What the service is & who we are
About the Critical Incident Support Service
The Critical Incident Support Service provides specialist support to schools and early years settings following serious incidents that have the potential to significantly impact the emotional wellbeing of children, staff and the wider school community.
The Service is centrally funded for all Norfolk local authority schools and early years settings. Academies and other non‑LA settings can also purchase support through an annual subscription.
Our role is to offer timely, compassionate and evidence‑based support that helps educational communities feel contained, supported and able to recover following a crisis, while also building longer‑term resilience.
Our approach
The Critical incident team are a team that provides emotional support, practical advice and containment to promote the well-being of the school community in times of crises, and to empower everyone in building resilience. We use evidence-based approaches to offer a quick response in a compassionate and empathic manner, helping schools to recover using the five key principles of safe, calm, connected, in control and hopeful.
(Hobfall et al, 2017).
Our approach is guided by compassion, empathy and a rapid response, tailored to the needs of each setting.
Who we are
The Critical Incident Team is embedded within the Norfolk Educational Psychology Support Service and is part of Children's Services.
We are a multi‑disciplinary team, drawing on the expertise of professionals who work across education and related services, including:
- Educational psychologists
- Specialist teachers
- Early years professionals
- Social workers
- Other children's services colleagues
When in‑setting support is required, members of this wider team join the Critical Incident Specialist Leads to provide coordinated support.
Leadership
The team is led by Dr Bianca Finger Berry and Cherie Pointon, who share the role of Critical Incident Specialist Leads.
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Together, the Leads coordinate the response to critical incidents, provide specialist consultation, and ensure schools receive appropriate, research‑informed guidance and support.
How we support schools
Alongside responding to critical incidents, local authority schools and subscribing settings are also able to access:
- Advice and consultation relating to bereavement
- Support around recent traumatic events affecting individuals or groups
- A range of resources to support school communities
Further information on accessing support, training opportunities, and what constitutes a critical incident is available on the other pages of this section.
