Supporting pupil mental health around bereavement and loss
Written By: Catherine Hitchcock
5 min read
Catherine Hitchcock, Deputy Head (Pastoral) and DSL, UK
The setting is a 4-11 co-educational independent Prep School in South West London and this case study outlines the school’s approach to supporting pupil mental health around bereavement and loss.
School priority
The school has prioritised the support of bereavement and loss as an area to develop and improve following the large impact of COVID-19-related deaths and other significant losses in our community, and in response to staff wanting to feel more confident in supporting bereaved children. It was felt that this was an area of much needed support for our whole community, staff, parents and children. During the COVID-19 pandemic, more children have and will continue to experience the death of extended family members and friends across school settings.
Research literature highlights that bereavement support in British primary schools is varied and inconsistent (Abraham-Steele and Edmonds, 2021). It is not unusual for
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References
- Abraham-Steele M and Edmonds C (2021) A Thematic Analysis of Teachers' Perspectives on Supporting Victims of Childhood Bereavement in British Primary Schools. Review of Education 9(3): e3297.
- David J Schonfeld (2019) Helping Young Children Grieve and Understand Death. Young Children 74(2): 1 – 6.
- Dyregrov A, Lytje M and Rex Christensen S (2022) The price of loss – how childhood bereavement impacts education. Bereavement 1, pp. 1 – 10
- King-Mckenzie, E (2011) Death and Dying in the Curriculum of Public Schools: Is there a place? Journal of Emerging Knowledge on Emerging markets 3(1): Article 29.
- Lytje M and Dyregrov A (2019) The price of loss – a literature review of the psychosocial and health consequences of childhood bereavement. Bereavement Care 38(1): Article 13.
- Pond S (2013) Childhood grief and the church's response. Journal Of Research On Christian Education 22(2):113–138.
- Reid J and Dixon W (1999) Teacher attitudes on coping with grief in the public school classroom. Psychology in the Schools 36(3): 219–229.
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