Critical and Emergency Incidents Notification Policy

Transcription

1 Critical and Emergency Incidents Notification Policy Source of Obligation Critical and/or Emergency School Incidents That Must Be Notified The WA Registration Standards (chapter 4, 4.4) require that the Headmaster of Scotch College provides prompt notification of any critical and/or emergency incident to the Chair of the College Council and the Director General, through the Department of Education Services. The Headmaster must notify the DES of any of the following critical and/or emergency college incidents as soon as practicable, and in any event, within 48 hours of the incident: circumstances that pose a critical risk to the health, safety or well-being of one or more students or staff; incidents requiring college closure, lockdown, or reduction of number of students or staff attending; death, or life-threatening injury, of a student or staff member at college, or following an incident that occurred at the college or through a related college-based activity or circumstance; receipt of an allegation of child abuse, including but not limited to sexual abuse, against a student by a staff member or student or other person, whether the abuse is alleged to have occurred recently or in the past; issuing a formal warning to a staff member or ceasing the employment of a staff member for breach of the staff Code of Conduct suspected to be grooming behaviour; and where the Headmaster knows that a mandatory report has been made in regard to a student at the college, including the report receipt number. Reporting a Critical Incident to the DES Reporting a Critical Incident to the College Council Critical Incidents Policy Implementation Related Policies Critical incidents are reported according to the guidance issued by the Department of Education Services. Refer to the DES website. The Headmaster must notify the Chair of the College Council of any critical incidents. The date and time the Department of Education Services was notified of a critical incident is to be recorded in the College Council meeting minutes and details are to be included in the Council s annual report. Scotch College has a Critical Incidents Policy that covers action to be taken in the event of a critical or emergency incident. Refer to Critical Incident (Emergency Situation) Response. Scotch College has set up a series of compliance tasks on our Assurance System, to ensure that key obligations under the WA Registration Standards are managed effectively. Chapter 4 Levels of Care

2 Critical Incident (Emergency Situations) Response Crisis Management (Traumatic Events) Policy Counselling Services (Student) Critical and Emergency Incident Report Form Scotch College has set up a series of compliance tasks on our Assurance System, to ensure that key obligations under the WA Registration Standards are managed effectively. Critical Incident (Emergency Situations) Response The Hazard Critical Incident A critical incident is an emergency situation that usually involves an abnormal and sudden occurrence such as a fire, explosion, a chemical leak, a bomb threat or terrorist attack that is dangerous or potentially dangerous to life, property or the environment. Critical incidents are a specific type of business continuity disruption event, that not only usually disrupt normal college operations and activities, they also pose immediate and significant danger to life, property and/or the environment. Scotch College's Policy Scotch College is committed to providing a safe working environment for all our students, staff and visitors. How we respond to a critical incident will depend largely on its size, nature and complexity. It is our policy to: Identify potential critical incident situations; Conduct regular internal risk assessments with respect to those critical incidents; Develop appropriate response plans; Create a Crisis Management Team (CMT) trained to deal with critical incidents; and Regularly test the overall effectiveness of our risk management and critical response procedures. By identifying potential critical incident situations, risk assessing them, implementing preventative measures and planning our response, Scotch College seeks to gain control over such situations so as to ensure, that if they do occur, the best possible help is available in a timely manner.

3 Scotch College's Risk Assessment Procedures Scotch College has developed an Enterprise Risk Management Program based on the International Standard ISO as well as a detailed Workplace Safety Program. Scotch College's Workplace Safety Program sets out our risk assessment procedures for safety hazards. Using these procedures we identify critical incidents that we believe may potentially occur, assess the risks relating to these incidents in terms of the likelihood of the incident occurring and the potential consequences should the incident in fact occur, and develop controls and responses based upon our risk assessments. All risk assessments with respect to critical incidents are recorded utilising our CompliSpace Assurance Software. These are subject to regular review and may change from time to time. Refer to Paul Davidson, who is responsible for managing our risk program, for information with respect to current risk assessments of potential critical incidents. Preventing Critical Incidents from Occurring As far as practicably possible Scotch College seeks to prevent critical incidents from occurring and to minimise the potential impact of these events. To this end, Scotch College has developed policies and procedures that are specifically targeted towards prevention of critical incidents. Examples of such policies include our Fire Safety Policy and Allergy Awareness Policy. Three Stage Critical Incident Response Process Because critical incidents come in various forms and sizes it will not always be possible to predict the exact nature of the situation that we may have to deal with, nor is it possible to accurately predict the best way in which we should respond. For this reason when responding to critical incidents it is useful to think in terms of three stages of response: Stage 1: Emergency Response This is the initial response to a disruption which usually involves the removal or protection of people and property from immediate harm. Examples of emergency responses are the development of structured Evacuation Procedures and Lockdown Procedures. Stage 2: Continuity Response The Continuity Response commences once the initial emergency response (if any) has been completed. The continuity response involves re-establishing minimum acceptable levels of processes, controls and resources to ensure that Scotch College continues to meet its critical operational objectives. Our Crisis Communications Policy provides a good example of a continuity response. Stage 3: Stabilisation Response Finally once we have re-established minimum acceptable levels of processes, controls and resources to ensure that Scotch College continues to meet its critical operational objectives we may need to implement procedures that are designed to stabilise the college environment and return operations to normal over a period of time.

4 An example of a stabilisation response is our Crisis Management (Traumatic Events) Policy which may be utilised to provide ongoing support to members of the college community when dealing with the aftermath of a critical incident. Crisis Management Team (CMT) Scotch College has established a Crisis Management Team (CMT) whose responsibility it is to: Make an initial assessment of an incident and support any individuals involved in the initial emergency response; Determine and implement the most appropriate additional response strategies; Ensure staff welfare and support; Investigate the cause and nature of the incident and assess its impact on business operations; Determine and implement the most appropriate communications strategy; and Activate any response plans. For more details of the CMT refer to our Crisis Management Team and Response Procedures. Summary of Key Critical Incidents & our Response Plans A list of critical incidents that we have identified, together with the incident prevention and response plans we have developed are set out below. This list may not be definitive. If you identify a risk that you believe we should add to this list please Report the Risk immediately. Critical Incident Crisis Management Team and Response Procedures Accident/Incident (Life Threatening) Medical Urgent Treatment Policy First Aid Policy Armed Robbery & Cash Handling Armed Robbery and Cash Handling Procedure Anaphylactic Reaction Allergy Awareness Policy

5 Anaphylactic Reaction Management Policy Medication Administration Policy Medical Urgent Treatment Policy Procedures for Epipens on Excursions or at Sporting Events on site or off site Bomb Threat Threats Received Policy Evacuation Policy Chemical Spill (Major) Chemical Spills Policy *VARIABLE* WA ONLY Child Protection Incident Critical Incidents Notification Policy Child Protection Policy Fire (in College Building) Fire Safety Policy Evacuation Policy Hostage Situation/Gunman on Scotch College Grounds Hostage Situation/Siege Policy Lockdown Procedures Evacuation Procedures Crisis Management (Traumatic Events) Policy Loss of Network, ILT Services and Systems ILT Disaster Recovery Plan Storm Storm Management Policy Lockdown Procedures

6 Suicide (of Student or Teacher) Self-Harming Behaviour Policy Crisis Management (Traumatic Events)Policy Suspicious Object Found On Scotch College Grounds Suspicious Objects on Grounds Policy Evacuation Policy Terrorist Attack Lockdown Procedures Evacuation Procedures Crisis Management (Traumatic Events) Policy Violent Intruder on Grounds Violent Intruder on Grounds Policy Lockdown Procedures Evacuation Procedures Workers' Responsibility All workers are responsible to ensure: Participation in critical incident response training as required; Cooperation in carrying out their duties in an emergency situation; Prompt action is taken to secure or isolate any hazardous situation in an emergency if this can be done so without placing themselves or other workers at risk; and Immediately report any critical incident to their head of department. Signage There is a wide range of signage that may be used to assist in the prevention and or response to a particular emergency situation. This signage is referred to in the policies that relate to each type of incident. Emergency contact numbers as well as details of members of the CMT are displayed in strategic locations around the college.

7 Implementation This policy is implemented through a combination of: Risk management identification and assessment procedures; The development of incident specific policies and procedures; Establishment of a Crisis Management Team; Staff training; Effective notification and critical incident response procedures; and Initiation of corrective actions where necessary. Discipline for Breach of Policy Where a staff member breaches this policy Scotch College may take disciplinary action.

8 Crisis Management (Traumatic Events) Policy The Hazard Traumatic Events A traumatic event is a situation that evokes deep sorrow or distress due to a powerful shock, or negative experience that may cause lasting psychological effects. A traumatic event may occur from a critical incident or emergency situation within the college such as a fire, hostage or siege situation - refer to our Critical Incident (Emergency Situations) Response Policy or even from events occurring outside the college such as a major regional disaster. Scotch College's Policy Scotch College is committed to providing a safe and supportive environment for all our students, staff and visitors. Given the diverse nature of possible traumatic events and the variance of potential impacts on members of the college community, it is not possible to establish a single response strategy for all situations. In these circumstances it is our policy to: Provide psychological support to all students and staff where they are experiencing, or may be at risk of experiencing, emotional distress in the aftermath of a traumatic event; Presume that a traumatic event will occur within the college community and make appropriate preparations to ensure that the college is in the best possible position to respond when the event takes place; Establish a Crisis Management Team (CMT) that is trained to respond to emergency situations and to manage the response to traumatic events; That the CMT will develop a Crisis Management Plan for each traumatic event following the guidelines set out in this policy; Ensure that the Crisis Management Plan is clearly communicated to staff and members of the college community; Liaise with relevant organisations, external to the college, that may also be involved in responding to a particular situation; and Ensure that all staff receive appropriate briefings to ensure that they are able to carry out their roles in any Crisis Management Plan. Crisis Management Team (CMT) Scotch College has established a CMT whose responsibility it is to: Lead the response to emergency situations;

9 Make an initial assessment of the support required by any affected individuals or groups of individuals within the college; Develop an initial Crisis Management Plan and active relevant responses; Determine and implement the most appropriate communications strategy to manage a given situation; Ensure that all staff receive appropriate briefings to ensure that they are able to carry out their roles in any Crisis Management Plan; Ensure staff and student welfare and support; and Refine the Crisis Management Plan as required where a situation is ongoing. For more details on the CMT and key elements of a Crisis Management Plan refer to our Crisis Management Team and Response Procedures. Workers' Responsibility Implementation All workers must follow directions provided to them by the CMT and other staff members acting at their direction. This policy is implemented through a combination of: The development of incident specific policies and procedures; Establishment of a Crisis Management Team; Establishment of a Crisis Management Plan for each relevant event; Implementation of a clear communications strategy; Staff training; Effective incident notification procedures; and Initiation of corrective actions where necessary. Discipline for Breach of Policy Related Policies Where a staff member breaches this policy Scotch College may take disciplinary action. Armed Robbery and Cash Handling Procedures Critical Incident (Emergency Situations) Response Policy Crisis Management Team and Response Procedures Evacuation Procedures

10 Hostage Situation/Siege Policy Lockdown Procedures Self-Harming Behaviour Policy Storm Management Policy Suspicious Objects on the Ground Policy Threat Received Violent Intruder on Grounds