Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of exposure to trauma, including but not limited to attempting or witnessing an attempt in the workplace at resuscitation of child or colleague, on the suicide risk among female staff with PTSD.

Attempting or witnessing resuscitation can be a distressing experience, especially when relating to children. Schools as employers have clear legal duties to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees, including assessing and managing risks arising from work.

Schools have been provided the flexibility to ensure adequate support, as they are best placed to understand what support is appropriate for staff following a distressing workplace incident and have the procedures in place, including aftercare. Staff requiring support following an incident can also request a debrief from their local ambulance service or seek help from their GP.

The department has made available a range of resources to support staff mental health and wellbeing, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter. These resources include Education Support’s free 24-hour helpline: https://www.educationsupport.org.uk/get-help/help-for-you/helpline/.