Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of including suicide prevention in the statutory guidelines for the RSHE curriculum.

Pupils in schools are taught about mental health as part of the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum, which was made mandatory in 2020 for all pupils.

Schools can teach older pupils about suicide in an age-appropriate and sensitive way. The RSHE statutory guidance advises that schools should approach teaching about self-harm and suicide cautiously. Schools should be aware of the risks to pupils from exposure to materials that are instructive rather than preventative, including websites or videos that provide instructions or methods of self-harm or suicide. If teachers have concerns about a specific pupil in relation to self-harm or suicidal thoughts, they must follow safeguarding procedures immediately.