Need Help?
Find Help Now
Breaking the Silence: Suicide prevention training for young people in schools and colleges
A UK-first, evidence-informed and quality-assured suite of teaching resources, for teachers to deliver workshops to young people (aged 14+) in schools and colleges on suicide prevention. Designed for young people, with young people, to learn how to support each other if struggling with thoughts of suicide.
download our free course resources
What is Breaking the Silence?
Suicide is the leading cause of death among young people under 35 in the UK, with around 200 schoolchildren taking their own lives each year.
Breaking the Silence is the UK’s first quality-assured suicide prevention training designed for teachers to deliver to young people aged 14 and over. Developed with students, educators, academics, and mental health professionals, this evidence-based resource equips young people to support peers and seek help when needed.
The training helps young people identify signs of suicidal thoughts in peers and provides guidance on how to respond, including when to involve a trusted adult. Through interactive workshops and engaging video content, the course encourages open conversations about mental health and suicide.
Over 1,000 young people have taken part in Breaking the Silence workshops as part of academic research into suicide prevention in schools with Liverpool John Moores University.
Who is this training for?
Breaking the Silence provides a complete set of accessible, specialist resources for teachers, designed to foster supportive environments in schools and colleges.
These resources are designed for teachers working with young people aged 14 and above in schools and colleges (KS4 and KS5).
In partnership with
What is included?
Breaking the Silence is a free, peer-reviewed set of teaching materials developed by experts in suicide prevention. The resources include:
✅ Fully designed PowerPoints for each session
✅ A professionally produced media clip to engage students
✅ A Teacher’s Guide to support lesson delivery
✅ Recommended communication materials for parents/guardians
✅ Mapped curriculum objectives aligned with the PSHE Association’s Programme of Study
✅ Resources and suggestions for further signposting and support
These resources have been developed in collaboration with clinical experts, child and adolescent mental health professionals, PSHE coordinators, academics, and young people to ensure safe, relevant, and effective learning experiences.
What young people will learn
This is a foundation-level course that equips young people with the skills to recognise the early signs of mental health struggles and suicidal thoughts, know how to respond, and encourage help-seeking behaviour.
Pupils will learn:
- How to spot the warning signs that someone may be thinking about suicide (mood, talk, behaviour)
- How to respond to a peer who is struggling with their mental health and thinking about suicide
- How to signpost a peer to further support and resources, and to know when to ask an adult for help
This training fosters a school culture where open conversations about mental health and suicide are encouraged, ultimately saving lives.
Flexible delivery to suit your school or college's needs
The materials are designed for flexible delivery, so schools and colleges can choose the format that works best for them. The programme can be taught as:
- Three 40-minute sessions
- Two 1-hour sessions
- One 3-hour session
Mapped to the PSHE Association’s Framework for Progression, the training integrates seamlessly into a comprehensive PSHE curriculum.
Testimonials
The resources and learning techniques were engaging, enriching and allowed various opportunities for our people to be empathetic. The multi-media approach had our young people hooked from the start.
It's more likely that we're going to be able to help our friends now or in the future and if you know how to help them, you might save a life.
I thought it was really important to learn about it all because there are so many people our age that are probably struggling, but they might not understand that they are.
I thought it was brilliant because it's helping young minds understand how to deal with situations like suicide and how to understand the signs.
Video courtesy of ITV News. © ITV plc.
Sign up to download your free teaching resources
Additional resources
Stay Alive app
Find out more about our free, award-winning Stay Alive app, a suicide prevention resource for anyone struggling, or supporting someone at risk.
Youth Suicide Prevention Hub
Explore our Youth Suicide Prevention Hub for trusted resources, guidance, training, and conversation starters to help protect young lives and support early intervention.
Contact our team
For more information, questions, or assistance, reach out to one of our expert advisors.
All rights, including copyright, in the content of the ‘Breaking the Silence teaching resources’ (including, but not limited to, teachers’ guidance document, PowerPoint, and media clip) are owned or controlled for these purposes by Grassroots Suicide Prevention.
In accessing the ‘Breaking the Silence teaching resources’, you agree that you may only download and use the content as a qualified teacher currently employed in a school, college, or university at the time of downloading and for the sole purpose of delivering the Breaking the Silence workshops in your school, college, or university where you are employed to teach and having first attended or listened to the Breaking the Silence instruction webinar, delivered by Grassroots Suicide Prevention prior to delivering the workshop and using the resources.
For the avoidance of doubt, anyone who is not a teacher in a school, college or university setting are strictly prohibited from using the Breaking the Silence teaching resources and from delivering the Breaking the Silence workshops without prior written permission from Grassroots Suicide Prevention.
The Teacher’s Guidance document or supplementary material must not be used independent of the Breaking the Silence workshops and may not be used, copied, altered, reproduced, stored, or transmitted outside of Grassroots Suicide Prevention other than stated above without the prior written consent of Grassroots Suicide Prevention or in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
The Breaking the Silence teaching resources should not be used, copied, altered, reproduced, stored or transmitted outside of Grassroots Suicide Prevention other than stated above without the prior written consent of Grassroots Suicide Prevention or in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
We would recommend that any teacher delivering the Breaking the Silence workshop and using the Breaking the Silence teaching resources undertake suicide prevention training prior to delivering the workshops and using the resources. To find out more about suicide prevention training go to our webpage here or email training@prevent-suicide.org.uk.