Prevention: developing protective factors
Last updated:It is natural for individuals and organisations to hope that a critical incident will never occur within their community. However, advance planning is essential, as critical incidents can evoke strong emotional and physiological responses which may temporarily reduce thinking capacity, decision making and problem solving. By establishing clear processes, roles and principles in advance, schools can reduce cognitive load at the point of crisis, enabling staff to respond in a more effective way. Preparation supports not only practical action but also helps create a shared understanding that promotes a sense of safety and confidence when responding to highly stressful and unpredictable events.
Building psychologically equipped schools
Effective prevention involves creating whole school systems that promote emotional wellbeing, build resilience, and equip both staff and students to cope with a range of life events. Schools should prioritise mental health promotion as part of their everyday culture and practice. Mental health can be understood as the extent to which individuals:
- can manage life’s ordinary stresses,
- can work, learn, and participate in community life, and
- have the emotional and social resources to cope with pain, disappointment, and change.
Schools should consider drawing on established frameworks such as Buckinghamshire’s i-Thrive guidance, which emphasise a graduated, needs led approach to emotional wellbeing, and curricula such as Connect PSHE, which supports the development of social and emotional learning, relationships and protective factors across the school community.
Curriculum and whole‑school approaches
A planned, progressive approach to personal, social, and emotional development is central to prevention. Within the Buckinghamshire context, schools typically deliver this through:
- PSHE education
- wider wellbeing and pastoral programmes
- opportunities for students to build skills such as resilience, communication, problem‑solving, help‑seeking and emotional regulation.
When well implemented, these programmes contribute to a healthy, nurturing, and safe environment, supporting the wellbeing of the whole school community.
Whole‑school approaches should be integrated across academic, social, emotional, recreational, and creative aspects of school life, encouraging students to develop positive values, attitudes, and life skills.
Partnership work is also key: schools should engage parents, carers, and local agencies in a coordinated way, ensuring any external input aligns with the school’s overall wellbeing strategy.
Creating a safe and inclusive environment
A preventative approach includes:
- establishing a psychologically safe environment, supported by strong pastoral systems and clear procedures for identifying students who may be vulnerable.
- having robust anti‑bullying, safeguarding, and inclusion policies.
- ensuring students who feel different or marginalised are supported sensitively.
- embedding well-being-related topics (for example, loss, stress management, conflict resolution, mental health literacy) within PSHE and wider school provision;
- integrating any external mental health or wellbeing programmes within the school’s coordinated support plan.
Systems, training and partnerships
Key preventative structures include:
- maintaining a physically safe environment, with appropriate health and safety procedures.
- providing ongoing training for staff on issues affecting children and young people.
- having clear systems for identifying, monitoring, and supporting students at risk.
- establishing strong links with local and national support services, including clear pathways for referrals where additional help is needed.
- ensuring all staff are familiar with safeguarding expectations, including how to respond to concerns or disclosures.
Supporting staff wellbeing is also essential. Schools should promote awareness of available support services and create a culture where staff can seek help when needed.
How can Educational Psychologists help with prevention
Educational Psychologists can play a key role in supporting schools to build the conditions that promote resilience, psychological safety, and effective responses to challenging or unexpected events. Our preventative work can include:
- Training for staff on topics such as trauma‑informed practice, understanding emotional responses to crisis, psychological first aid, supporting resilience and wellbeing, and recognising early signs of distress in children and young people.
- Consultation on building psychologically safe environments, including support with developing systems, routines and cultures that help students and staff feel secure, connected, and able to communicate concerns early.
- Change and improvement projects that help schools reflect on what is working well and what might need to develop so that the system can respond flexibly during times of stress or crisis.
- Clinical supervision and reflective practice – Educational Psychologists offer clinical supervision for headteachers and senior leaders, providing a safe and reflective space to explore complex situations, manage emotional demands and strengthen resilience. EPs can also support schools to develop reflective practice groups or embed reflective skills within staff teams, helping to sustain psychologically informed practice across the school community.
Schools are encouraged to speak directly with their link Educational Psychologist to discuss preventative work. Settings that do not have an allocated link EP can contact the Educational Psychology Service directly to explore these options.