Suicide Response (Postvention)

Resources

Responding to the suicide of a student: a guide to assist secondary schools (PDF).

Immediate response

• Appendix 1 – Immediate response checklist (PDF)
• Appendix 2 – Script to inform staff (PDF)
• Appendix 3 – Script to inform students (PDF)
• Appendix 4 – Supporting resource for front office staff (PDF)
• Appendix 5 – Self-care for staff following exposure to a suicide (PDF)
• Appendix 6 – Email/letter template to families (PDF)
• Appendix 6 – Email/letter template to families (DOCX)
• Appendix 7 – Identifying young people at risk (PDF)
• Overview: key actions and stages following the suicide of a secondary student (PDF)
• Overview: informing and supporting your school community following the suicide of a secondary student (PDF).

Short-term

• Appendix 8 – Short-term response checklist (PDF)
• Appendix 10 – Operational debrief reflection guide (PDF).

Long-term

Appendix 9 – Longer term response checklist (PDF).

The Mental Health Toolkit

The Mental Health Toolkit provides guidance to schools on:

• promoting mental health and wellbeing in your school
• mental health training and support
• mental health practitioners in secondary schools
• headspace counselling for secondary students
• mental health supports in primary schools
• mental health support after an emergency or natural disaster.

Additional supporting resources

The Department of Education and Training Victoria: policies and resources:

• Reporting and Managing School Incidents (including emergencies)
• Emergency Management Plan
• Student Support Services
• Duty of Care
• Emergency and Critical Incident Management Planning
• International Student Program
• Managing Trauma: A guide to responding to a critical incident (PDF) (staff login required)
• Principal Health and Wellbeing
• Respectful Relationships
• Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships
• SAFEMinds – safety map
• Suicide Risk Continuum Training
• External health and wellbeing tips and resources (staff login required)
• Safe Schools.

Resources for students and parents/carers

Resources for students

• Dealing With Grief And Loss and The Effects on Mental Health – headspace
• Tips To Keep Good Mental Health – for Young People – headspace
• How To Help A Friend With Their Mental Health – headspace
• Are you okay? Young people and mental health – Centre for Multicultural Youth.

Resources for parents/carers

• Be You: Suicide in Schools – information for families
• headspace (Grief, Supporting Young People)
• Conversations Matter (Telling a child about suicide).

Supporting CALD students and communities

• Conversations Matter:
  • Supporting CALD communities to talk about suicide – a guide for professionals
  • When communities are affected by suicide
• Embrace multicultural mental health; Embrace Multicultural Mental Health (the Embrace Project) is run by Mental Health Australia and provides a national focus on mental health and suicide prevention for people from CALD backgrounds.

Supporting students and communities with a refugee background

• School’s In for Refugees
• Foundation House Trauma Recovery Framework

Community mental health and wellbeing resources

• headspace
• Beyond Blue:
  • Mental health conditions in young people – suicide
  • Suicide Prevention – After a suicide loss
• Kids Helpline
• Lifeline
• National Communications Charter
• Be You:
  • Wellbeing tools for you
  • Mental health continuum
  • Be You – responding to a death that can’t be referred to as a suicide
  • Be You Organising Speakers Guide
• Conversations Matter:
  • Those bereaved by suicide
  • When communities are impacted by suicide
  • Telling a child about suicide
  • Supporting CALD communities to talk about suicide – a guide for professionals
• Orygen Specialist Program:
  • #ChatSafe
• 5 Ways to wellbeing
• The Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement:
  • Children and grief
  • Grief information factsheets
• Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Inc.
• Victorian Aboriginal Health Service
• Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation
• Suicide in Schools: Information for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families (PDF)
• Grief: how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people might respond to suicide (PDF)
• Rainbow Network