Facing tragedy: how a Southport school community came together

When tragedy struck a Southport community last summer, Endeavour Learning Trust found itself coordinating a major critical incident without an external blueprint.

Here, Heather Fowler, head of safeguarding at the trust, and Gareth Caunce, its director of primary education, reflect on what they learned about leadership, belonging and recovery during that period.

On 29 July 2024, pupils from one of our schools, Churchtown Primary, were present during an attack at a holiday dance club in Southport. Within minutes, it became clear that, as a trust, we were responding to a major critical incident that would deeply affect our community.

Our first priority was safety. The headteacher, Jinnie Payne, who was at school with a holiday club, immediately placed the site into lockdown while we gathered information.

What followed was a period of confusion and uncertainty. With no coordinated information from the police or local authority, we pieced together details from national news, social media and the local community.

It was a distressing afternoon, defined by the need to act quickly while knowing very little.

Within hours we began to hear that members of the Churchtown community had been affected.

When confirmation came that two pupils, Alice Aguiar and Bebe King, had tragically lost their lives along with Elsie Dot Stancombe, and others had been injured, the scale of what lay ahead became painfully clear.

Although we had experience in managing challenging situations, this was different in both scale and intensity. With little guidance at the outset, we worked quickly to build a coordinated plan to support the school, families and staff.

In the days that followed, the wider community was further shaken by disorder and unrest on the streets, affecting many of our families. Our work extended beyond the immediate impact of the tragedy, as we supported people through a wider atmosphere of anxiety and uncertainty.

Throughout this period communication was critical. We coordinated across the trust, ensuring that no decision was made in isolation. We listened daily to staff, families, pupils and the wider community so that everyone felt heard. Each action reflected their wishes, not just our assumptions.

Here is what we did at each stage.

The first days - taking our lead from the children and families

The morning after the attack we assembled the central team to coordinate our response.

We sought evidence-based frameworks to shape our approach. The UK Trauma Council’s guidance on critical incidents proved invaluable, as did advice from educational psychologists and mental health professionals.

A single idea ran through everything we read and heard: belonging.

In moments of crisis, connection and belonging help people to heal. That principle became the foundation of our strategy.

We decided that Churchtown would remain open as a community hub throughout the summer holidays.

Two days after the incident, the school opened to pupils, families, staff and the wider community.

Any initial hesitation about this vanished as soon as people arrived. Children instinctively sought comfort in each other, parents talked openly and staff simply listened and took their lead from them.

That day reaffirmed our belief that the school, as both a physical and emotional space, could play a central role in helping the community begin to recover.

From then on, the school opened weekly with psychologists and counsellors available to support pupils and families.

Preparing for the new term

As September approached, we focused on the return to school. We added an additional Inset day to prioritise staff wellbeing and trauma-informed training.

Rather than beginning the year with academic learning, pupils were invited for short, informal sessions with their new teachers.

Therapeutic play and conversation replaced lessons, helping children to talk about their feelings and re-establish a sense of safety and belonging.

Parents were also invited into school during those first days as part of the enhanced transition.

We understood how difficult separation would be after such a traumatic summer. Many parents had anxieties about safety and leaving their children, and those emotions were met with care. The compassion shown between parents, staff and children was extraordinary. There was a quiet, collective understanding that everyone was finding their way through this together.

Open sessions led by our safeguarding team shared strategies from the UK Trauma Council’s “shared language” approach, so families could support their children at home in the same way staff were doing in school.

Security was another key priority. We worked with counter-terrorism police to audit the site, and communicated every measure clearly to parents. Transparency built confidence, as families needed to know their children were safe.

Remembering Alice and Bebe

As the term went on, we considered how best to honour the memories of Alice and Bebe. Their legacy needed to reflect their positivity, not the tragedy.

Together with their families and the wider community, the idea of a memorial playground was born.

Fundraising began with headteacher Jinnie and Alice’s dad running the London Marathon, joined by Gareth, too. What started as a modest goal quickly grew: supported by the trust, the community and people nationwide, more than £400,000 was raised, funding both the playground and a new library opening on to it, with surplus funds donated to charities supporting Southport’s recovery.

This September the playground was officially opened by the Prince and Princess of Wales. It has already become a space filled with energy and laughter and is a daily reminder of hope, resilience and community strength. It stands as a symbol of celebration, remembering Alice and Bebe for who they were and what they brought to others, not what happened to them.

What we learned

Reflecting on this past year, there are clear lessons for all trusts and schools:

• Clear communication channels are vital. Those early hours highlighted the importance of timely, structured information-sharing with both families and agencies to support a calm, coordinated response.
• Belonging must sit at the heart of any response. Reconnecting people and keeping the school open helped the community to heal together.
• Communication builds trust. Even when there is little new to say, being visible and honest is essential.
• Support must be long-term. Trauma affects everyone differently and over time. Ongoing counselling, supervision and wellbeing support are key.
• Memorials should bring hope. Honouring those lost through projects that celebrate life helps communities to rebuild with purpose.

We will never forget Alice and Bebe, nor the strength shown by our pupils, staff and families. This experience has taught us that even in the darkest moments, belonging, compassion and connection can light the way forward.

Heather Fowler is head of safeguarding and Gareth Caunce is director of primary education at Endeavour Learning Trust

You can watch Heather and Gareth talk through the contents of this article more broadly in a filmed session from a recent Tes event, here.