School's bereavement services

We offer training, support and guidance for schools supporting bereaved pupils and staff, as well as how to incorporate bereavement, grief and loss into your curriculum. Our aim is to provide a personal approach for your specific situation form the moment it is required and for as long as it is needed. We can provide support in person, online or by phone.

As bereavement specialists, we are told time and again by young people and adults bereaved as children, the difference that school support made - and they will name the staff who provided this. Schools have a crucial role to  play in providing a safe, consistent routine, and a place outside of the family to talk about grief. Research has shown the difference school support can make in reducing difficulties relating to academic achievement, wellbeing, and social isolation that can be experienced following childhood bereavement (Dyregrov et al, 2022).

Dyregrov, A., Lytje, M. & Rex Christenson, S. "The price of loss - how childhood bereavement impacts education" Bereavement 1 (2022)

Services we offer include:

• Support and advice when a death occurs in the school community - this can be advice to senior management, one-to-one support for pupils and staff or drop-in sessions

• Advice for supporting bereaved children and families

• Support for school staff working with bereaved children

• Support to create a bereavement policy that reflects your school's needs, resources and ethos

• Help to incorporate the new RSHE guidance into curriculum, creating or delivering lessons, considering preparation before, during and after lessons

We offer online or in-person training for individuals, small or large groups in the following areas:

Supporting bereaved pupils and incorporating bereavement, grief and loss into the RSHE curriculum - 3 hour session online now available 16/09/26 & 01/10/26

Please see here for training content and booking form

Supporting bereaved pupils in school - 1.5 hour session (coming soon)

• Understanding grief by age and stage of development

• Range of grief related behaviours and their impact

• Collaborative and sensitive communication with bereaved families to understand their wishes and support retien to school

• How to talk with children about bereavement

• Supporting SEND pupils

• Different types of bereavement including when and how to access additional support

• Resources and practical tools

• The need for continuing support - ways grief can change over time and reoccur with developmental stages

• Individual bereavement support plans to identify he wishes of children and their families supporting continuity of care and agency

Developing a school bereavement policy- 1.5 hour session (coming soon)

How to embed compassionate and consistent bereavement informed practices to support children, families and staff, and incorporate this within the school culture via teaching, learning and compassion:

• Ensuring schools are able to respond rather than react when a death occurs, an dis prepared for supporting bereaved pupils or staff members

• Clarity about how to respond effectively from the moment of bereavement and ongoing basis

• Setting out clear aims and objectives, as well as individual and collective roles and responsibilites, includiong action plans and flow charts for timely, appropriate response

• Ensuring the policy is specific to the school structure and ethos

• Providing clarity and consistency about what support for pupils and staff members will look like - support plan, consideration of extra needs or vulnerabilities

• Considers support for staff including training, staff welfare and recognition of staff who may be vulnerable due to current or historic losses

• Formats for draft letters, scripts and communication

  Contact us with questions or to register your interest