uFifteen members of the Haberdashers’ Monmouth Schools community have qualified as ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) caregivers this week.
The training was delivered by two in-house qualified ASIST workshop facilitators – Miss Jo Johnson (Head of Department, Ethics and Philosophy/Psychology teacher) and Mrs Alex Copley (Teacher Learning Support).
The course is a two-day interactive workshop in suicide first aid.
It teaches participants to recognise when someone may have thoughts of suicide and work with them to create a plan that will support their immediate safety.
Mrs Rachel Rees, Deputy Head (Pastoral) at Monmouth School for Girls, said: “It was a thought-provoking and an exceptionally worthwhile course, which has equipped us with essential skills to support our young people when they may be struggling.”
Miss Johnson said: “Our staff are the most highly dedicated team of individuals who will go above and beyond for our students, and this was just one example of this. They should be extremely proud of their achievement, which was thoroughly deserved.”
The schools would also like to thank the Mindstep Foundation charity (set up in memory of a former pupil) for enabling Mrs Copley and Miss Johnson to qualify as ASIST trainers, and in their mission to fund research into the causes of suicide and support those who have been bereaved by, or are at risk of, suicide.
Miss Johnson also volunteers with Papyrus, the UK charity dedicated to the prevention of suicide and the promotion of positive mental health and emotional wellbeing in young people
For more details about both charities, please visit: https://mindstepfoundation.com/ and https://www.papyrus-uk.org/