More and more children are calling Childline with suicidal thoughts, leading to a huge rise in referrals. Back in 2007/8, only 2% of Childline’s 176,185 counselling sessions were about suicidal thoughts. By 2018/19, this had risen to 10% of the 251,481 sessions they provided.¹ That’s an increase of over 600%.

More recently, between 1st April 2024 and 31st March 2025 Childline delivered 18,981 counselling sessions where the child’s main concern was recorded as suicide. After choosing one main concern, multiple related “sub concerns” can be selected. Of these 18,981 counselling sessions, 3,804 mentioned being actively suicidal or an attempt in progress - that's 20%.²

Girls, in particular, have been more proactive in seeking help, accounting for a significant majority of these counselling sessions. But while more girls are reaching out to Childline for support, actual suicide rates remain much higher among boys (See Chart 8 in this section), suggesting they need targeted mental health support.

One positive insight that emerges from this data is that seeking support appears to make a difference. Despite the huge increase in referrals and counselling sessions, suicide rates have remained relatively stable. This suggests that interventions and support systems are having a positive impact on the lives of these young individuals.