Bereavement

Bereavement and grief 

In educational settings children and adults may experience bereavement and grief. They may be affected in different ways and experience a range of emotions as well as changes to their mental or physical health. Bereavement can also include anticipatory grief which is a sense of loss that people may feel when they are expecting the death of someone they care about. 

Why should educational settings be aware of the effects of bereavement? 

According to the Child Bereavement Network, around 1 in 29 school aged children in Great Britain will have experienced the death of a parent or sibling. Many more are bereaved of a grandparent, relative, friend or other significant person.

Research shows that suffering a significant bereavement in childhood has the potential to impact on children's future well-being as well as the experience of bullying and exclusion.

The way in which all staff in school can respond to the needs of bereaved children plays a crucial role at a time of great need. Staff can help individuals cope with death and grief, which is a very personal and unique experience. As children's understanding of death develops with age, schools can help children and young people gradually understand that death is permanent and irreversible in an age-appropriate way.

Bereaved children are often supported by their friends, and schools need to ensure they are also receiving appropriate support.  Settings will want to encourage all children to be supportive of each other, and implementing the updated government RSHE guidance, which comes into force from September 2026, ensures that pupils have the opportunity to learn 'that change and loss, including bereavement, can provoke a range of feelings, and that grief is a natural response to bereavement, and that everyone grieves differently' as well as 'how families and relationships change over time, including through birth, death, separation and new relationships'.

Supporting children and young people who are in emotional distress can be physically and mentally draining for staff; this needs to be recognised and appropriate support put in place, both in terms of training and supportive listening. Schools should help staff develop understanding, skills, and confidence in dealing with children and young people's grief.

Staff also experience bereavement and grief in their own lives, and schools should ensure that they are well supported. ACAS advises that employers should tailor their support to each individual person's needs, and it's important to communicate with the employee. 

What support is for available for children? 

Local

Norfolk County Council Critical Incident Service

The Norfolk County Council Critical Incident Service offers support and guidance concerning bereavement issues, as well as direct support with the critical incident team if a member of the community dies.

Regular peer group supervision sessions and training on "Managing critical incidents and bereavement" for senior leaders and "Supporting bereaved children in educational settings" are provided to support staff develop their competence and confidence.

A Padlet of resources and signposts as well as termly newsletters with updates are also available.

This support is available to all Early Years settings and LA schools as well as academies that subscribe.

Contact Dr Bianca Finger-Berry and Cherie Pointon (Critical Incident Specialist Support Leads): [email protected] for more information.

As part of the Local First Inclusion Offer, consultations for staff requesting advice on how to best support a child who has experienced bereavement or recent trauma can now also be booked following a TAS (Team Around the School) meeting.

Nelson's Journey

Nelson's Journey supports children and young people in Norfolk who have experienced the death of a significant person, with a range of resources and services provided including free bereavement awareness training. Families or professionals can make referrals for 1:1 or group support.

Take Our Hand

Take Our Hand offers bereavement packages, therapy, activities and peer support groups for 16-25-year-olds across Norfolk who are going through a bereavement.

JustOneNorfolk

JustOneNorfolk provides information and advice to parents, carers and professionals on a wide range of topics including bereavement.

National 

Childhood Bereavement Network

The Childhood Bereavement Network has key resources including the 'Growing in Grief Awareness' toolkit for schools and educational settings.  

Child Bereavement UK

Child Bereavement UK provides information about supporting bereaved children and young people, including free guides, online resources and information about explaining death and dying to children.

Winston's Wish

Winston's Wish offers advice, guidance and a range of resources for schools working with grieving children and young people.

They also offer bereavement support for young people as well as an online platform for teens and young adults.

In addition, Winston's Wish provides resources for PSHE lessons on loss and bereavement.

PSHE Association

PSHE Association provides lesson plans for members on change, loss and grief for each key stage to ensure this topic is addressed sensitively and age-appropriately. 

Anna Freud

Anna Freud provides ideas including a short video on how to deal with a bereavement with links to the UK Trauma Council for information about supporting traumatic bereavement.

Staff wellbeing  

Education Support Line

The Education Support Line is available 24/7 for everyone working in education including teachers, support staff, lecturers, administrators and teaching assistants.

Employee Support Service

Most schools buy into an employee support service, such as the Norfolk Support Line, where staff can access wellbeing support from a team of specialists as well as 24/7 phone support, self-help workbooks and counselling.

Norfolk Wellbeing Service

Norfolk Wellbeing Service offers a range of wellbeing support to adults in Norfolk and Suffolk. This includes self-referral, self-help, social support, workshops, wellbeing podcasts and blogs. 

Norfolk Bereavement Cafés

Norfolk Bereavement Cafés has informal friendship groups for bereaved adults run by the Norfolk Library Service, a space to support each other and find information about other services.

Do you need more support?  

If you would like further support around bereavement and grief, or more information, contact Dr Bianca Finger-Berry and Cherie Pointon (Critical Incident Specialist Support Leads) at [email protected].