Gabrielle discussed the need to be aware of bereavement within and around transition services for children and young people and to support young people who may be experiencing this. Gabrielle discussed the vision of the UK Child Bereavement “Child Bereavement UK believes all families should have the support they need to rebuild their lives when a child grieves or when a child dies. Our mission is to ensure the accessibility of high quality child bereavement support and information to all families an professionals, by increasing our reach, plugging the gaps that exist in bereavement support and training, and embedding standards in the sector.” Gabrielle went on to discuss some of the theory behind the process of bereavement and what professionals might need to be aware of in this process. Gabrielle left us with some key messages, which were: • Understanding, love and sensitivity • To be involved • Honesty • Information • Opportunity to express feelings • To revisit their grief as they become older

1. CBUK Vision
• Child Bereavement UK believes all families
should have the support they need to rebuild
their lives when a child grieves or when a child
dies. Our mission is to ensure the accessibility
of high quality child bereavement support and
information to all families and professionals,
by increasing our reach, plugging the gaps that
exist in bereavement support and training,
and embedding standards in the sector.

2. The Education (Scotland) Act 2004
as amended in 2009
• Recognises bereavement as an additional
support need and as such a potential barrier
to learning
• Bereavement can be addressed within the
legal framework of additional support for
learning
• Let’s be creative with what “additional
support” looks like

3. On average 12,000 children die in the UK every
year

4. Death is a fact of life...
...and grief is a natural process.
But many people, adults and children, need more
support and understanding in their grieving than they
receive.
The consequences of unresolved grief can be dire.
A 2011 report in the BMJ even suggests bereaved
parents may die younger.
www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/9242248.Grieving_parents_may_die_younger__new_study_shows/

5. The Education (Scotland) Act 2004
as amended in 2009
• Recognises bereavement as an additional
support need and as such a potential barrier
to learning
• Bereavement can be addressed within the
legal framework of additional support for
learning
• Let’s be creative with what “additional
support” looks like

6. Getting bereavement support right
• GIRFEC is all about partnerships in culture, systems and
practice
• Reactive to proactive
• Bereavement support should be on service improvement
plans
• Team agendas
• Community Health Partnerships
• Community Planning Partnerships
• Integrated Children’s Service Plans
• Continuing Professional Development

7. Personal, professional &
interprofessional
• How much are we
aware of our own
internal relationships
with loss and how this
impacts upon external
relationships personally,
professionally and
interprofessionally?
Child
concern
Internal
unaware
Internal
aware Personal
Professional
Presentatio
n
Other
professional
Other
Professional

8. Definitions
• Loss – the experience of grief when something
we are attached to is lost
• Bereavement – the experience of grief when
someone we are attached to dies
• Trauma – an experience which was extremely
frightening or shocking

9. Grief – psychological adjustment to loss
Shock
Disbelief
Denial
Anger
Blame
Guilt
Deep Despair
Beginning to adjust
Living with
loss/acceptance

10. Grief At the time Now Best Hope
Shock
Disbelief
Denial
Anger
Self blame
Blame others
Guilt
Sadness
Scale for grief
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
 

11. Tasks of Mourning
• To accept the reality of the loss
• To process the pain of grief
• To adjust to a world without the deceased
• To find an enduring connection with the
deceased in the midst of embarking on a
new life
J William Worden (2009) 4th Edition, Springer New York
J William Worden

12. Factors affecting
the grieving process
‘Recovery’
environment
Relationship with
person who died
Circumstances
of death/dying
The individual,
personality,
background

13. Everyday Life
Experience
Loss-oriented
Grief work
Intrusion of grief
Breaking
bonds/ties
Denial/avoidance
of restoration
changes
Restoration-
oriented
Attending to life
changes
Doing new things
Distraction from grief
Denial/avoidance of
grief
New roles/identity/
relationship
A Dual Process Model of Coping with Bereavement
Stroebe & Schut (1999)
Death Studies 23(3):197-224

14. What Good Provision for Bereaved Children Looks Like
Outreach/specialist
support for those
who are vulnerable or traumatised
1:1 support and
Groups for children
And young people
Support for parents/carers
to help their children
An easy to access assessment process to
agree who and what could help a particular family
Information about how children grieve,
what can help and what services there are

15. What can we do to help?
• Understanding, love and sensitivity
• To be involved
• Honesty
• Information
• Opportunity to express feelings
• To revisit their grief as they become
older

16. Some Guiding Principles
• Young people need, want and deserve
honesty, truth and choices.
• You can not “fix it” but can be a caring
supporting adult willing to bear witness
• Grief is a normal, healthy, response to
loss