The Academy at Harmless and SASP Quality Standards

By Caroline Harroe (Harmless CEO)

The Support After Suicide Partnership (SASP) Quality Standards are a set of guidelines that define the minimum standards of service that should be provided to people bereaved by suicide in the UK. The standards cover a range of areas, including:

  • Access to services
  • Quality of services
  • Diversity and inclusion

The Academy at Harmless’ training courses are designed to help services meet the SASP Quality Standards. For example, the Academy course on ‘Supporting People Bereaved by Suicide’ covers the following topics:

  • The impact of suicide bereavement
  • How to support people bereaved by suicide
  • How to create a safe and supportive environment for people bereaved by suicide
  • How to work with people bereaved by suicide from different backgrounds

Our Academy training courses are delivered by experienced trainers who have a good understanding of suicide bereavement and the impact it can have on people. The courses are also based on the latest research and evidence-based practice. By attending an Academy course, services can enable their staff to develop the knowledge and skills they need to provide high-quality support to people bereaved by suicide. This can help services to meet the SASP Quality Standards and to provide a better service to their clients.

Here are some specific examples of how our training can help services to deliver a higher quality provision to those bereaved by suicide:

  • Access to services: The Academy’s training can help services to develop clear and accessible referral pathways for people bereaved by suicide. This can help to ensure that people bereaved by suicide are able to access support services easily and quickly.

  • Quality of services: Our training can help services to develop a range of support services to meet the individual needs of the person bereaved. The training also covers how to deliver support in a way that is person-centred, trauma-informed, and recovery-focused.

  • Diversity and inclusion: Harmless’ training covers the importance of diversity and inclusion in suicide bereavement support services. The training also provides practical advice on how to make services more accessible to people from different backgrounds.

Overall, Harmless Academy’s training can help services to deliver a higher quality provision to those bereaved by suicide by:

  • Increasing staff knowledge and skills in suicide bereavement support
  • Helping services to develop clear and accessible referral pathways
  • Helping services to develop a range of support services to meet the individual needs of the person bereaved
  • Helping services to deliver support in a way that is person-centred, trauma-informed, and recovery-focused
  • Helping services to become more diverse and inclusive

In addition to the above, Harmless Academy is also committed to working with services to develop and implement suicide bereavement support pathways that are tailored to the specific needs of their local community. This can help to ensure that everyone who is bereaved by suicide has access to the support they need.

For more information on The Academy at Harmless and our training, click here.