Lets Talk about 

Self-harm  

Practical guidance and training for professionals supporting children and young people under 18.

The Let’s Talk about Self-harm Management Toolkit is a comprehensive, evidence-informed resource designed for professionals working with school-age children and young people in educational and youth settings. The training promotes trauma-informed, non-judgemental and developmentally appropriate responses to self-harm.

It supports staff to feel confident, competent and compassionate when responding to self-harm, helping them recognise early warning signs, respond appropriately, and provide consistent, supportive care to young people who may be struggling.

The training also explores the impact of online environments, including social media algorithms, exposure to self-harm content, online communities, and current safeguarding responsibilities under the UK Online Safety Act.

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What the Toolkit helps professionals to do

 

The Toolkit provides clear, practical guidance to support professionals at every stage of support, including:

  • Recognising the signs of self-harm and understanding common presentations
  • Identifying who may be self-harming or at risk, including contributing factors
  • Responding to incidents or concerns about self-harm in a calm, supportive and proportionate way
  • Following a clear pathway of recommended actions, aligned with best practice
  • Assessing risk and understanding when and how to escalate concerns
  • Navigating confidentiality and information sharing appropriately
  • Talking to children and young people about self-harm, with conversation prompts, do’s and don’ts
  • Sharing coping and distraction strategies for young people, including mindfulness and safe ways to release anger or distress
  • Knowing where to get help, with clear signposting to local and national services, apps and online resources
  • Looking after staff wellbeing, recognising the emotional impact of supporting young people who self-harm and offering self-care resources

 

 

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Our impact

 

Commissioned by the Integrated Care Board (ICB) for Southend, Essex and Thurrock, Mid and North East Essex Mind (MNEE Mind) has been delivering free training and guidance to professionals supporting young people affected by self-harm across Essex since Autumn 2023.

  • Delivered 28 sessions, reaching 569 professionals from a wide range of settings have attended workshops since their advent.
  • 95% of participants agree or strongly agree that, “My knowledge of Self Harm has improved because of this training.”
  • 95% say they are likely or very likely to recommend the course.

The Toolkit is regularly updated to reflect current research, best practice and local support pathways. The latest version of the “Let’s Talk about Self-harm” Management Toolkit is now available, ensuring professionals across Southend, Essex and Thurrock continue to have access to up-to-date, practical and trusted guidance.

 

 

What people are saying about the toolkit:

Toolkit Overview: 15-Minute Video & Free Workshops

We have a fifteen-minute animated video that can be viewed in conjunction with the Toolkit.  This will provide you with a brief overview of the key elements of the Toolkit.  For more in-depth details on the Toolkit, we also provide free training workshops on the Toolkit.

Watch the video

Workshops

We deliver free half-day workshops across Essex to professionals supporting the use of “Let’s Talk about Self-harm” Management Toolkit.

The workshops enables a safe environment with other professionals to explore identifying self-harming behaviour and how to respond to and support children and young people who self-harm.  It also provides helpful resources and signposting to take away.

 

Book a free training workshop
Lets Talk about Self Harm - MIND

Feedback from previous attendees

Helpful resources

The Toolkit also provides accompanying resources to support you and your organisation. 

Including leaflets to give to parents and young people, template letter that can be used to send to parents, incident recording form and Risk Management Plan for moving forward.  A Helpful Resources sheet with useful links and workbooks can also be accessed here.

Leaflet for parents

.PDF (307KB)

Leaflet for young people

.PDF (309KB)

Template School Letter

.PDF (153KB)

Risk Form for Schools

.PDF (227KB)

Incident Recording Form for Schools

.PDF (171KB)

Helpful Resources

.PDF (171KB)

According to NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) ‘Prevalence statistics are unreliable because it is sometime hidden, a recent national study reported that 7.3% of girls and 3.6% of boys aged 11-16yrs had self-harmed or attempted suicide, this rises for 17-19yrs olds to 21.5% for girls and 9.7% for boys.

The rates of probable mental health disorders amongst children have been increasing in the UK over the last decade and although self-harm is not a mental health disorder it can often be the symptom of one.

Dr Paul Chrisp, Director of the Centre for Guidelines at NICE said ‘Self-harm is a growing problem and should be everyone’s business to tackle- not just those working in the mental health services’.

It is recognised that children and young people spend a high proportion of their time in schools and colleges and therefore the staff there may often be the first adult who becomes aware of a child or young person’s self-harming, whether that is directly from the child or young person, or a friend asking for help on their behalf.

Parents will also often seek support and advice for their children and young people who are self-harming by going to schools in the first instance, desperate for help and reassurance. 

Being able to support appropriately and confidently and help both the child or young person and the system around them, is key to reaching a positive outcome.

NICE has drafted a comprehensive document for school staff. It recommends working collaboratively with children or young people to provide support.

Immediate physical health needs should be addressed, involving medical services if needed. Staff should also know how to access and direct others to additional support.

NICE also recommended schools should ensure there are policies and procedures in place so that staff are able to:

• Identify self-harm behaviours
• Assess the needs of a student
• Know what to do if a student is self-harming
• How to support a student’s close friends and peer group