How can Teachers support school children through grief

Welcome back to another blog and today I’ll be exploring ways that school teachers and staff members can support school children through grief – so if you’d like to know more about how I can help, then please keep reading.

Group Bereavement Sessions

When I gifted copies of my flagship book ‘If Heaven had a Postcode’ for World Book Day, the response that I had from schools across Hampshire blew me away.

I was told from the offset that my book had targeted a very clear gap in the market to support young people through bereavement.

After sending many copies of my book, it was heartwarming to hear that many local Secondary schools hold bereavement groups for pupils affected by grief and that there are plans to use my book within those sessions.

Uplifting remembrance

‘If Heaven had a Postcode’ is designed to provide pages of comfort and a guided path through loss of a loved one, incorporating key interview techniques used to support people affected by significant trauma, this beautiful book coaches the reader, be that a child or adult through their loss.

With beautiful heartfelt illustrations, mindfulness exercises and lesson and activity prompts, this book really is perfect for schools or support groups seeking to support young people through loss in a positive and uplifting way.

Keeping routine

When we suffer a significant loss, it can be difficult to maintain any sort of routine. When grown-ups and parents are affected by the loss of a mother or father, it can leave them shattered and unsure of where to turn. Children are particularly tuned-in to the way we feel, even if we think we do a good job of hiding those feelings.

Keeping routine especially within a teaching environment can support children hugely, it can offer stability, comfort and reassurance.

Whilst it can often feel tempting to treat children differently, and approach them with great caution at times of loss, their brains are often not mature enough to understand why, and they can be left feeling even more anxious and confused.

Keeping lesson routines and homework in place can offer them a comfort in routine and provide a positive distraction.

Encouraging communication

It would be lovely for all schools to recognise the effects of grief and offer bereavement support groups to their pupils. Whilst it’s rare for children to lose parents at such a young age, it frequently happens and I do feel that schools should be doing more to support children and their parents.

Even more worrying, is the number of young people that take their own lives and how losing a close friend or class mate could impact the children they have daily contact with.

If Heaven had a Postcode is a way of encouraging communication and uplifting remembrance.

With a copy of this book, no teacher will be burdened with the added pressure of compiling further lesson plans and support packs, because the book already does that.

Stacked with 88 pages of activity ideas, lesson plans and communication exercises, I truly believe that this book can support schools on their mission to support children with grief.

My newest edition of ‘If Heaven had a Postcode: The Workbook’ is available to pre order now at www.ifheavenhadapostcode.com

I’ll be back soon with another blog, but I hope that this blog has offered some advice on how teachers can support children through grief.

Thank you so much for being here,

Sabrina x