Be You Suicide prevention, response and self-harm resources provide clear, practical and reliable guidance and support for schools. The resources provide strategies for supporting students, staff, families and the broader community.
Specifically, you can use this information to:
- prepare your school community should a death by suicide occur
- guide your school on how to support a young person at risk of suicide
- guide your school's response to a death by suicide and the subsequent recovery for the community
- recognise warning signs and behaviour that could indicate distress, including self-harm
- know how to respond if you are concerned about a student who is self-harming
- better understand distress and self-harm in the context of primary-aged children.
Support is available
Suicide and self-harm can be confronting, and it can be difficult for schools to know how to respond. A Be You Consultant can help you work through the required actions to prepare for, respond to or recover from issues related to suicide or self-harm.
If you are personally impacted by a suicide or suicide attempt at your school, or if you are concerned about a child or young person who may be harming themselves, it's important to seek help. Be You has a list of mental health support services and helplines.
Suicide prevention resources will help you consider what to do if you're worried about someone at risk of suicide.
The Suicide response page has resources and Fact Sheets to support your school if a suicide occurs.
The Be You Suicide Postvention: Complete Toolkit helps schools respond to suicide (this response is known as ‘suicide postvention’). You can also contact the Be You team directly to access support.
Suicide Postvention Complete Toolkit (15.8 MB, PDF)
The Self-harm page has more information about what self-harm is, risk factors and support you and your school can provide to a child or young person who is self-harming.
The Distress and self-harm in primary schools page provides further information and resources for Primary School educators.