17/08/2026
Supporting our local community following the Stourbridge fires
The devastating fires that affected our local community on Thursday have left many families facing an unimaginable situation, with homes destroyed and many more damaged. Our thoughts remain very much with everyone affected.
In the immediate aftermath, our community came together with an extraordinary level of practical support, generosity and care. Donations have been coordinated, essential items have been provided and people have rallied around those who have lost so much.
Our initial response was to share advice and guidance through our social media channels about supporting children following a frightening or distressing event. We felt it was important to provide parents, carers and professionals with some immediate, practical guidance about how children might respond and how the adults around them could help. This guidance can still be found in our previous posts and we would encourage families and schools to revisit them if helpful.
As the days have passed, and as the scale and impact of what has happened has become clearer, we have been considering how we can offer further support to our local community. We recognise that, alongside the immediate practical needs, there may be emotional and psychological consequences for children, young people and adults. Some people may experience shock, fear, distress, disrupted sleep, heightened anxiety or a strong need to talk about what has happened. Others may appear relatively unaffected initially and experience difficulties later. There is no single 'right' response to an event such as this.
As an Educational Psychology and Counselling Service, we would like to offer our support to our local community during this difficult time. We are able to offer an initial, one-off critical-incident consultation, informed by Psychological First Aid principles, for children, young people, families, parents, carers and professionals affected by the fires. This may include:
• understanding and responding to children's emotional reactions following a frightening event;
• talking to children about what has happened in an age-appropriate way;
• helping families and professionals to respond sensitively to children who have been affected;
• identifying when a child's response may indicate that additional or more specialist support is needed; and
• providing an opportunity to talk through concerns, receive psychological advice and guidance, and consider appropriate next steps.
As we are currently in the school holidays, this community offer is limited to the one-off consultation which may be remote. Where more ongoing or specialist support is indicated, we will help to identify and signpost to appropriate services.
Supporting our schools
We are particularly conscious that several of the schools we work with are within, or close to, the areas directly affected by the fires. When schools return at the start of term, we will therefore be proactively offering free critical-incident support and consultation to those school communities who may have been affected.
Critical-incident response is an established part of our provision at EPE. In line with our Critical Incident Policy, we offer this support free of charge to all of the schools we work with whenever a critical incident occurs.
Our critical-incident response incorporates principles of Psychological First Aid, alongside consultation with school leaders and staff, to help schools understand the impact of an incident, identify those who may need additional support, and consider appropriate responses and onward referral where necessary.
When schools return, our support will not necessarily be limited to an initial consultation. Depending on the nature and impact of the incident, we can work alongside school staff over a longer period to help them understand and monitor the impact on their school community, consider how best to support children and young people, identify those who may require additional support, and consider whether further specialist intervention or signposting is needed.
Our approach recognises that children are often best supported by the trusted and familiar adults around them. Our role is therefore to work alongside school staff, providing psychological advice, consultation and specialist support where this is needed.
Additional local support
We are also aware that local organisations are generously offering mental-health support free of charge to people affected by the fires. We would encourage anyone who feels they, their child or their family would benefit from more specialist emotional support to make use of these services.
If you are a parent, carer, young person, school or professional affected by the fires and would like to discuss whether we may be able to help, please don't hesitate to get in touch with us. We can be contacted via email at [email protected] and/or [email protected] – and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
At a time when our community has experienced such devastation, we hope we can play a small part in helping people feel supported, connected and less alone.
