Bereavement

Bereavement Book List for Secondary Schools

Lost For Words 
Many bereaved children are left #LostForWords by death, others simply haven’t enough words to express themselves. This new resource shares supportive words and emojis from children who know how it feels.

How to Help 
Sometimes, people around want to help the individual who is bereaved.  They want to help but they're not sure how. Here are some suggestions for how the individual, their parent/carer, teacher friends can support them.

How to Help 
Sometimes, people around want to help the young person who is bereaved.  They want to help but they're not sure how. Here are some suggestions for how parents and carers can support their young people.  

Active Monitoring Log

This template can help you log and structure the information that will help you identify if the child or young person is experiencing a traumatic bereavement and will help you decide about when to make a referral. To be completed by a trusted adult.

Having sensitive conversations with traumatically bereaved children and young people (PDF)

Having Sensitive Conversations with Parents/Carers

Guide for schools & colleges 
A comprehensive written guide for school and
college staff including supporting tools and handouts compiled by the UK Trauma Council.

Link to Video, an introduction to the material. 

Referrals for specialist support – key information to include (PDF)

Traumatic Bereavement A Guide for Parents/Carers

Traumatic Bereavement Assessment Grid

Close monitoring can help in spotting patterns in the child or young person’s difficulties. If the child or young person continues to have frequent, persistent difficulties that impact more than one area of their lives, this suggests it may be traumatic bereavement.

At a Loss - the UK's signposting website for anyone bereaved and those supporting them.

Bereavement Advice Centre - Practical Help  There are many practical matters to attend to when someone dies. Bereavement Advice Centre supports and advises people on what they need to do after a death.

CHUMS - Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing support for Children, Young People and their families with a Specialist Bereavement Service in Kent and Medway.
They also offer other services specifically supporting adults; Baby loss Bereavement Service and Bedfordshire Suicide Bereavement Service.

Childhood Bereavement Network This site contains details of bereavement services for children throughout the UK. CBN also supports professionals working with bereaved children and young people, with information updates, key resources, and networking opportunities.

Cruse - Cruse offers bereavement counselling support for adults and children with local branches nationwide. 

Hope Again - Hope Again is the youth website of Cruse Bereavement Care. Here a young person will find information about their services, a listening ear from other young people and advice for any young person dealing with the loss of a loved one.

Grief Encounter - Grief Encounter helps children and young people with confusion, fear, loneliness, and pain, providing a lifeline to cope, with free, immediate, one-to-one support.

Kent and Medway mental Health Information Hub

Brake’s National Road Victim Service
This is a free, confidential, specialist service for those who have been bereaved or seriously injured in a road crash or are supporting a road crash victim.

Child Bereavement UK
This is a national charity offering a helpline for advice for families and professionals and a wide range of resources.

Salus
Salus offers a range of services to children and young people who may need support to deal with the challenges they face.

Slide Away
Slide Away offers support to children and young people in West Kent who have been bereaved of a family member or friend and those who have a parent or sibling with a life-limiting illness. 

Slide Away Young People's Area 
This is the Young People's part of the Slide Away website.

UK Trauma Council
Free, evidence-based resources to support schools, colleges, and practitioners working with traumatically bereaved children and young people.

Winston's Wish 
Winston's Wish provides emotional and practical bereavement support to children, young people, and those who care for them. 

Page Updated 15th Sept 2021

Traumatic Bereavement - This animation introduces concepts that are key to understanding traumatic bereavement.

Clinician Beck Ferrari discusses with SENCO Nicola Jackson how adults working in schools and colleges can talk with children and young people experiencing a traumatic bereavement.

Traumatic Bereavement in Secondary Schools - A Student's Perspective. UK Trauma Council

Talking to a child about the death of a loved one in the context of COVID-19

Five things about Grief no one Told you -  There is more to grieving than most people realise.

Talking to children who are bereaved. - This video supports professionals to discuss bereavement through understanding the perspective of children who have been bereaved.