On World Suicide Prevention Day, NI’s Mental Health Champion, Professor Siobhan O’Neill highlights the importance of the school curriculum in promoting wellbeing and suicide prevention, along with the full delivery of the Regional Mental Health Crisis Service for people in distress.
In a new statement Professor Siobhan O’Neill said:
Suicide prevention cannot be about responding only when someone reaches crisis. We need to invest in prevention from an early age, while also ensuring that people experiencing acute distress can access the right support when they need it. Changing the narrative means moving beyond silence, stigma and crisis-led responses towards a culture of openness, understanding and hope.
For me, this means ensuring that all our young people receive a strong education that supports suicide prevention and equips them with self-awareness, coping skills and mental health literacy. Suicide prevention starts with promoting general mental health and wellbeing across the school. This means providing safe, trauma-informed schools where young people feel that they belong and are valued.
Schools are a key setting in which students can learn how to talk openly about difficult emotions. There needs to be a strong wellbeing subject that includes clear messages about alternative ways of coping and the importance of asking for help. Lessons would teach young people how to recognise warning signs, how to respond if a friend is struggling, and where to find trusted support. It is important that suicidal behaviours are not glamourised or normalised.
Suicide prevention education has recently been incorporated into updated statutory guidance for secondary schools in England as part of Relationships, Sex and Health Education. The change follows a powerful campaign by 3 Dads Walking, whose founders lost their daughters to suicide. Research also supports the potential for suicide prevention programmes in schools to improve knowledge, attitudes and help-seeking.
Professor O’Neill emphasised the importance of this work in schools:
It is vital that suicide prevention education is part of a discrete subject which should also include coping strategies, identity development, healthy relationships, consent and inclusion. This subject needs to be taught sensitively and in an age-appropriate way, with appropriate support available for pupils who may find these topics difficult. This means creating a safe, supportive and non-judgemental environment where young people are encouraged to understand and respond to themselves and others with kindness, empathy and acceptance. The proposed subject area outlined in the current consultation is somewhat ambiguous in this regard, and it is important that people, particularly young people, respond and have their views heard.
With recent data showing that almost four in ten 16-year-olds rate their mental health as fair or poor, Northern Ireland has a responsibility to support the wellbeing and safety of its young people. Making wellbeing and suicide prevention part of the curriculum would give young people practical skills to recognise distress, seek help and support others, while creating a school environment where mental health can be discussed more openly and compassionately.
We also need the urgent delivery of the Regional Mental Health Crisis Service, particularly funding for Community and Voluntary sector services. In Scotland, community and voluntary sector services provide immediate support for people in distress for up to 14 days following a crisis presentation. Our analyses show that, if introduced in Northern Ireland, this model could deliver approximately £9 million in annual savings while providing compassionate and effective support for people experiencing suicidal thoughts or acute distress.
Northern Ireland's history of violent conflict, trauma and childhood adversity provides important context for the mental health challenges facing our population. On World Suicide Prevention Day, I am calling on our leaders to ensure that everyone experiencing a mental health crisis can access the help they need, while giving young people the education and skills they need to navigate challenges and thrive.