Good Idea: Resources help teachers support bereaved children

Name: Primary and secondary school bereavement support packs

Provider: Winston's Wish

A charity that supports bereaved children and young people has developed resources that are helping schools in the North West to support pupils to better cope with the loss of a friend or loved one.

Winston's Wish developed the bereavement support packs for both primary and secondary schools, which have been distributed in Bolton and Wigan.

The packs contain guidance into different types of death, so the loss of a relative or friends can be openly talked about with a child. There are five guidance books within the primary school pack as well as two children's stories, a character for bereaved children and an activity book. The secondary school pack contains an additional book for supporting bereaved teenagers.

Rebekah Lawson, family services team leader at Winston's Wish, says: "Approximately one in 25 children and young people have experienced bereavement of a parent or sibling - that's about the same as one child in every school classroom in the country."

In Wigan, the packs have been sent to 131 schools after Winston's Wish received a grant from Wigan Council. The investment has been worthwhile, says Wendy Hilton, head teacher at Castlehill St Phillips Primary School in Wigan.

The charity is now working closely with educational psychology services in Bolton so that the packs can be distributed there.

To supplement the packs, Winston's Wish hosted an event in Bolton that included a short workshop on supporting bereaved children in school.

The guidance books within the packs give advice and support when dealing with children bereaved by death, suicide, illness, murder and manslaughter. A book, which is supported by armed forces charity Help for Heroes, also provides guidance on supporting children and young people from a military background.

They are designed as a helpful tool for adults and cover immediate and longer-term issues, while also giving practical guidance, activity ideas, and suggestions for further reading.

Some of the activities include making memory jars, which help bereaved children to express and share their feelings, and memory boxes, a place for special things to be kept which connect a bereaved child and the deceased.

Separation anxiety

Night-time worries and "separation anxiety" is also covered in the books and ideas include "worry dolls" that children can whisper worries to and matching soft toys - one big and one small - to create a physical link between child and parent.

"We believe it is important to be transparent with children and young people about death," says Lawson. "The publications help equip these adults with useful and specialist guidance on how to support bereaved children and young people."

The activity book, called "Muddles, Puddles and Sunshine", is filled with activities that bereaved children can fill in about the person who has died.

There are also activities that focus on using creative and artistic skills. "Artistic therapeutic practices allow children and young people to be able to express themselves in a non-direct way - meaning they don't have to use any names or labels if they don't want to," Lawson adds.

"Using art enables children to subconsciously process their thoughts and feelings, where they may not necessarily have the linguistic developmental skills - or the confidence - to express emotions verbally about their bereavement."

• The books and stories are also available to buy individually from www.winstonswish.org.uk and range in price from £4.99 to £10.95