Find out how we can help you support young people.
Samaritans has been carrying out suicide prevention work with young people in schools and colleges for nearly 60 years.
Our work promotes positive emotional health, building resilience and seeking help when it is needed.
We have a number of resources to support the work of education professionals.
Free online teaching resources
DEAL (Developing Emotional Awareness and Listening) is a set of free online teaching resources, including lesson plans, handouts, digital resources and teacher training activities. It is aimed at education professionals who work with young people aged around 14 and over. The resources have been quality assured by the PSHE association and included in their Character Education toolkit.
Find out more about DEAL and how to use the resources.
Talks and workshops
Many Samaritans branches across the UK and Ireland have specially trained teams of volunteers who visit schools and youth groups to deliver talks and workshops to young people. These talks are about emotional health, developing listening skills and raising awareness of what we do.
Services vary from branch to branch. Find out more about the talks for schools we offer or request a talk.
Step by Step: supporting the community after a suspected suicide
Nobody likes to think about a death in school. Yet suicide is a leading cause of death for young people in the UK and Ireland. Sadly, it is always a possibility that a student, parent or member of staff might take their own life.
Samaritans Step by Step service is here to support organisations working with young people so that they can respond effectively following the suspected or attempted suicide of someone from within their community; taking practical steps to reduce the risk of further deaths in the area.
Samaritans Step by Step can offer the following:
- Response within 24 hours to a request for support
- Information and free resources
- Information for students on where to access emotional support
- Emotional support to staff and parents
- Support to senior managers for as long as there is a need
- Postvention work with the school in the longer term providing inputs for staff on supporting the emotional health of young people
Contact us
Contact the Step by Step team for more information