Supporting Bereaved Children in the Primary Classroom: Helping Children Process Death, Grief and Loss

Children experience a range of emotions during their time in primary school; however, bereavement is both unique and challenging. This book seeks to enable adults working with children to be prepared for this part of life’s journey and ready to support the child affected by the death of their loved one.

This accessible book explores topics that may have not been fully explored during teacher training, including defining loss, grief and bereavement, looking at different models of grief, identifying how grief affects children and investigating how the differing needs of minority groups can be met. Focussed on delivering practical and hands-on guidance, readers are presented with expert advice and case studies from the classroom to understand how to create an effective childhood bereavement policy. Whilst supporting a bereaved child is crucial, the emotional toll on the adult should not be underestimated and this book offers applied self-care strategies tailored for educators. A resource bank with contact details for specialist childhood bereavement organisations is also included for quick reference in a crisis. The authors also make suggestions for play-based activities and guided tasks using high-quality texts for school adults to use in small groups or with the whole class.

This is a much-needed resource for every classroom to best support young people experiencing anxiety, depression and mental health issues after facing a death. This book gives primary teachers, school leaders and staff the confidence to build learning environments that nurture and support students through this difficult time.

Emma L. Palastanga is a passionate educator with over 25 years of experience. She has worked in different school settings as a teacher and school leader instigating change. She has also worked as an Ofsted inspector evaluating the quality of education. Emma has lived experience of supporting children after the death of a loved one, and she is keen to empower all staff in primary schools to support children who are bereaved.

Poppy Gibson is a lecturer in Education at the Open University, and her research centres around well-being and mental health. After over a decade teaching and leading in primary schools around London, Poppy moved into higher education to work on primary education degrees.

Marie Greenhalgh is a former College Headteacher and is now Relationships Director for charity Inclusion Education. She has worked for Inclusion Education for over 16 years building programmes and education provision that support young people with mental health needs and neurodiversity.