Student self-harm: how schools can respond

By Dr Lyn O'Grady
Community contribution / July 21, 2021

Increasingly school staff, including those in primary schools, are seeing distress in students expressed through self-harming behaviours such as cutting.

“Why would anyone hurt themselves, aren’t they just trying to get attention?” Or, "they shouldn’t be at school if ...

English and Maths teacher - SEMH School

Veritas South West London

Teaching Aides & Special Needs / Mar 12, 2026

Qualified Teaching Assistant - (Full-Time)

Veritas Rossendale

Teaching - Secondary / Mar 12, 2026

SEN Teaching Assistant

Veritas South East London

Teaching Aides & Special Needs / Mar 12, 2026

School news / NAPLAN meltdown: teachers, parents slam communication chaos

Parents and teachers have called out the chaos of NAPLAN testing after a widespread outage wreaked havoc across thousands of schools.

School news / NAPLAN push contributing to ‘moral injury’ and hastening of attrition: expert

NAPLAN season is here again this week, with technical glitches proving stumbling blocks for many, but while much of the focus as ever is on student performance, one education expert says more attention needs to be paid to its impact on teachers.

School news / ‘Not a fringe phenomenon’: manosphere targeted in new resource for schools

Secondary schools grappling with the insidious influence of the ‘manosphere’ now have a new resource to guide how staff can identify, understand and respond to the harmful behaviours and misogynistic ideologies that are increasingly playing out in...

School news / Gender equality efforts eroded by ‘tech-facilitated abuse’: Contos

Tech-facilitated abuse and harassment has become normalised among young people, with advocates calling for better education in schools to ensure people understand it’s a crime.

Opinion / Schools should value cognitive diversity over student rankings

Australia’s schools are still too often measured by ATAR scores, NAPLAN results and exam rankings.

School news / GenAI could be a game-changer for gender-inclusive STEM education

Generative AI (GenAI) might have significant potential to boost girls’ confidence, agency, and participation in STEM subjects, however realising such potential really depends on how teachers use GenAI in the classroom, new research suggests.

School news / Popular teaching approach creates ‘lethal mutations’ for classroom inclusion

An inclusive education framework that dilutes teaching quality and lacks a credible evidence base is being pushed by the Victorian Department of Education, a learning specialist has flagged.

School news / WA Govt’s $28 million School Breakfast Program expansion boost to wellbeing and learning

More students from disadvantaged backgrounds will enjoy a free, nutritious breakfast five days a week in Western Australia under the state’s expanded School Breakfast Program.

School news / Driving change: the campaign to curb toxic fumes harming kids during pick-up/drop-off

The drop-off and pick-up line has become a cleaner, quieter place at the primary school Anthony Hull and Fiona Foo send their kids to.

School news / Tassie teachers’ “total and indefinite” ban on NAPLAN testing: wage dispute rolls on

Tasmania’s public school teachers are escalating industrial action, starting with work bans including refusing to administer NAPLAN tests to students, in response to the State Government’s continuing refusal to negotiate a fair pay and work condit...

Student self-harm: how schools can respond

Comments

EducationID

Our services

Ad centre