Self-harm in students and how schools should respond

Self-harm means a young person hurting their own body on purpose. Many students do it to cope with feelings that seem too big to hold.

It does not always mean a wish to die. Still, self-harm and suicidal thoughts can overlap, and you cannot tell from the outside which one you are seeing.

Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE) 2026 says mental health problems can develop into safeguarding concerns, including self-harm. Only trained professionals should try to diagnose. Staff are well placed to notice the signs.

• Unexplained cuts, burns or bruises, often on the arms, wrists or legs
• Long sleeves in hot weather, or avoiding sport, swimming and changing rooms
• Withdrawing from friends, or dropping things they used to enjoy
• Ongoing trouble sleeping, or big changes in mood or behaviour
• Talk of feeling hopeless, worthless or a burden
• Neglecting themselves, such as eating or washing less

Follow your school's child protection procedure and tell your designated safeguarding lead (DSL) the same day. If a student is in immediate danger, call your local emergency services first, then tell the DSL.

Call for help at once if a wound is deep, the student may have swallowed tablets or anything harmful, or the student talks about acting now.

These steps also apply to a friend's worry or a post you see online.

• Stay calm. Shock or disgust can make a student ashamed and silent.
• Stay with the student, or hand them to a trusted adult. Do not leave them alone.
• Ask a trained first aider to treat any injury. Do not ask the student to show you wounds.
• Do not promise to keep it secret. Say who you must tell, and why.
• Tell the DSL, or the deputy if the DSL is away, before the student goes home or back to the boarding house.
• Write down what you saw and heard, with the student's words in quotation marks.

Choose a private, unhurried place, sit beside the student rather than across, and say what you noticed.

Ask about suicide directly and calmly. Suicide-prevention guidance advises this, and asking does not put the idea in a child's mind. If the student says yes, stay with them and call the DSL at once.

If the student also tells you about abuse, follow how to respond when a child discloses abuse.

Here are some things you can say.

• "I noticed marks on your arm. You are not in trouble. I want to know how you are."
• "Thank you for telling me. I am glad you did."
• "Are you having any thoughts of ending your life?"
• "I cannot keep this secret, because your safety matters most. I will tell you who I tell."
• "What would help most right now?"

Kind people say the wrong thing under stress. Avoid the lines below, and do not ask for details of methods.

If the student speaks another language, ask the DSL for a trusted adult interpreter. Do not use another student.

• "Why would you do that?"
• "You have so much to live for."
• "Promise me you will stop."
• "You are only doing this for attention."

Meet the student privately, ideally with a trained colleague such as the school counsellor. Your job is to understand the risk and arrange help. A trained clinician makes any diagnosis.

Mental health problems can also point to abuse, neglect or exploitation. So look at the whole picture, including bullying, online harm, family conflict and pressure at school.

Work through this checklist.

• Ask what happened, when, and how often, and whether any injury needs care
• Ask about thoughts of suicide, any plan, and whether the student has the means
• Ask what is going on at home, with friends and online, and which adult the student trusts
• Judge the level of risk with a qualified person, not alone
• Decide who tells the parents, and when
• Record facts, decisions and reasons the same day, using how to record a safeguarding concern
• Tell staff only what they need to support the student
• Set a check-in for the next school day and a review date

In most cases, tell parents or guardians the same day. They can watch over the student at home and take them to a doctor. The DSL decides how and when.

Hold back only if telling the family could put the student at risk, for example if you suspect abuse at home. Then follow your child protection procedure and local advice, and record the reason.

Tell the student first what you will say, and offer to sit in the room. Keep to facts. Do not blame, and do not name other students.

In some families mental health carries shame. Use plain words and offer an interpreter. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) advises talking about feelings with empathy and without judgment.

Give parents a short written note that covers these points.

• What happened, in plain facts
• Who to see next, such as a doctor or mental health service, with names and numbers
• How to keep medicines and sharp objects out of reach at home
• How to listen: stay calm, do not punish, and do not demand promises
• Who to call at school, and when you will meet again

Most students who self-harm need more than a talk with a teacher. The DSL and the counsellor decide the right level of help.

Services differ a lot between countries. Some have long waits or few clinicians in your students' languages. Build a list before you need it: name, phone, hours, languages, cost, and whether they see under-18s.

To find a local helpline for a student, a parent or yourself, use Find a Helpline, which lists services in more than 175 countries.

If abuse or neglect is a worry, check your duty to report in mandatory reporting laws for international schools and ask local counsel. If parents refuse care for a student at risk, record it and take advice.

• The school counsellor or psychologist, for support and a first assessment
• A family doctor or paediatrician, who can examine the student and refer on
• A child and adolescent mental health service, psychologist or psychiatrist
• A hospital emergency department, for injuries or immediate risk

A safety plan is a short written plan the student helps to make. It says what to do when the urge or the thoughts come back. A school plan sits beside any plan from a doctor or counsellor and does not replace it.

The World Health Organization (WHO) names limiting access to the means of suicide as a key prevention step, so the home step in the plan matters.

Write the plan with the student, in the student's words, and cover the points below. Do not ask for a signed promise to stop. A promise can add shame and does not replace a plan.

• Early warning signs: the thoughts, feelings or events that come before the urge
• Calming steps the student picks, such as walking, music or drawing
• A named adult at school, a safe room, and a quiet way to leave class
• People outside school the student can contact, such as a parent or friend
• Numbers for the DSL, boarding or duty staff, a local helpline and emergency services
• Steps to make places safer, such as medicines and sharp objects out of reach at home
• How the student returns to class, who checks in each day, and how sport and swimming are handled
• One reason to keep going, in the student's own words, and a review date

Self-harm can spread through friendship groups and online content. WHO notes that digital media can help or hinder prevention. You can lower the risk by controlling how details travel.

Samaritans' media guidelines warn that detail about methods can influence vulnerable people, especially young people. Apply the same care to assemblies, class talks, newsletters and group chats.

• Talk one-to-one. Do not name the student or describe injuries to a group.
• Keep methods, tools and images out of every discussion, spoken or written.
• Teach coping and help-seeking in general terms in wellbeing lessons all year.
• Support close friends privately. Tell them to pass worries to an adult, even when they promised to keep a secret.
• Watch for clusters: several students, shared posts, or a trend. Tell the DSL.
• Report harmful posts to the platform, and follow your online safety policy.
• Make sure staff who respond have someone to talk to afterwards.