A Serious Incident Has Happened at School. What Should You Do First?

No one starts the day expecting a serious incident.

One minute everything is running as normal. The next, you've got an ambulance arriving, staff are upset, parents are calling, someone is asking if police need to be notified, and you're trying to work out what to do first.

It's a lot.

When something serious happens, it's easy to focus on doing everything at once. The reality is, you don't need to. You just need to work through it step by step.

1. Look after people first

This probably sounds obvious, but in the middle of a serious incident it's easy to get pulled in a dozen different directions. Phones are ringing, people are asking questions, emergency services may be arriving and you're already thinking about what happens next.

Try not to get ahead of yourself.

Your first priority is always the people involved.

Make sure anyone who is injured receives immediate first aid or medical treatment and call emergency services if required. If police, fire or ambulance officers attend, ensure someone from the school is available to meet them, direct them to the incident location and provide any information they need.

At the same time, think about everyone else. Is the area still safe? Does it need to be isolated? Is there any ongoing risk to staff, students or visitors?

If there is, stop the activity and make the area safe before anything else happens.

Once emergency services take control of the incident, follow their directions. They may establish exclusion zones, restrict access to the area or provide instructions that temporarily change the way the school operates. Supporting emergency responders and cooperating with their directions helps ensure the incident is managed safely and effectively.

If your school has an Emergency Response Plan, now is the time to use it. Serious incidents are not the time to rely on memory. Follow your school's emergency procedures and allocate roles so everyone understands their responsibilities.

There will be time later to think about investigations, notifications, paperwork and everything else that comes with a serious incident. In those first few minutes, your job is simply to make sure people are safe, support emergency responders and prevent the situation from getting worse.

2. Notify the right people

Once everyone is safe and the immediate response is underway, start thinking about who else needs to know.

Depending on the nature of the incident, this may include your Executive Principal, governing body or central office, the student's parents or emergency contact, your insurer and Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ).

If the incident involves an allegation about the conduct of a worker towards a child, there may also be obligations under the Reportable Conduct Scheme. These matters need to be managed differently, so it's important to understand your reporting obligations and seek advice if you're unsure.

Every school is different, so make sure you're familiar with your own incident escalation and notification procedures before something happens. The middle of a crisis isn't the time to be searching for phone numbers or trying to work out who needs to be contacted.

If you're ever unsure whether someone or an agency needs to be notified, it's always better to ask the question early than to find out later that a notification should have been made.

3. Don't rush to clean everything up

Once everyone is safe, your next instinct will probably be to get things back to normal.

You might want to move equipment out of the way, clean up the area or reopen the space so the school can continue operating. That's completely understandable—but it's also where schools can unintentionally create problems for themselves.

If the incident is a notifiable incident under Queensland's Work Health and Safety legislation, the incident site generally must not be disturbed until an inspector from Workplace Health and Safety Queensland has attended or directs otherwise. The exceptions are where it's necessary to assist an injured person, remove someone who has died, make the area safe, prevent another incident or protect the site from further damage.

Preserving the scene allows investigators to understand exactly what happened and whether there were any contributing factors. Once equipment has been moved or the area has been cleaned up, that evidence can be lost.

If you're unsure whether an incident is notifiable, don't assume it isn't. Pause, preserve the scene where it's safe to do so, and seek advice before making any unnecessary changes.

4. Work out whether the incident is notifiable

Not every workplace incident needs to be reported to Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ), but some do—and it's important to make that decision early.

Generally, a notification is required if the incident involves:

• the death of a person

• a serious injury or illness

• a dangerous incident, even if no one is injured.

Sometimes it's obvious. Other times, it's not.

If you're unsure whether an incident is notifiable, don't make assumptions. Take the time to check your obligations or seek advice. It's far better to ask the question early than to discover later that the incident should have been reported.

Remember, notifying WHSQ doesn't mean your school has done anything wrong. It's simply a legal requirement for certain types of incidents and allows the regulator to determine whether any further action is needed.

5. Start recording the facts

Once the immediate response has been managed, start recording what you know while it's still fresh.

This isn't about working out who's to blame or jumping to conclusions. It's simply about capturing the facts before memories fade and important information is lost.

Take photos of the area if appropriate, note the date and time, identify who was present, and secure any CCTV footage before it's overwritten. If equipment, plant or vehicles were involved, record their details and condition at the time of the incident.

It can also be helpful to ask witnesses to write down what they saw as soon as practical. People's recollections can change over time, so capturing their account early often provides the most accurate picture of what happened.

Most importantly, stick to the facts. Record what you know, what you observed and what people told you. Avoid making assumptions or trying to work out why the incident happened at this stage. That comes later, once all of the information has been gathered.

6. Remember that people react differently

A serious incident doesn't just affect the person who was injured.

It can have a ripple effect across the whole school. Staff who witnessed the incident may be shaken. Students may feel anxious or have questions. Parents will often be looking for reassurance, and the leadership team can find themselves juggling multiple priorities while trying to keep the school operating.

People also respond differently. Some will want to talk about what happened straight away, while others may seem fine initially but be affected days or even weeks later.

Take the time to check in with the people involved. Make sure staff know what support is available, whether that's through your Employee Assistance Program (EAP), a wellbeing team or simply a conversation with a trusted leader. Keep communication clear, factual and appropriate, and be mindful of privacy when sharing information.

The way a school responds after a serious incident often leaves a lasting impression. Looking after your people isn't just the right thing to do—it's an important part of supporting recovery and rebuilding confidence.

7. Once things settle, ask "why?"

Once the immediate response has been managed and everyone is safe, it's time to understand what actually happened.

This is where a lot of organisations unintentionally fall into the trap of looking for someone to blame. While it's natural to want answers, a good investigation isn't about finding fault—it's about understanding why the incident occurred and what can be done to stop it happening again.

Start by asking questions like:

• What happened?

• What events led up to the incident?

• Were the existing controls effective?

• Did staff have the right information, training and resources?

• Were there any underlying factors that contributed to the incident?

• What can we do differently in the future?

In reality, serious incidents are rarely caused by one single mistake. More often, they're the result of a combination of factors—systems that weren't working as intended, gaps in communication, unclear procedures, environmental conditions or controls that weren't effective.

The goal of an investigation isn't to point fingers. It's to understand what happened, learn from it and identify practical improvements that reduce the risk of it happening again.

When investigations focus on learning rather than blame, people are generally more willing to speak openly, share information and contribute to meaningful improvements. In the long run, that creates a stronger safety culture and a safer workplace for everyone.

8. Don't let the report sit in a drawer

The investigation might be finished, but the work isn't.

We've all seen reports with well-written recommendations that are filed away and never looked at again. Unfortunately, if nothing changes, there's a good chance the same incident—or something similar—will happen again.

Every recommendation should be turned into a practical action. Decide:

• What needs to be done?

• Who is responsible?

• When will it be completed?

• How will progress be monitored?

Review the action plan regularly and keep it moving. Even small improvements can make a significant difference over time.

The real value of an investigation isn't the report itself. It's the improvements that come from it.

Nobody expects a serious incident...

No school starts the day expecting a serious incident. But every school should be prepared for the possibility.

Having a clear process helps leaders stay calm, make informed decisions and focus on what matters most—looking after people, meeting their obligations and learning from what happened.

A well-managed response doesn't just help the school recover from an incident. It can strengthen your safety culture, build confidence across the school community and reduce the likelihood of the same thing happening again.

Need an independent perspective?

Sometimes, after a serious incident, it helps to have someone independent come in.

Whether it's reviewing what happened, conducting an investigation or helping develop a practical action plan, an external perspective can give school leaders confidence that nothing has been missed.

At OnPoint360, we support schools with independent WHS reviews, investigations, audits and practical safety and compliance advice when they need it most.