Beyond Fed Up

 

About

The young people of Gloucestershire have told us quite clearly through the Gloucestershire Online Pupil Survey that they are finding it increasingly difficult to keep themselves mentally well. In turn, schools and colleges who are witnessing this decline in emotional health and well-being have asked for advice and support from the Lead Teachers seconded to Gloucestershire Healthy Living and Learning.

The teaching pack ‘Beyond Fed Up’ has been written by teachers for teachers, with the intention of enabling classroom teachers to tackle this sensitive subject. It aims to help young people to understand their own mental health, to build resilience, know ways in which they can support other young people who are having a difficult time and to recognise when they need to seek help. Nothing can be more important for a young person than having these skills and knowledge.

Education and health are synergistic. Students in better health do better academically. Giving time in school to health education and the development of social and emotional skills boosts both attainment and more importantly, helps keep our young people safe.

Training is also offered in the delivery of ‘Beyond Fed Up’. If you need additional advice or help please contact us on 01452 427208 or at ghll@gloucestershire.gov.uk

This resource is aimed at Key Stages 3 and 4. There are three sessions to this resource but you may feel that slower coverage is better for your students. The focus of the resource is to encourage young people to develop greater emotional resilience and to be aware of the needs of the young people around them; also they should be empowered to seek help if they are concerned about their own feelings or of the emotional health of their peers.

To access the full resource for Beyond Fed Up, you will need to attend the training to accompany it. Please take a look at our training pages for the next dates. 

Once you have completed the training, you will be able to log in to the GHLL review to access the full resource 

 

Suicide

Research and Report into Suicide in Children and Young People. Suicide in young people is rarely caused by one thing; it usually follows a combination of previous vulnerability culminating with recent events. Click to go to our mental health resources and look under the heading of suicide.

Losing a child to suicide is devastating. Schools can help prevent these tragedies

At least 200 children take their own lives each year in the UK. Teachers are in a unique position to support vulnerable pupils, but more awareness is needed

• Harry Biggs-Davison is a former headteacher and trustee of the charity Papyrus

View the full report from The Guardian here

 

Papyrus

HOPELINEUK advisers want to work with you to understand why thoughts of suicide might be present. They also want to provide you with a safe space to talk through anything happening in your life that could be impacting on your or anyone else’s ability to stay safe. Their services are intended for children and young people under the age of 35 who are experiencing thoughts of suicide, and anyone who is concerned that a young person could be thinking about suicide.

• Call: 0800 068 4141

• Text: 07860039967

• Email: pat@papyrus-uk.org

 

Staying Safe  

The Staying Safe website is a potentially life-saving resource developed by 4 Mental Health, with invaluable with invaluable input from our Expert Reference Group of international academics, people with lived experience (including of surviving a suicide attempt, self-harm, supporting a friend or family member or bereavement by suicide), suicide prevention experts, mental health practitioners, general practitioners, policy makers, public health experts, sector experts, educationalists and concerned citizens.

StayingSafe.net offers compassion, kindness and easy ways to help keep people safer from thoughts of harm and suicide, seek support and discover hope of recovery through powerful videos from people with personal experience.

The website provides vital ‘Safety Plan' guidance tools jointly funded by NHS England, with easy to print / online templates and guidance video tutorials purposefully designed to help people through the process of writing their own Safety Plan to build hope, identify actions and strategies to resist suicidal thoughts and develop positive ways to cope with stress and emotional distress.

Tragically, suicide takes far too many lives, yet suicide is preventable. Anyone struggling to cope or experiencing deep distress may begin to think about harming themselves and consider suicide as a means to escape their emotional pain. It can be incredibly difficult to think clearly during these times. Everyone is encouraged to PREPARE for possible difficult times ahead BEFORE they happen, by completing a Safety Plan.

Staying Safe's safety plan template

Helplines

 

GHLL Accreditation

This resource can help your school work towards the Gloucestershire Healthy Living and Learning Accreditation. It would help you towards the following outcomes:

• Increase in no of C+YP who show an improvement in mental health

• Increase in no of C+YP who report that they feel confident to support their peers

• Increase in no of C+YP who report feeling confident in their abilities to be resilient and make successful relationships

• Decrease in no of C+YP with measured/reported levels of stress/anxiety

• Increase in no of C+YP who demonstrate greater resilience

• Increase in no of C+YP who report using different methods of managing stress and achieving calm

• Increase in no of C+YP who show empathetic ability

 

Note to Facilitators

First do no harm. Due to the sensitive issues being discussed, teenagers may share information during the session which raises safeguarding or disclosure issues. If a disclosure is made you should follow your own Safeguarding Children and Information Sharing policies.

It is also useful to make yourself available after the session to talk to those young people who might not have felt comfortable talking in front of the group and offer specific advice if needed.

Prior to this topic, ensure all relevant staff in your establishment are aware you are covering this topic so that they are prepared for any disclosures.

Make sure all young people know who they can go to for support.

View and download the GHLL Beyond Fed Up resource here

 

The Suicide Prevention Pocket Guidebook

We’re writing to let you know about a new suicide prevention guidebook which has been written by our CEO, Joy Hibbins.  Most booksellers including Waterstones and WH Smith are selling the book: links to buy the book are later in this email.

The Suicide Prevention Pocket Guidebook: How To Support Someone Who Is Having Suicidal Feelings focuses on how to support a friend, family member or colleague who is having suicidal thoughts. The book will also be helpful to professionals who encounter people in crisis in their work.

The book provides advice, skills and strategies to support someone in a suicidal crisis, and help them to survive.

Pre-publication comments include:

“I regularly hear from carers, friends and family that they feel ill-equipped to support their loved ones in their times of need and this book will fill this important gap by offering skills and understanding that can be applied widely.”

Dr Deborah Dover, Deputy Medical Director, Consultant Psychiatrist and Suicide Prevention Lead at Barnet, Enfield and Haringey (London) Mental Health NHS Trust

“The generosity of Joy’s knowledge and wisdom is so apparent and the gentle way in which it is shared ensures that no-one who reads this book will ever need to feel that they don’t know what to do when their loved one or friend is needing support for suicidal thoughts. Joy captures answers to all of the questions most people probably don’t even know they have, and there is an abundance of learning here that is readily and easily usable for both family, friends, colleagues or professionals working with people experiencing distress. Her respect and compassion for people in suicidal crisis is most telling. A fantastic contribution to international suicide prevention resources.”  

Sonja Eriksen, Trauma and Suicide Prevention Specialist, New Zealand

 Joy’s author royalties from sales of the book are being paid directly by the publisher to our charity, so that the charity Suicide Crisis benefits from sales of the book, rather than the author.  

The Suicide Prevention Pocketbook: How to Support Someone Who is Having Suicidal Feelings by Joy Hibbins can also be ordered from Amazon (paperback or Kindle).

Website: www.suicidecrisis.co.uk

Suicide Crisis is a registered charity which runs a Suicide Crisis Centre and a Trauma Centre.

We have been providing services for eight years and have never had a suicide of a client under our care.

Suicide Crisis is a registered charity (charity no. 1170444).  

Registered as a charity in England and Wales.

Suicide Crisis, P.O. Box 1344, Cheltenham. GL50 9FP.

• Facebook

• Twitter: @Suicide Crisis

 

 

Free Webinar: Supporting a young person experiencing thoughts of suicide

The Charlie Waller Trust have produced a free, pre-recorded webinar for professionals which will equip you with the tools and understanding to support a young person who is experiencing thoughts of suicide. It lasts 1 hour and 20 minutes. Click here to watch

 

If a loved one is in crisis with their mental health and needs urgent support, there are organisations which can help, many of which operate 24/7. If it’s an emergency, call 999 and ask for an ambulance, or go to your nearest A&E department.

Helplines and crisis contacts | Charlie Waller Trust