What we provide for the education sector

Why support is needed

Experiencing bereavement in childhood is immense and means life will never be the same again. Grief impacts on concentration, learning and achievement (Childhood Bereavement Network 2015). Education providers have an opportunity to support children and young people in their grief; however, many teachers and education professionals are unsure of how to do that. Research shows that 89% of teachers had received no bereavement training during Initial Teacher Training or subsequent professional development (Child Bereavement UK 2018).

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.
1 in 29 5-16 year-olds has been bereaved of a parent or sibling - that's a child in every average class.

Bereavement can disadvantage children and young people on many levels:

For all young people experiencing a significant bereavement there is the potential for both short and long-term consequences, particularly where general resources (personal, social and material) are low, or other stressors are high. Ribbens McCarthy 2005
A bereaved child’s grief journey is particularly vulnerable to the help or lack of help provided by significant adults in the child’s life. Wolfelt 2013

Outside of their home, their nursery / school / college / University is often the most important consistent influence on the development of children and young people. There are therefore significant opportunities to promote resilience and wellbeing. Child Bereavement UK’s mission is to ensure the accessibility of high-quality child bereavement support and information for families and professionals.

Research: Click here for information on our research report, Improving Bereavement Support in Schools, funded by the True Colours Trust.

Child Bereavement UK offers education providers:

A national helpline providing confidential support, information and guidance to families and professionals. Our helpline team is available to take calls and respond to emails 9am-5pm Monday-Friday 0800 02 888 40 [email protected]

Live chat via our website is available 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday.

A dedicated section on our website for the education sector – Early Years, Primary, Secondary and Further/Higher Education.

Managing bereavement: A guide for schools - free download

A range of training options including Bereavement Awareness sessions, whole school training for Inset days, national workshops and specific training programmes.

‘Supporting a Bereaved Pupil’ is a resource developed by Child Bereavement UK and London Grid for Learning to help professionals when a pupil has experienced the death of someone important to them.

‘Managing a Sudden Death in the School Community’ open access portal designed in partnership with London Grid for Learning brings key information to schools in both film and text format with an accessible interface, to help schools respond when someone in the school community has died.

‘Elephant’s Tea Party’ – a free initiative for primary and KS3 pupils which provides lesson plans, activity ideas and hints and tips on how to run a short bereavement awareness programme for pupils to decrease the taboo in talking about death and dying and increase emotional resilience.

School liaison support for specific children who are accessing support from Child Bereavement UK in Buckinghamshire, London, Milton Keynes, Cheshire, East Wirral, Manchester, Cumbria, Bradford, Middlesbrough, Glasgow and across Scotland.

Child Bereavement UK employs a dedicated Development Lead for the Education Sector.

Latest

Post 18 Education: Bereavement Awareness Session - follow-up resources

Further reading to empower you to feel confident to be able to offer pupils the support they may need and to develop a bereavement-aware culture within your settings, acknowledging the enduring nature of loss and helping pupils to manage their grief and develop resilience for the future.
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Bereavement awareness training for those working with the public - follow-up resources
Bereavement awareness training for staff working with the public: Post-webinar resources

Supporting bereaved children and young people

Children and young people grieve just as much as adults but they show it in different ways. They copy the responses of the adults around them, and rely on adults to provide them with the support.
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.
Genevieve
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

We are recognised as the leading provider of training for professionals working with bereaved 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.
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.
Bereavement Awareness training for schools and Early Years settings

Bereavement awareness training webinars for education providers, designed for and by those working in the education sector. The webinars provide an introduction to supporting a bereaved pupil in nursery; primary; and secondary settings.
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.
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.