Bereavement

How schools can help

Supporting a grieving child can be a difficult thing to do, as it may feel more instinctual to want to protect the child from the pain of dying and loss and maybe not talk about it or distract from it.

However, to fully support the child or young person, we must instead stay with their grief and acknowledge their pain and sadness. Taking time to listen and offer comfort to a child who has suffered a bereavement, won’t take the pain away, however it will give them a greater chance of processing their feelings and emotions and give a clear message that they are cared about.

We have prepared an information pack as a guide for teachers, teaching assistants, learning support assistants, headteachers, education welfare officers and other adults working in schools. It aims to provide you with support and information when a death occurs within the school community.

Schools' Bereavement Pack

Please download a copy of our Schools' Bereavement Information Pack here.

If you would like to talk to us about any issues concerning bereavement at this time, please do not hesitate to contact us – we are here to help:

Email our Head of School Services Catherine Munns or Louise Picton our Head of Training and Clinical Supervision.

How parents can help

BBC Newsround has prepared a resource which you can watch alongside your child dealing with the topic of grief and loss.

It gives some practical advice about how to help your child process their feelings and has a very clear message - every feeling is valid and has its own place.

Encourage your child to share how they are feeling with you. Click here to watch.

You can have lots of different emotions, such as feeling sad, confused, worried, angry, lonely or numb. This is normal and it's called grief.
Clare Bullen, Child Bereavement UK