school community will approach these decisions differently but cultural andfamily sensitivity and awareness must guide their decisions.Gather relevant information from staff for an operationaldebriefBefore the IMT conducts an operational debrief it is wise to allow all staff anopportunity to contribute their views on how the school community has managedthe postvention responsibilities and their perceptions of the prevailing school culturethat preceded the incident. Whilst an operational debrief will be essential following asuicide it may not be warranted following a suicide attempt; the school leadership willneed to make a decision about the value of this.The easiest way to collect candid staff opinion is to provide a written survey thatcan be completed anonymously if desired. A member of the IMT should collatethe responses and provide them to all staff as well as those participating in theoperational debrief.Guidelines to assist in responding to attempted suicide or suicide by a student33