Self-harm
Self-harm, as defined in guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2022), is an “intentional self-poisoning or self-injury irrespective of the apparent purpose of the act".
People self-harm for many different reasons. For some it may be a way of coping with emotions or dealing with something difficult that has happened. Some people may not know why they self-harm. Sometimes for young people it can be to show how they are feeling without having to verbalise it, it can be a distraction or a way of coping, it can be a punishment or temporary relief (Mind)
Self harm in children and young people
Children and young people with a probable mental disorder were more
likely to have self-harmed in the past four weeks
- 5.9% of children aged 8 to 16 years with a probable mental disorder had tried
to harm themselves in the past 4 weeks, compared with 0.4% of those unlikely
to have a mental disorder - 10.6% of young people aged 17 to 24 years with a probable mental disorder
had tried to harm themselves in the past 4 weeks, compared with 0.8% of those
unlikely to have a mental disorder
Mental Health of Children and Young People Surveys 2023
The NSPCC provides advice on how to suport a child who self-harms.
What can schools do?
Schools can effectively address challenging mental health issues, such as self harm, through their programmes of PSHE and RSHE. However these topics require careful management and use of the right approaches, taking account of current guidance.
Key messages include:
- Do not provide detailed methods, instructions or inspiration
- Use non-emotive language, images and videos
- Signpost sources of support
- Teach about wound care
- Be cautious about using visitor input*
*Note that visitors speaking about mental health and emotional wellbeing can inadvertently provide inspiration or instruction in the very behaviour you and they are seeking to prevent.
Responding to self-harm - resources from Young Minds for schools
Self-harm guidance and teaching resources from Anna Freud
Self harm guidance for parents and schools from Charlie Waller
HarmLESS is an NHS resource for those who have contact with young people who are self-harming. It is designed to help you talk about self-harm with a young person so that you can decide what support might be helpful.
Wiltshire Self-Harm: Setting the scene for action
This conference, held in November 2023, facilitated stakeholder discussions on priorities to prevent self-harm. Most importantly, this included the input of young people who had experienced self-harm themselves. These priorities were collated and set out in an insight report which can be found here. Training and education were identified as significant priorities, as well as early intervention to support children and young people’s emotional resilience.
Local training
Multiagency self-harm training dates for 2025 were released at the end of 2024 and are now full. Further local training may be available in the future.
Youth Mental Health First Aid The 2 day courses provide an introduction to self-harm for all those working with young people in Wiltshire aged 8-18.
School Mental Health Leads can attend regular local meetings to share good practice.
Local information and support
Wiltshire prevalence has fallen slightly since 2021:
- 24.2% of year 12/FE respondents and 19.4% of secondary respondents reported that they had ever self-harmed or deliberately taken an overdose
- A higher proportion of females (28.1%) reported that they have self-harmed, compared to males (10.8%).
Overall, one fifth of respondents reported that they have ever deliberately self-harmed. This rises to over half of students that identify with 4+ priority groups and just under one third of females. One quarter of Year 12/FE students reported that they had self-harmed.
Wiltshire Children and Young People's Emotional Wellbeing Survey (2024)
School Health Nurses can also provide support.
On Your Mind - Wiltshire Children and Young People Emotional Wellbeing Service.
National Training
Virtual College has free online courses that provide information on how to sensitively talk to children about self-harm and tactics for increasing mental resilience.
- This free course for those that work with children and adults, will help learners to understand what to do if they suspect someone is potentially self-harming
- This free course addresses teenage self-harm and helps parents to support children
The Anna Freud Centre offers a free webinar for school staff “Responding to a young person who is self-harming” and “Self-harm: Leading whole-school prevention.” The first webinar will take place on 4 February 2025 4:30pm-6pm.
