Childhood Bereavement Network

Most young people will have been bereaved of someone close to them (a parent, sibling, grandparent, friend, teacher) by the time they are 16. Many will cope well with their loss, but all will need the support of those around them.

Children's reactions to bereavement are affected by many factors. These may be to do with who has died, how they died, what their relationship was with the person who has died, how the family expresses their feelings and communicates, what other things are going on at the same time and whether their school and home community are supportive. Important factors will include the child or young person's age and understanding of what has happened, and whether they are naturally quite resilient or quite anxious.

Are you wanting advice and information about setting up a service for bereaved children in your local area?
Get ideas about mapping what's needed, making contact with other services fundraising and building support, and developing your service model. Our step-by-step factsheets will help you get up and running.

People working with bereaved children and their families - in paid roles or as volunteers - come from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. Professional backgrounds include nursing, teaching, social work, counselling, psychotherapy and youth work.

You might be doing one of these roles already, but feel the need for more training and skills development in supporting those who have been bereaved. You might want to move into a role where you specialise in child bereavement. You might have personal experience of bereavement, which you now feel ready to put to use to benefit others. All these roles are necessary to build a culture of compassion and support for bereaved children across the UK.