Briefing
Pupil mental health: suicidal ideation
Mental health
Use these training materials to help your staff understand why a child might be thinking about suicide, how to spot potential signs, and how to talk to a pupil without worrying about saying the wrong thing.
Last reviewed on 14 November 2025
Download your ready-made resources
Suicidal ideation – staff briefing
Presentation: suicidal ideation
pptx
Facilitator notes: suicidal ideation
docx
Staff factsheet: suicidal ideation
docx
Audio transcript: suicidal ideation
docx
This session is part of a set of training sessions on pupil mental health. We recommend you start with our session on Understanding pupil mental health and wellbeing.
Learning objectives
In this session, staff will learn:
- Why a child might be thinking about suicide
- What potential signs to look out for that suggest a child might be thinking about suicide
- What to do if they have a concern
- How to talk confidently to a child about suicide, and know how to support them
What's in this training session?
This training session includes:
- A ready-to-deliver PowerPoint presentation you can adapt to suit your school
- Step-by-step facilitator notes
- Activities to help staff put what they're learning into practice and encourage group discussion
- Staff factsheet with key points on each issue for staff to refer back to
- Answers to common questions, to help you prepare for questions your staff may have
