EP for Schools

How can we involve the pupil in planning support for supporting classmates after a serious incident?

Pupil voice can reveal parts of supporting classmates after a serious incident that adults cannot see and can make support more acceptable and effective. Avoid assuming that one explanation fits every pupil.

By Dr Ian Corban · Educational psychologist · Last reviewed 2 October 2026

The same visible difficulty can arise from language demands, uncertainty, prior experiences, attention, memory, sensory load, skill gaps, relationships, fatigue or a mismatch between the task and the support available. Look for patterns across people, places and times of day, and compare difficult moments with occasions when supporting classmates after a serious incident goes more successfully.

Make the question accessible

Ask about supporting classmates after a serious incident using language, pictures, rating scales, choices, drawing, sorting or observation according to the pupil’s communication strengths. Questions such as ‘What makes this easier?’, ‘What is the hardest bit?’ and ‘What should adults stop doing?’ often produce more useful information than asking whether school is good or bad.

Take disagreement seriously

For can we involve the pupil in planning support for supporting classmates after a serious incident, avoid assuming that one strategy will suit every pupil. Use examples from ordinary lessons, ask the pupil what helps, and make one purposeful change at a time. Keep changes that improve access or independence and reconsider those that do not.

Show what changed because they spoke

For can we involve the pupil in planning support for supporting classmates after a serious incident, avoid assuming that one strategy will suit every pupil. Use examples from ordinary lessons, ask the pupil what helps, and make one purposeful change at a time. Keep changes that improve access or independence and reconsider those that do not.

Try this: Choose one upcoming example of supporting classmates after a serious incident. Before it happens, write down the essential demand, one adjustment adults will make and the least intrusive prompt the pupil may need. Afterwards, record what the pupil managed independently and one thing to retain or change next time. This creates a short assess–plan–do–review cycle around a real school situation rather than a generic list of strategies.

Keep the response proportionate

The practical test in this case is whether support for can we involve the pupil in planning support for supporting classmates after a serious incident changes the pupil’s experience in school. Agree what staff will try, what they will notice, and how the pupil can contribute their view. This keeps provision responsive rather than routine.

Further reading

Use these sources alongside current local procedures, professional advice and the individual pupil’s circumstances.

More practical advice: Browse the advice.

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