IMPORTANT SAFEGUARDING NOTE
Education, awareness, early recognition and safe referral.
The programme is intended for education, awareness, early recognition and safe referral. It is not a substitute for counselling, psychotherapy, medical care or crisis intervention.
01 · GENERAL SAFEGUARDING PRINCIPLES
Create a Safe Learning Environment.
Create a respectful, supportive and non-judgmental learning environment.
Explain at the beginning that participants do not have to share personal experiences.
Avoid forcing learners to disclose private or traumatic experiences.
Respect appropriate confidentiality while making clear that information about serious risk or abuse cannot always be kept confidential.
Use age-appropriate language and activities.
Monitor learners for signs of distress during activities.
Provide an appropriate opportunity for a participant to step out of an activity if they become uncomfortable.
Know the school's or organisation's safeguarding and referral procedures before the session begins.
Ensure that participants know who they can approach for help.
02 · MODULE 4
Mental Health Resilience.
When discussing stress, emotional well-being or difficult experiences, facilitators should focus on healthy coping, resilience and appropriate help-seeking without asking learners to disclose personal trauma.
- Normalise help-seeking.
- Focus on healthy coping and resilience.
- Encourage supportive relationships.
- Allow learners to participate without revealing personal experiences.
- Refer persistent or serious concerns to an appropriate adult or qualified professional.
- Asking learners to publicly describe traumatic experiences.
- Diagnosing learners.
- Labelling someone based on their behaviour.
- Treating normal emotional experiences as mental illness.
- Suggesting that positive thinking alone can solve serious mental-health problems.
- Remain calm.
- Move the conversation to an appropriate private setting where possible.
- Listen without judgement.
- Avoid making promises of secrecy.
- Follow the school's safeguarding/referral procedure.
- Involve the appropriate trusted adult or qualified professional.
03 · MODULE 5
Suicide Prevention Requires Extra Safeguarding.
This module requires the highest level of safeguarding preparation. The focus should remain on recognising concerns, responding safely, encouraging help-seeking and connecting people to appropriate support.
A responsible safeguarding focal person is available.
Appropriate referral pathways are known.
Relevant health or mental-health services have been identified.
Emergency procedures are understood.
The facilitator knows what to do if a learner discloses suicidal thoughts, abuse or another serious safety concern.
Use calm, factual and age-appropriate language.
Emphasise hope, support and help-seeking.
Focus on recognising concerns and connecting people to help.
Avoid graphic descriptions, methods or unnecessary details.
Avoid sensationalising suicide.
Avoid presenting suicide as inevitable or as a solution to problems.
Do not ask learners to disclose whether they personally have suicidal thoughts in front of the group.
Do not conduct group counselling.
You are not responsible for saving a friend by yourself. If you are worried about someone's safety, tell a trusted adult or qualified professional.
04 · RESPONDING TO A DISCLOSURE
Listen. Take It Seriously. Connect.
LISTEN
Remain calm and allow the learner to speak.
TAKE IT SERIOUSLY
Do not dismiss, shame, challenge or minimise what they have said.
DO NOT PROMISE SECRECY
Explain gently that you need to involve someone who can help keep them safe.
CONNECT
Follow the established safeguarding and referral pathway and involve an appropriate trusted adult or qualified professional.
RESPOND TO IMMEDIATE DANGER
Follow the organisation's emergency procedure and obtain urgent professional assistance. The learner should not be left to manage an immediate crisis alone.
05 · SAFEGUARDING DURING ROLE-PLAY
Practise Safe Responses.
For Module 5, role-plays should focus on recognising concerning behaviour, starting a supportive conversation, listening without judgement and connecting someone to a trusted adult.
- Recognising concerning behaviour.
- Starting a supportive conversation.
- Listening without judgement.
- Connecting someone to a trusted adult.
- A suicide attempt.
- A suicide method.
- A traumatic experience.
- A graphic crisis scenario.
Participants should be allowed to opt out of a sensitive role-play without penalty.
06 · POST-SESSION SUPPORT
Support Does Not End at the Session.
Remind learners where they can obtain help.
Make trusted adults or designated support personnel available.
Check privately with any learner who appeared significantly distressed, using appropriate safeguarding procedures.
Record and refer safeguarding concerns according to institutional policy.
Avoid discussing a learner's disclosure publicly.
SAFEGUARDING PRINCIPLE
Young people should be empowered to support one another, but they should never be expected to manage serious mental-health, suicide or safeguarding concerns on their own.