Suicide Safer Schools Programme by Every Life Matters

The David Riddell Memorial CIO is delighted to be funding the Suicide Safer Schools Programme, developed and delivered by Cumbria-based suicide prevention charity Every Life Matters.

This programme takes a whole-school approach to suicide prevention, with a focus on early intervention, education, and community support.

About Every Life Matters

Every Life Matters is a Cumbrian charity dedicated to reducing suicide and improving mental health across the region. Their work includes public awareness campaigns, suicide prevention training, postvention support, and targeted programmes for schools, workplaces, and communities.

About the Suicide Safer Schools Programme

Thanks to the funding provided by the David Riddell Memorial CIO, Every Life Matters has been able to expand delivery of the Suicide Safer Schools Programme, a pioneering project that equips school communities to identify, respond to, and reduce suicide risk among pupils.

The programme is currently being piloted over three years across secondary schools in Cumbria. The project has now concluded for the 2024/25 academic year and is set to recommence in September 2025, continuing its mission to make schools safer, more supportive environments for young people.

Programme Aims

The Suicide Safer Schools Programme recognises that children and young people who experience suicidal thoughts or self-harm are significantly more likely to act on these feelings as adults. By addressing these issues early, schools can help build a future generation that is more resilient and less at risk of suicide.

The programme aims to:

  • Promote help-seeking behaviour and peer support

  • Build staff confidence and capacity to respond to suicide risk

  • Engage parents and carers in suicide prevention conversations

  • Provide guidance on postvention – how to respond when a suicide impacts the school community

The programme includes

  • Pupil Education: A two-hour, evidence-based session delivered to Year 10 and 12 pupils, covering mental health, self-harm, peer support, and suicide awareness.

  • Staff Training: Whole-school suicide prevention training and policy reviews to strengthen internal processes and safeguarding.

  • Parent/Carer Engagement: Information and sessions to help families understand the signs of distress and how to support their children.

  • Resources & Toolkits: Materials to help embed suicide prevention messaging into school life.

  • Postvention Planning: Support for schools in the aftermath of a suicide affecting pupils, staff, or the wider school community.

Impact So Far

The programme has already made a measurable difference:

  • 15 secondary schools have participated to date

  • 1,750 school staff have received suicide prevention training

  • 4,650 pupils have taken part in the Pupil Education Programme

This collaborative approach not only aims to help changing school culture providing greater support around mental health and suicide prevention — it also equips young people with the skills and confidence to support themselves and their peers.

Feedback on the Suicide Safer Schools Programme

  • ‘Being one of the first Secondary schools to participate in the Every Life Matters sessions has been an invaluable opportunity both for students and staff to understand the signs of poor mental health and the triggers that can lead to suicide. As a body of students and staff, we now feel that we can have open and genuine conversations with each other about mental health and suicide and know that the systems are in place to support each other.’ Headteacher Cumbria

  • ‘The staff training has given a new level of confidence to those who took part, and many of our students have commented on how great it is to know that there are staff in school to whom they can turn for help at such a dark moment.’ Head teacher Cumbria

  • ‘I think people find the word suicide hard to say, so they find it really hard to bring it into a normal conversation. But the way the sessions were delivered, and the way the guys delivering the training handled the terminology, it just makes it easier for people to start a conversation, and to give a mate an opportunity to really open up about their own experiences.’ Year 12 Pupil, Cumbria

  • ‘I have two older sons now and I wanted to make sure I had the knowledge to have open conversations, even though it might be difficult, with them both. I felt the training was brilliant at doing this to be honest. I learnt a lot. and I’m still using it to this day, with different people and different situations.’ Parent, Cumbria.

For more information about the Suicide Safer Schools Programme, visit the Every Life Matters website.