- New guidance aims to improve how
universities respond to and learn from student suicides.
Published today by Universities UK in partnership with PAPYRUS
Prevention of Young Suicide and Samaritans, funded by the Office
for Students, the guidance “Responding to a suicide:
advice for universities” is written by the sector for the
sector with advice from practitioners, experts and bereaved
families.
It provides practical advice for student support teams, including
a checklist to guide staff after a student death.
Recommendations to universities include:
- Establishing a dedicated ‘postvention’ team to deal with any
student death
- Developing a death response plan for student services and
other first responders.
- Ensuring all staff receive training in what to do if they
learn of a student death
- Providing kind and timely support to family and friends and
handling matters such as belongings, accommodation and student
finance.
- Recording and carrying out critical incident reviews of all
student deaths. This should be led by a senior member of staff
and should identify specific actions to prevent future suicides
The guidance is the first of its kind to set out the challenges
that need careful and compassionate management following any
student death but especially a suspected death by suicide.
The guidance emphasises the impact on families, friends and wider
communities of staff and students and the importance of providing
practical and emotional support, including psychological support.
Professor Steve West CBE, President of Universities UK
and Vice-Chancellor of UWE
Bristol,said:
“What higher education institutions do in the immediate aftermath
of a death by suicide matters. We must respond with
compassion and respect and be sensitive to – and guided by – the
wishes of the family of the person who has died.
“It is also critical that we learn from each and every case so
that we can limit the risks of future tragedies. This guidance
will help us respond with kindness, to learn from each death and
to do everything we can to save lives.”
Ged Flynn, chief executive of the national charity
PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide, said:
“PAPYRUS is delighted to see the HE sector owning the agenda of
suicide postvention in the launch of this important guidance.
Working together with those with lived experience and
organisations like PAPYRUS, Samaritans, and Universities UK,
universities can be confident that this guidance will ensure best
practice and, indeed, future suicide safety in the aftermath of a
student death.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- The guidance was developed ‘by the sector, for the sector’
with input from those working on the frontline of student support
and leading researchers and with key contributions from students,
families and organisations with a focus on suicide and
bereavement
- Authors: David Malpas, Director of Student Affairs, Middlesex
University. Ged Flynn, chief executive of PAPYRUS Prevention of
Young Suicide. John de Pury, Assistant Director of Policy at
Universities UK. Dr Simon Merrywest, Director for the Student
Experience, University of Manchester and Professor Jo Smith,
professor of Early Intervention and Psychosis, University of
Worcester.
