Guidance for schools: Getting risk support

Please also see guidance materials under Thriving, Getting Advice and signposting, Getting more help and Risk Support.

Suicide and self-harm prevention skills for schools. Mind Ed. https://www.minded.org.uk/

MindEd is part of the National Suicide and Self-Harm Prevention programme (SSHP)

(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/suicide-prevention-cross-government-plan) and aims to help teachers, social workers, volunteers and parents understand better how to approach children and young people in such situations. What the MindEd SSHP offers are skills building scenarios and supporting knowledge sessions to help you know the do’s and don’ts in these difficult situations:

• How do you talk to a young person whom you suspect of harming themselves?
• What can you say that will be helpful and how can you manage yourself when you may be feeling shocked about the situation?
• How can you improve understanding?
• How can you assess their safety and co-create safety plans?
• Learn more about what helps and what can make things worse.What do you do if a young person you support has experiences a death by suicide?
• What are the overlap and the differences between suicidal thinking and self-harm?

The skills case study based sessions are designed for you to use individually, or, even better, to use in small-group teaching and learn from each other in discussion and observation of each other rehearsing this type of conversation. https://www.minded.org.uk/Component/Details/586395

Responding to Critical and Major Incidents. Guidance for schools.  Revised June 2019.Cambridgeshire County Council https://cdn.websiteeditor.net/a5f5b68ac681461c8806390d1fa67a8d/files/uploaded/SCH_014%2520Critical%2520Incident%2520Policy%2520CCC%2520June%25202019.pdf

Self- harm and suicidal behaviour

Cambridge and Peterborough Safeguarding partnership board https://www.safeguardingcambspeterborough.org.uk/

This guidance is intended to support practitioners to identify and support children and young people who are harming themselves or displaying suicidal behaviour. Any agency/practitioner who is made aware of a child or young person self-harming or contemplating suicide must take this seriously and offer appropriate help and intervention as the earliest possible opportunity

Informative and practical content with links to websites.

https://www.safeguardingcambspeterborough.org.uk/children-board/professionals/procedures/self-harm-2/

Supporting schools in responding to suicides in teenagers; a multi - agency guide for practitioners

Cambridge and Peterborough Safeguarding Board https://www.safeguardingcambspeterborough.org.uk/

The purpose of this guide is to support multi-agency partners to know what response processes are enacted upon the death of a young person from suicide. This is to ensure that schools are supported in a co-ordinated approach.

 https://www.safeguardingcambspeterborough.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Supporting-Schools-in-responding-to-Suicides-in-Teenagers.pdf

Papyrus  https://www.papyrus-uk.org/

(Charity for the prevention of suicide – under 35 – in the UK )

Building suicide- safer schools and colleges. A guide for teachers and staff. https://papyrus-uk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/toolkitfinal.pdf

Child bereavement UK https://www.childbereavementuk.org/

Managing bereavement. A guide for schools.  https://www.childbereavementuk.org/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=4b13d694-2038-4918-90b3-13c06100aafb

Royal College of Psychiatrists https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk

Young people who self harm; a guide for school staff Extremely helpful guidance which includes a template for a flow chart to be used in conjunction with the school’s safeguarding policy.

https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/docs/default-source/improving-care/nccmh/suicide-prevention/wave-1-resources/young-people-who-self-harm-a-guide-for-school-staff.pdf?sfvrsn=e6ebf7ca_2

Public Health England https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/public-health-england

Support after a suicide: A guide to providing local services

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/590838/support_after_a_suicide.pdf

Young minds https://www.youngminds.org.uk/

No harm done Guidance for professionals in recognising and responding to self – harm

https://www.youngminds.org.uk/media/wr5fwijg/no-harm-done-professionals-pack.pdf

Mind Ed for families. https://mindedforfamilies.org.uk/

Traffic light system for steps to follow in a crisis, dealing with topics such as strangling, purging and overdose. https://mindedforfamilies.org.uk/young-people/i-am-urgently-concerned/

Stop suicide https://stopsuicidepledge.org/ The message of the campaign is that “suicide is everybody’s business”. It seeks to alert communities across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough to the warning signs of suicidal behaviour and reassure them that an open and honest approach to suicide is the best way to prevent it. It aims to challenge the stigma and myths around suicide and hope to achieve a suicide-safer community

https://stopsuicidepledge.org/resources-and-information/

Anna Freud National Centre for children and families https://www.annafreud.org/

Download a poster for your school or college.  (see SHOUT in services)

AFC-Shout-poster (annafreud.org)

Samaritans https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/schools/step-step/

The Step by Step service aims to support organisations working with young people so that they can respond effectively following the suspected or attempted suicide of someone from within their community; taking practical steps to reduce the risk of further deaths in the area

https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/schools/step-step/step-step-resources/

Of interest:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/772184/national-suicide-prevention-strategy-4th-progress-report.pdf

Policy Development Schools will have different structures in place to address concerns among pupils. These will include safe guarding concerns, friendship worries and problems, family issues, sexual health concerns, learning support and wide – ranging emotional needs.

Assessment and intervention pathways need to be clear, possibly by using a flow chart as part of a policy document which identifies key members of staff and their responsibilities.

The Charlie Waller Trust https://charliewaller.org/   provides a template that schools can use:

https://www.egfl.org.uk/sites/default/files/School_effectiveness/Health-improvement/training-resources/How%20to%20write%20a%20mental%20health%20policy.pdf

see also guidance about policies and procedures in relation to a death in school.

https://childhoodbereavementnetwork.org.uk/if-you-need-help-around-death/schools/developing-policy-and-procedures