Almost everyone will experience grief or loss at some point in their lives, but we recognise that sadly, some of our students will experience it far earlier than others.

Everyone deals with loss and grief differently. However, most people will need or want support at some point. If your child suffers a loss or bereavement, please get in touch with us (via email, telephone, or via the Worry Box) so we can discuss how we can best work together to ensure your child feels supported both in and out of school.

In school, we have a range of support available to students via our mental health toolkit (click here). Every child and situation is different and so the support we put in place will vary from student to student. We will always be led by the student and what they want, however this will also always be discussed with parents/carers. If 1:1 emotional support is put in place for students who have suffered a bereavement then we will endeavour to put this session at the end of the school day, as we recognise that returning to a classroom after discussing loss can be extremely difficult for students. Our staff are not trained bereavement specialists or counsellors, so the purpose of the 1:1 would be to provide a safe space for students to talk and to express their grief. 

Some students will not want to seek support in school at all, and that is ok. Outside of school, there is plenty of specialist bereavement support available. Here are some sources of support that we recommend:

• https://www.simonsays.org.uk/  (Hampshire based)
• Home (mosaicfamilysupport.org) (Dorset based)
• https://www.winstonswish.org/
• https://www.childbereavementuk.org/
• https://uktraumacouncil.org/

Simon Says recommend an app for children to cope with loss called, ‘Apart of Me’. Please click here for more information and to see whether you think it might help your child: https://www.apartofme.app/

This video, created by Child Bereavement UK, may also help your child understand their grief and how to manage it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmzy6fRLcCU The video is called ‘The Invisible Suitcase’.