Secondary schools

Information for teachers, teaching assistants, learning support assistants, headteachers, education welfare officers and other adults working in secondary schools

Children mature at different rates and their understanding and responses to bereavement are likely to be based as much on their experience of life as on their chronological age. As they grow older, young people may need to look again at the details surrounding the death of an important person. Feelings they had when young will be different several years further on as their understanding matures and the meaning of the death changes as they move through life. This is not unresolved grief but the experience of different feelings later in life, often connected to major life events such as switching classes, moving up to senior school or other significant change.

It is important to remember that young people will be grieving for life and the loss will always be with them.

People are often at a loss as to know what to say or do to help a student who has been bereaved by the death of someone important to them. Every situation is different, and young people will be affected to a greater or lesser degree, dependent on the circumstances of the death and the nature of the relationship they had with the person who has died.

Most grieving children and young people do not need a ‘bereavement expert’ they need people who care. Schools, just by carrying on with their usual day-to-day activities while being aware of the bereavement, can do a huge amount to support a grieving pupil.

Supporting a bereaved student in secondary school

Bereaved young people in secondary school need the stability of a familiar routine with caring adults. Read more

Support for the family

Information and support for a bereaved family with a pupil in secondary school. Read more

Support for yourself

Supporting a bereaved child can be emotionally draining and it is important to recognise when you need some help. Read more

Developing a bereavement policy or charter

A school with a bereavement policy is prepared and has plans in place to deal with death, grief and bereavement. This applies to supporting a bereaved pupil or member of staff as well as reacting to a critical incident or tragedy, such as the death of someone within the school community. Read more

Managing bereavement: A guide for schools

An information pack for schools supporting bereaved pupils in secondary schools - loss, death and grief. The pack contains a series of A4 fact sheets, offering guidance, support and information when a death occurs in the school community or when a school is facing an expected death. Can be Downloaded free of charge. Read more

Books and resources

Books can be used to introduce death and grief to young people. By choosing books suitable for individual circumstances, they can also be used to help bereaved pupils to feel less alone and make sense of confusing and overwhelming emotions. Read more

Latest

Callum

Callum Jenkins is planning to cycle approximately 10,000 miles from his home just outside Cambridge to Cape Town in South Africa to fundraise for Child Bereavement UK in memory of his father who died when Callum was fourteen years old,
The Invisible Suitcase

Watch our animation which aims to help bereaved children and families understand grief and manage their feelings.
When a Child Dies - Supporting Parents & Families

Webinar - 9 February 2021
Teenagers and Bereavement

Webinar - 3 February 2021

Supporting bereaved children and young people

Children and young people grieve just as much as adults but they show it in different ways. Find out how you can help them and more about child grieving.
Genevieve
Telling a child that someone has died

It is important to tell a child of any age when someone important in their lives has died, and ideally this is done by someone who is closest to them.
Supporting a bereaved pupil

This comprehensive, free-to-access resource , Supporting a bereaved pupil has been developed by Child Bereavement UK in collaboration with the London Grid for Learning.
What we offer

Child Bereavement UK provides a wide range of training, consultancy and support services to help professionals help bereaved children and families
When your baby dies

When a baby lives only a short time or dies before birth due to miscarriage, stillbirth or a painful decision to end the pregnancy, people may assume that the loss is not important. This is simply not the case.
Claudia Winkleman becomes Patron of Child Bereavement UK

Claudia Winkleman has become a Patron of Child Bereavement UK, a charity which supports families and educates professionals both when a baby or child of any age dies or is dying, and when a child is facing bereavement.
UK death & bereavement statistics

A parent of children under 18 dies every 22 minutes in the UK; around 23,600 a year. This equates to around 111 children being bereaved of a parent every day.
Grieving for a child of any age

The agony of losing a child of any age is unparalleled. There is no age or point in time that makes it any easier. No parent expects to face the death of their child and no grandparent expects to lose their grandchild.
Coronavirus – supporting bereaved children

Frightening events widely reported in the media, such as the coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic, can cause children to worry about themselves and others.