THE FORMER counsellor at The Chase is once again working at the school to support pupils following Monday’s knife attack.
In the wake of the incident, which involved a 13-year-old boy attacking a teacher and a pupil, Observer readers were quick to point out that it came within a few months of The Chase making Sam Morris redundant due to budget constraints.
But on Monday (September 8) within hours of finding out what was happening, Sam rushed to the school and immediately began speaking to pupils who had witnessed or heard about the traumatic scenes.
Now she is continuing to work alongside an educational psychologist to continue to support students for the rest of the week.
“The students here know me and trust me, and I couldn’t turn my back on them now,” said Sam.
“The most important thing now is to reassure the students and to explore the feelings they may have, regarding the incident.”
Since leaving The Chase the Welland mum has set up a mental health service for young people in Malvern called Safe with Sam which has now become a registered charity.
Sam said after events such as Monday, it was common for anyone involved to experience confused feelings or even become emotionally numb at first. She added for many the symptoms would disappear after a short period of time but some could still be suffering for more than a month with possible Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Sam said anyone who witnessed the attack or were caught up in the hysteria afterwards could become anxious and even have panic attacks which could become a more debilitating long term condition if not managed properly.
“At Safe with Sam, we believe that it is imperative that the students at The Chase understand the events leading up to the incident to help them understand what happened, why it happened and that it was a unique event as a result of specific circumstances,” Sam said.
“We have to help the school and wider community to understand what has happened, how to come to terms with it emotionally and what we can all do in the future to prevent similar incidents.”
For anyone seeking additional support visit www.safewithsam.com or visit the charity on Facebook.
Read more about Safe with Sam after the Observer interviewed Sam in August about the charity.
