Supporting a bereaved child: information for schools

“Death neither obeys the school timetable nor appears on it...it enters the classroom without knocking.”

As a teacher or member of staff within a school community it is inevitable that you will work with children affected by death in one way or another. The immediacy and enormity of these experiences may vary, but in each situation, you have a genuine chance to positively affect a young life.

One young person told us, “My Mum died and my life changed for ever, it was the biggest thing that ever happened to me. My teacher never mentioned it.” Stories like this are not uncommon. The teacher had acted no doubt, with good intentions but the message that their pupil received was not a caring or helpful one.

Contained in the following pages is a wealth of information including;

• how age can affect understanding
• talking about death
• feelings, thoughts and behavior
• different causes of death
• funerals and memorials
• when more help may be needed

These pages are not intended to be a substitute for training in supporting bereaved children. We simply hope to offer some pointers to help you and help the young people you work with. If you are interested in reading more about the subject, there are some suggestions in the bookshop. We also have a range of publications and resources. We can offer training that is made-to-measure for your school within Gloucestershire, or recommend a more local organisation elsewhere in the country.