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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
Ref: 2085

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Suicidal ideation – staff briefing
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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 

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A teacher and two students in a classroom.