Kindy kids in suicide awareness plan

THREE- year- olds in childcare and students from preschool and kindergarten upwards will be taught about suicide awareness and mental health as part of a $ 53 million Mental Health in Education program to be announced by the Turnbull Government today.

More streamlined “postvention” strategies, with crisis teams deployed to schools when a suicide occurs, will also be put in place to prevent contagion suicides as childhood mental health issues soar.

While the word “suicide” won’t be used directly with three- year- olds, discussions around feelings of “not wanting to be here” or “wanting to die” could be addressed in the right context. Specific “suicide” discussion could occur with kids as young as eight, according to experts. Health Minister Greg Hunt will today announce teachers from childcare educators right through to Year 12 will be provided additional mental health and suicide training in their university degrees or VET education.

Those already teaching will undergo additional online and face- to- face training. PRINCE Harry has fired up the spirits of Australian veterans hoping to compete in the Invictus Games, including Townsville’s Jeff Wright ( left).

The prince spent the day in Sydney yesterday meeting Invictus team members as he kicked off the 500- day c countdown to when the harbour city hosts the Games in 2018. Mr Wright, an army veteran of 20 years, hopes to secure a spot in the wheelchair basketball and rugby teams for Toronto’s Invictus Games in September.

He said Prince Harry’s enthusiasm for helping veterans through competitive sport was infectious.

“We feed off that passion,” he said.