3 Dads Walking: Andy Airey welcomes Parliament debate on youth suicide

A dad from Cumbria who lost his daughter to suicide has described a Parliamentary debate he championed to add suicide prevention to the school curriculum as "heartening".

The issue was debated in Parliament yesterday, after a campaign and petition - which gathered more than 15,000 signatures - from three dads whose daughters all took their own lives.

The trio have walked hundreds of miles across the country to raise funding and awareness around young people's mental health.

MP breaks down as suicide prevention awareness debated

One of the bereaved fathers, Andy Airey from Morland, was inside Westminster Hall as his daughter's story was told.

"Sophie was an open, happy young lady with a wide circle of friends, who brought a smile and sense of fun to everyone she met," Petitions Committee member Nick Fletcher MP told the debate.

"No one had an inkling Sophie was feeling suicidal. Everyone said she seemed like normal Sophie.

"If she had felt able to share emotions, everyone would have helped - but sadly she didn't."

The dads' campaign for suicide awareness in schools got a lot of support - including from Andy's local MP, Neil Hudson.

"We currently equip our young people to tackle relationships, drugs, alcohol and other problems that may threaten their wellbeing, but we do not consistently provide our young people with the tools in their arsenal to tackle this biggest threat of suicide," he told the Westminister Hall debate.

"We know that talking is powerful, but without education of young people in knowing who to talk to and how to talk to them, and parents and teachers actively reaching out, we are leaving our young people in danger."

The schools minister said the government have brought forward a review of the curriculum for Relationships, Sex and Health Education - or RSHE.

"The current content I have already set out on mental health and wellbeing covers a large amount of what is important in suicide prevention, but we will look further at this as a priority area for the review, and decide whether to decide whether to add requirements on teaching about suicide."

Following the debate, Andy Airey said: "I think it's probably as good as it could have been from a government point of view, the response - but it was so heartening to get such great support from every MP that stood up and spoke.

"It shows the message we've been talking about and the campaign is being heard."

Help & support

In the latest episode of From the North we ask should suicide prevention be taught in schools?