Bereavement & Loss
Are you or a member of your family struggling to cope with grief and loss. Below are some links and resources that may help.
Supporting children and young people who experience loss and bereavement
Loss is the experience of being deprived from someone or something of value and it is a common experience for many of our children, young people, families and staff in Renfrewshire. Experiences of loss can include loss through bereavement, family separation, moving home and community among many other experiences and more recently in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic a loss of freedom and physical contact.
Children and young people who have experienced loss will benefit from a curriculum and culture that focuses on the importance of nurture and relationships. The availability of a dependable adult within their educational setting who is attuned to their needs and provides a compassionate response to their situation is also needed.
The following information is provided to guide educational establishments towards proactive, universal supports to meeting the needs of all who experience loss.
There is also information links for support for children/young people and parents/carers.
UNIVERSAL SUPPORTS
for professionals
Adults often can lack confidence in talking with young people about death and dying and it can be a conversation we are not always comfortable with. Staff in schools all have the skills to provide support and below are links to resources to help build confidence and to encourage wider conversations about death, loss and grief.
View available help below.
Child Bereavement UK have developed a range of tools to help staff in school talk openly about death and grief.
A range of resources from Winston’s Wish to support with lesson planning on the topic of loss and bereavement.
Education Scotland also have a range of resources on the national improvement hub about supporting children and young people through bereavement.
The Compassionate and Connected Classroom is a classroom resource designed for delivery at second level. The resource aims to raise awareness of the potential impact of adversity and trauma in shaping outcomes for children and young people and provides support that can help mitigate the impact of these experiences
NAIT have produced useful guidance on supporting autistic learners with bereavement
Winstons Wish have bereavement support resources for use with children and young people with additional support needs
Child Bereavement UK also have available a range of bereavement resources in Ukrainian and other languages
Grief Encounter provides support and advice to bereaved children and young people
How to be Harry’s Friend: read by Gavin Mitchell of Still Game. This is a story made by the BBC and read by Gavin Mitchell of Still Game about a young boy called Isaac can help his friend Harry when his mum dies
When People Die: Stories from Young People is a comic that tells numerous stories about death and resilience from a group of young people.
UNIVERSAL SUPPORTS
for children and young people
Hope Again is the youth website of Cruse Bereavement Support. It is a safe place where you can learn from other young people, how to cope with grief, and feel less alone
Child Bereavement UK provide a range of support to bereaved young people and have an office in Glasgow. They also have listed a variety of films by young people about their experiences of bereavement and you can look at them here. There is also a helpline number 0800 0288840
Winstons wish have a dedicated webpage for young people experiencing bereavement Help 2 Make Sense | Support for grieving young people with lots of advice and support. They also have a helpline, text and email service.
Mental health and wellbeing signposts for children and young people
UNIVERSAL SUPPORTS
for parents/carers
Winstons Wish provide a range of advice and support to families experiencing bereavement including talking to your child about death, attending a funeral and coping with anniversaries. They also have specialist advice for deaths by suicide, homicide and serious illness and advice on supporting a child or young person with additional support needs.
Child bereavement UK support for parents/carers
Cruse Bereavement Support
Grief Counter
Links to other supports related to loss and separation
Families Outside: Supporting families affected by imprisonment
Although bereavement is always difficult, most children and young people learn to adjust and live with their loss over time. However, in a traumatic bereavement, the way children and young people experience or understand the death can lead to lasting distress and impact on their everyday life. The UK Trauma Council provide resources to support schools, colleges and practitioners working with traumatically bereaved children and young people.
