The SPHR 4S study explored how educational and youth organisations can be supported to deliver self-harm and suicide prevention and postvention. The team have produced freely available guidance and a supporting infographic to help schools. The resources were launched at an online event this month.
Self-harm and suicide among young people are major public health concerns. In 2023, 219 young people aged 10–19 years were registered to have died by suicide in England and Wales. It is estimated that 7% of UK children have attempted suicide by age 17 and that the prevalence of ever having self-harmed at 17 is 24%.
Effective self-harm and suicide prevention is not the responsibility of one adult or organisation – it requires trusted relationships, prepared organisations, and coordinated support around young people. Our new and freely available ten co-produced Principles of practice provide a flexible, evidence-informed framework to help schools, colleges, and youth organisations strengthen prevention, intervention, and responses following a death by suicide.
Explore the resources
This work draws together multiple strands of evidence, experience and expertise including:
- A review of existing guidance for schools and youth organisations
- Surveys of current practice
- Research hearing directly from young people and practitioners
- A survey study that gathers consensus on what is most important, involving academics and clinicians, school, college, and youth-setting staff, and self-harm and suicide charity staff.
Developed through co-production and consultation, the Principles of practice provide a new framework that is adaptable to different settings.
These principles fill a gap by bringing together diverse evidence, expertise and perspectives into a flexible framework. They provide a shared foundation that can be applied across schools, colleges and youth organisations, while allowing approaches to be tailored to local contexts, needs and resources.
How schools can use these resources
It is hoped that schools, colleges, and youth organisations use the Principles of Practice to strengthen their policies, staff training, and support pathways across suicide prevention, intervention, and response following a death by suicide. Researchers also want local authorities, health services, and voluntary organisations to use them to clarify responsibilities and improve coordination, ensuring that frontline settings are not left to manage these issues alone.
SPHR researcher on the project Abby Russell, said:
“Suicide and its prevention is a critically important topic for young people, families and the settings that support them. The government has recognised this by ensuring that from the start of the 2026/27 academic year, suicide prevention education is part of schools’ responsibilities to their students. Unfortunately, our work has shown that many schools do not yet have specific policies in place on this topic, and there are a huge range of different resources for them to choose from, each containing different content and suggestions.
Our Principles of practice, developed from a series of research studies, are designed to help guide schools and other youth organisations to make sure they have considered the 10 most important overall topics in their planning, whilst given them the freedom and scope to tailor this to the needs and unique context of their own setting and young people.”
Next steps
The researchers are currently applying for additional funding to develop digital resources that will help organisations put the principles into practice. Working with the UK Trauma Council, schools, youth organisations, specialists, young people and parents, they aim to co-design practical guidance, examples and checklists for each Principle. They also plan to understand more about how to make schools and youth organisations aware of the principles and assess how useful they are to these settings.
Animation is a Nifty Fox production.
“Our work has shown that many schools do not yet have specific policies in place on suicide and self-harm, and there are a huge range of different resources for them to choose from, each containing different content and suggestions. Our Principles of practice, developed from a series of research studies, are designed to help guide schools and other youth organisations”
Abby Russell