New self-harm guidance for school staff welcomed by Cumbrian suicide prevention charity

This idea is to include staff from schools as well as prisons in guidance on how to identify people who have self-harmed.

Every Life Matters already works with schools on the matter of self-harm and suicide prevention and were happy to see this consultation period on the new guidelines brought in by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

Juliet Gray, training manager at Every Life Matters, said: "We welcome the advice and guidance to schools and prisons.

"We are aware through conversations with schools, parents and young people that it is currently of increasing concern, and we know that it is important to be willing to have conversations.

"We would encourage a ‘whole school’ and indeed a ‘whole community’ approach to mental health, self-harm and suicide; we need to destigmatise the issues and make people aware that we can all have a role to play in being willing to have conversations and that there is support out there.

"I think for parents, although it can feel alarming to hear that someone you love and care for is self-harming it is important not to over – react and have compassionate conversations with them.

"We know for many people self-harm is used as a way of coping with life and we can look to work with them as individuals to find alternative coping strategies that work for them, it can also be a way of communicating distress.

"We also need to recognise that although most people who self-harm do it as a way of coping, there is a strong complex link between self-harm and suicide – so we would urge people to be mindful of this and be willing to ask about suicide."

Every Life Matters have developed Self Harm Safe Kits and over the last 18 months have given over 2300 of these out via schools and other organisations.

They also deliver free online half day Self Harm Alertness training across Cumbria and also a short one-hour session on Supporting Young People’s Mental Health.