While we all hope that critical incidents will never occur, the sad reality is that they do. Our experience over many years, supported by extensive research, shows that well-prepared schools cope better in the event of a critical incident occurring.

This e-learning course has been developed by the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) section of the Department of Education.

The course is based on our 2016 publication 'Responding to Critical Incidents: Guidelines and Resource Materials for Schools’. It is designed to support school staff to prepare for and respond effectively to a critical incident. It is aimed primarily at staff who have a lead or managerial role in the school, and/or those who would be centrally involved in responding to a critical incident. We suggest a minimum of 2 staff members complete the course in each school.