Funerals

A suspected suicide in a school is a very sad and traumatic event for everyone in the school community. Here's some guidance on how to manage funerals and their attendance.

A suspected suicide in a school is a very sad and traumatic event for everyone in the school community. However, the nature of the student’s death should not by itself encourage greater attendance at the funeral than it would for any other tragic death at the school.

Step by Step’s guidance for funerals:

  • We recommend that parents or guardians accompany students who want to attend.
  • Those who don’t attend should have normal classes to go to.
  • If appropriate, engage the faith leader prior to the funeral to suggest that eulogies should be fitting and do not sensationalise what has happened.

Samaritans Schools talks

Samaritans branches have trained teams of volunteers, who can visit a school, college or youth group to give a talk to young people.

DEAL: Developing Emotional Awareness and Listening

DEAL is a free resource for teachers and other educational professionals designed to help develop resilience in young people.

Contact the Step by Step team

For support after an attempted or suspected suicide contact our team and we'll respond via email within 48 hours. If you need an immediate response, call 0808 168 2528 (UK) or 1800 805 731 (RoI)