Child bereavement in Humberside schools

A comparative study of the child bereavement and loss responses and needs of schools in Hull, Yorkshire and Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland

“…Pastoral Care in Education 257 was found (Holland, 1993), in that schools rated the area of child bereavement relatively highly but lacked the skills and training to be able to effectively respond. As a result of this finding, ad hoc courses were provided in Hull and gradually formalised through the publication of the Lost for words training pack and project (Holland, Dance, MacManus, & Stitt, 2005).…”

“…However, there are also many things in common after a death, including the post death rites, mourning and the emotional impact. The first survey in Hull (Holland, 1993) found that all the schools had an 'ad hoc' approach and that, as in Derry/Londonderry, the move is now towards schools having more formal approaches. It is interesting that, compared with Hull, 9% more of Derry/Londonderry schools have a formal procedure.…”

“…The questionnaire 'Loss in schools' (Holland, 1993) had previously been used in Hull and had provided interesting and relevant information. One example was that a 'training gap'…”

“…Although the provision of training for bereavement support has increased over the past 20 years (Holland, 2001), providing care and support to bereaved children in school is still 'an issue for the majority of school staff in the UK and other countries' (Lowton & Higginson, 2003, p. 736). There are many bereaved children in schools in England (Holland, 1993;Shipman, Kraus, & Monroe, 2001) and Northern Ireland (see Donnelly & Connon, 2003;Smyth, Fay, Brough, & Hamilton, 2004). In Ireland McGovern and Barry (2000) found that death was a 'taboo' subject and teachers and parents were uncomfortable discussing it with children.…”

“…The management of loss, grief and bereavement in schools has been highlighted in studies in both Ireland (McGovern & Barry, 2000;Tracey, 2006) and England (Holland, 1993;Lowton & Higginson, 2003). Although the provision of training for bereavement support has increased over the past 20 years (Holland, 2001), providing care and support to bereaved children in school is still 'an issue for the majority of school staff in the UK and other countries' (Lowton & Higginson, 2003, p. 736).…”