We are running three surveys about suicide and self-harm support with organisations and individuals who work with young people in the UK:
- A survey of schools and colleges about the policies and provisions they have to support young people with self-harm and suicide. This survey concluded in 2023.
- A survey of youth organisation governing bodies (YOGBs) about the policies and provisions they have to support young people with self-harm and suicide. This survey concluded in 2024.
- A survey of secondary school staff about their experiences of supporting students who self harm. This survey is currently recruiting participants.
Why are we doing this research?
We want to better understand what processes currently take place in educational settings and YOGBs to prevent self-harm and suicide, and to support young people and staff when self-harm or a suicide has occurred.
Who developed the surveys
The teams at Exeter and Bristol Universities along with Sally O’Keeffe (Newcastle University) developed the surveys. They developed questions using information from survey content used in other self-harm and suicide research.
How did you know the survey questions could be answered?
The surveys were given to some willing school based staff in a variety of geographical locations who were asked to answer the questions and provide feedback on anything they found difficult or did not know the answer to. This is sometimes referred to as ‘piloting the survey’. We then made amendments to the survey questions and structure as required.
Participant Information Sheet (PIS)
The PIS provides participants with information on why we are doing the survey, and what can be expected for example the type of questions and topics they may be asked about in the survey. To access a copy of the PIS for the school staff survey, please visit the survey link or email Yasmin Safiani: ys569@exeter.ac.uk
Any questions?
For questions about any of the surveys, please contact Dr Abby Russell: A.E.Russell@exeter.ac.uk
For questions about the school staff survey, you can also contact Yasmin Safiani: ys569@exeter.ac.uk
Photo 1 by Pavel Danilyuk; Photo 2 by Tima Miroshnichenko; Photo 3 by Max Fischer