Liverpool

In 2015, Child Bereavement UK concluded a three year project (funded by the Department of Health) where we endeavoured to improve bereavement support in six areas across England that featured highly on the Index of Multiple Deprivation.

In each area, we established a Bereavement Advisory Group bringing together representation from Health, Education, Social Care, Voluntary Organisations and Bereaved Families. We also held study days and training opportunities in each area, and in some cases collaborated with other services to reach more bereaved children and families. A bereavement pathway – with reference to local and national services – was created for each area, along with information on the range of support needs that children and families may experience (with the acceptance that many bereaved individuals require only a modicum of support if they have an understanding family, school, workplace or social circle).

To date, Liverpool’s Bereavement Advisory Group continues to meet and has recently welcomed new members from ‘Love Jasmine’ and ‘Oakleaf’.

Calls to the Child Bereavement UK Helpline have increased, as have visits to our website from the Liverpool area. Most significantly, we have developed a strong working relationship with Education, culminating in Liverpool CCG funding a powerful booklet “A Whole School Approach to Supporting Loss and Bereavement” devised and created by two of our Advisory Group members. This book now sits in all Liverpool schools and the CCG and Local Authority also funded further training and resources for a number of schools, which is ongoing.

The Alder Centre – where our Bereavement Advisory Group often meets – is in the process of developing a new purpose-built centre on the site of Alder Hey hospital and it is hoped this will become a community hub for a range of bereavement support initiatives.

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Hull

To date, the Hull Advisory Group continues to meet and has a breadth of membership including representation from: Dove House Hospice; Cruse; Relate; Health Practitioners; Hull University, the Local Authority, the Children’s University, Headstart and Cornerhouse. Hull has received Headstart funding to support emotional wellbeing in 10 – 16 year olds – and CBUK have been able to support with workforce training, and awareness sessions in some schools.
Middlesbrough

During the 2012 – 2015 project, we made contact with a range of professionals and practitioners across Middlesbrough. We held a Bereavement Awareness study day at the Chinese Community Centre in the heart of the city. We also forged links with Middlesbrough Voluntary Development Agency as well as the manager of the local CDOP (Child Death Overview Panel) – who arranged several training sessions for local children’s practitioners from across health, education and social care.
Stoke

To date, the Stoke-on-Trent Advisory Group continues to meet as the Stoke and Staffordshire Bereavement Alliance, chaired by Dot Gillespie who is CEO of Donna Louise Children’s Hospice in Stoke. In addition to the training and networking the group achieved during the original project period, they have since held three successful conferences to raise awareness and offer training to local practitioners including teachers, nurses and social workers.

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 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.
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.
When a grandparent dies - the impact on children and young people

The death of a grandparent is often a child or young person’s first encounter with the death of someone important. Parents have a great deal to manage when their own parent or carer dies. There is the grief associated with their own loss, but also the reactions and responses of their children to the death of a grandparent.
Children's understanding of death at different ages

Babies and young children have no understanding of the concept of death yet, long before they are able to talk, babies are likely to react to upset and changes in their environment brought about by the absence of a significant person.
Child Bereavement UK training

Child Bereavement UK designs and delivers training for professionals in health and social care, education, the emergency services and the voluntary and corporate sectors, equipping them to provide the best possible care to bereaved families.
Contact us

Contact details for our Helpline, departments and services.
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.
Children's understanding of death at different ages

Guidance on children's understanding of death at different ages and stages of development.
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.