Suicide awareness training delivered to Clear Links support staff

In November 2024, Clear Links invited us to deliver suicide awareness training for their employees who work closely with vulnerable students. 

More than 100 staff members joined the online session, which was designed for anyone in a role supporting students with disabilities or additional needs in higher education - including needs assessors, disability advisers, student support managers, student services teams, and support workers.

What the session covered

The training introduced key concepts and practical skills to help staff feel more confident supporting students who may be struggling. Topics included:

• Suicide statistics and key facts
• The importance of anguage
• Common myths and misconceptions
• Recognising warning signs
• Two higher education-based scenarios
• Signposting advice
• Tips for starting a compassionate conversation
• Q&A

Feedback from attendees

Feedback from the session was extremely positive. One attendee shared:

“This was a really insightful session, it’s great to hear about topics from experts. Having sessions like this for topics which are considered taboo or more challenging can help build up confidence in support staff. Thank you to Ste and Clear Links for arranging this!”

Lucy Cowap, External Relations Lead at Clear Links Support said:

“Working with Amy and Ste at ZSA was an absolute pleasure. They joined us on a webinar for our office staff and support workers and delivered a fantastic session on suicide prevention. The session was tailored to our audience and was really well received. I would definitely recommend ZSA for suicide awareness and prevention sessions.”