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PSHE education should be a partnership between parents and schools.

It's also key to have governors on board with what you're doing. Our handy guides will help you to communicate with parents and governors about the subject's content, and value.

Engage with parents about Relationships Education/RSE

Use our guides to communicate with parents about statutory Relationships Education (KS1-2) and Relationships and Sex Education (KS3-4). We include practical advice - including a template letter and parent workshop plan - on how to explain the statutory requirements and right of withdrawal from sex education.

Documents

Engage with governing boards to support and influence PSHE education

This guidance - written in partnership with the National Governance Association - highlights the crucial link between PSHE education and safeguarding, health and wellbeing in schools. We also give best practice advice for meeting statutory RSHE requirements and outline the importance of a supportive governing board.

Documents

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Practical advice for engaging with parents and governors with PSHE, including statutory requirements.

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I usually select one pillar to provide a loose structure to my lunchtime bereavement club. Usually giving an example from my own experience and encouraging student to chat about their own examples with each other.

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In this pillar I explain the importance of both living relationships and the continuing relationship with the person who has died. Our relationship with others is key to a good and happy life. And when someone significant in our life dies, the level of our loss will be equal to the quality of that relationship and how much we loved the person who died.

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Improving Bereavement Support in Schools, funded by the True Colours Trust, surveyed over 1000 teachers and staff in pastoral, outreach and management roles within primary and secondary schools. In addition, case studies were gathered from seven schools from Scotland, South Wales, South West England, South Central England and North West England, and seventeen in-depth interviews with teachers were undertaken. The research aimed to gain a better understanding of the drivers and barriers for schools in accessing training and effectively supporting bereaved pupils.

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Our short films are delivered by support practitioners and cover a range of topics on grief and bereavement, providing guidance on what can help. Read more

A list of books and resources relating to grief and bereavement and what may help. Read more

Some bereaved families find it helpful to read about other peoples' experiences and how the support they have received has helped them. Read more

Improving bereavement support in schools, Summary Research Report (as PDF)

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Improving Bereavement Support in Schools, funded by the True Colours Trust, surveyed over 1000 teachers and staff in pastoral, outreach and management roles within primary and secondary schools. In addition, case studies were gathered from seven schools from Scotland, South Wales, South West England, South Central England and North West England, and seventeen in-depth interviews with teachers were undertaken.

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Tina Rae's 'Ask the Expert' webinar - free recorded session about grief, loss and bereavement

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Tina Rae's 'Ask the Expert' webinar - free recorded session about grief, loss and bereavement

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Bereavement, Grief, and Loss – Ask The Expert (recording) - ACAMH

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For this session we welcomed Dr. Tina Rae to share her knowledge and insights into the complex subject of bereavement, grief and loss. In this session, loss will be considered in its broader sense; taking into consideration the impacts of the pandemic and other global crises that are affecting famil…

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The Growing Hope Project by Winston’s Wish brings together bereaved primary school children to garden at regular sessions.

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Download this report
The PSHE Association (personal, social, health and economic education) is both a charity and membership association, representing PSHE teachers and offering them support through guidance, training and resources. They also promote the teaching of quality, evidence-based PSHE in all schools throughout England, campaigning for PSHE practitioners and working with local authorities, academy chains and corporate, voluntary and public-sector bodies. They aim to ensure that every student in the country receives high-quality, regular PSHE education which results in better academic achievement, emotional wellbeing and preparedness for the world of work.

However, PSHE education is not statutory and as such, many pupils across England do not have adequate PSHE instruction. Many do not have any at all. PSHE Association approached PBE to help them respond to a call for evidence by the Department for Education looking at the impacts of PSHE education on academic attainment, attendance and behaviour.

Solution

There is a lot of literature on the impact of PSHE education on students, however there has not been any synthesis work conducted to draw together key information on the benefits of PSHE in schools in the form of a review. Pro Bono Economics matched volunteer economists Andrew Barnard, Ravi Sharma, Andrew Carey, Amy Regan and Justin Seth, to review the literature and draw it together. They focussed on three aspects of PSHE's impact: behaviour, attainment and attendance, looking at short term impacts and highlighting opportunities for long term assessment. The report, which covers over 1200 studies, examines national and international evidence to determine how PSHE's positive impact on physical and mental health might lead to improved attainment and life chances.

Results

The study showed strong evidence that PSHE education has a positive impact on academic attainment and does not detract from other core curriculum subjects, as critics often suggest. The analysis found that school-based anti-bullying programmes resulted in a decrease in bullying and victimisation, and showed children with higher levels of behavioural, emotional, social and school wellbeing have higher levels of academic achievement.

Impact

PSHE Association used the report in a press and media campaign around the government call for evidence and achieved significant coverage. The report findings were submitted to the Department for Education and are being considered as evidence in the case for making PSHE statutory in schools across England.

Diane Coyle, Pro Bono Economics Trustee and professor of economics at the University of Manchester (and, from March 2018, inaugural Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge):
"This report summarises the positive impact on academic attainment, including through benefits to physical health, mental health and behaviour, all of which greatly affect students not just in the classroom, but continue to benefit them in their adult life. The value of this Pro Bono Economics report is to establish from the literature the evidence that PSHE is effective in these respects"
Dame Alison Peacock, Chief Executive of the Chartered College of Teaching:
"This review is timely. School leaders and teachers are increasingly interested in responding to evidence about approaches to pedagogy, curriculum design and assessment. It is essential that we learn more about optimal ways of supporting the development of children and young people's capacity to learn and thrive."
Jonathan Baggaley, Chief Executive of the PSHE Association :
"By supporting mental health, physical health, safeguarding and healthy relationships, PSHE education removes numerous barriers to learning, clearing the way for pupils to succeed in their academic studies while gaining invaluable knowledge and skills for life. It must therefore be prioritised so that all children in all schools receive regular PSHE lessons, taught by trained teachers. Many thanks to Pro Bono Economics for their exhaustive work on this review"

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Without our generous supporters, we would not be able to carry out our essential work with charities. Thank you for supporting us. Read more
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Download this report The PSHE Association (personal, social, health and economic education) is both a charity and membership association, representing PSHE teachers and offering them support through guidance, training and resources. They also promote the teaching of quality, evidence-based PSHE in all schools throughout England, campaigning for PSHE practitioners and working with local authorities, academy chains and corporate, voluntary and public-sector bodies.

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https://www.amazon.co.uk/Muddles-Puddles-Sunshine-Paperback-Activity/dp/186989058

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Seasons for Growth has been helping children, young people and adults across Scotland since 2001. We now have over 5,000 trained Companions across Scotland. Last year over 5,000 children and adults attended groups. We hope that the information on these pages will help you to learn more about this award winning programme.

Scottish Study

Recent research published in the Educational Psychology in Scotland, Winter 2017 looked at the impact of the programme.

Outcomes were measured against the Curriculum for Excellence (health and wellbeing). The study, which included 75 pupil participants, identified many positive outcomes including:

highly significant improvements reported by pupils, parents and teachers in all health and wellbeing measures

teachers reported young people able to concentrate more on their learning

parents / carers reported children being less angry, calmer, happier, more able to concentrate, and making more effort with homework.

pupils reported an increased sense of belonging and connectedness, emotional literacy, concentration, confidence and relationships. They also said they had fun!

To read the research please click here

Reference: Robertson, N., McPherson, K., Murray, D., Montgomery, A., Shaver, I., and Gardner, A. (2017) Improving health and wellbeing for children and young people who have experienced loss, change and bereavement. Educational Psychology in Scotland, Vol 18 pp 2-5.

International Evaluation

Seasons for Growth in Scotland is about to be involved in an exciting International Research project involving Australia, New Zealand, England and Wales. If you would like further information or for your school to take part please read the following: International Evaluation Summary For parent/carer participants please read: INFORMATION SHEET for Parent and Carer participants

Congratulations and thank you to Alison Gardner and all involved in Seasons for Growth in West Dunbartonshire following a Care Inspection:

"While many schools across Scotland run Seasons for Growth groups, the programme in West Dunbartonshire is led strategically, well embedded in primary and secondary schools, and is delivered in other settings. The inspection team viewed it as a model of outstanding and sustainable practice." (Care Inspectorate (2017), Services for Children & Young People in West Dunbartonshire, p37). Please see West Dunbartonshire Spring Newsletter for further information.

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Seasons for Growth has been helping children, young people and adults across Scotland since 2001. We now have over 5,000 trained Companions across Scotland. Last year over 5,000 children and adults attended groups. We hope that the information on these pages will help you to learn more about this award winning programme.

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Grief, loss and bereavement in Mental Health resources

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Grief, loss and bereavement in Mental Health resources

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PSHE Association members can access lessons for KS1-4 on grief, loss and bereavement in their Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing packs

https://pshe-association.org.uk/resource/mental-health-emotional-wellbeing-ks1-2

https://pshe-association.org.uk/resource/mental-health-emotional-wellbeing-ks3-4

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Mental health and emotional wellbeing pack

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Coram Campus, 41 Brunswick Square, London WC1N 1AZ. The PSHE Association is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee. Charity number: 1127056 Company number: 6551975 © Copyright 2023 PSHE Association All Rights Reserved.

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Badger’s Parting Gifts 35th Anniversary Edition | Child Bereavement UK

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Child Bereavement UK have partnered with publisher Andersen Press to provide information and guidance for adults using Susan Varley's much-loved picture book Badger's Parting Gifts to help children understand and talk about death.

Published in 1984, Susan Varley set out to write something that might help others, having experienced the death of her own grandmother. Since then, the beautifully illustrated, sensitive and accessible story, gently exploring grief and loss, has aided parents, teachers and grandparents alike in starting conversations with young children about death of any kind.

The new, 35 th anniversary edition of the book features a reading guide from Child Bereavement UK that provides tips for reading Badger's Parting Gifts with children and helping them better understand grief.

Our online information sheet Talking With and Supporting Bereaved Childrenwith further notes and guidance, using examples and illustrations from the book, can be downloaded .

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Badger's Parting Gifts 35th Anniversary Edition

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Child Bereavement UK have partnered with publisher Andersen Press to provide information and guidance for adults using Susan Varley's much-loved picture book Badger's Parting Gifts to help children understand and talk about death.

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Rainbows Bereavement Support GB is a well respected national charity offering high quality training in bereavement and loss.

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Resources for schools - including policy guidance 

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Resources for schools - including policy guidance 

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How can Winston's Wish help schools supporting grieving pupils?

Caring for a bereaved pupil can be complex. What should you say? How should you act? Is there something specific you should be doing or not doing? How do you know if a student is coping?

On average 1 in every 29 children will be bereaved of a parent. That's one in every class. Yet many teachers receive no bereavement training and are unsure how to support grieving children and young people in their classroom.

Whilst we can't take away a young person's loss, we can help you to help them to thrive again.

As well as providing direct bereavement information and support to young people, Winston's Wish helps teachers and other school professionals to provide the best support possible.

Whether it's helping you having your first conversations with children about death, activities to help young people express their feelings or simply understanding how children, teenagers and young adults grieve differently depending on their age, their circumstances and their type of bereavement.

We're here to help you support the children and young people in your care, whether it be in anticipation of a death (pre-bereavement), in the immediate days following a bereavement or even months or years down the line.

Please note that any young person up to the age of 25 who has experienced the death of someone important to them can reach out directly to Winston's Wish through our on-demand services.

They can email, chat with us online, text or call our helpline. Those aged 13 or over can also refer themselves for further bereavement support services.

We encourage you to encourage bereaved children and young people to reach out to us directly themselves, so they can own and start their grief support journey on their own terms.

All of our services are online to ensure as many people as possible have access to bereavement advice and support, no matter where they live.

We have information available in languages other than English and if you click the circle icon with a stick man at the bottom left of your screen you can use our accessibility toolbar to change the language, font, colours, size etc of the website.

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Our team at Winston's Wish offer advice to schools for teachers and staff who are supporting a bereaved child and help create a bereavement policy for grieving pupils.

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Children and young people grieve just as much as adults but they show it in different ways. They learn how to grieve by copying the responses of the adults around them, and rely on adults to provide them with the support they need in their grief.
Further guidance that may be helpful:
How might bereaved children react and what may help?

Children and young people have a limited ability to put feelings and thoughts into words and tend to show feelings with behaviours rather than words. Reactions will vary greatly as children absorb and process information in different ways at different ages.

The following reactions are common, and are likely to settle over time with reassurance, acknowledging what has happened and their feelings, giving them clear and age-appropriate information, and keeping to normal routines.

Picking up on tension and distress

Children pick up on tension, distress or anxiety in adults, and may mirror this in their own behaviour. Even babies sense that something important is missing, and may cry more than usual. Children of all ages may be clingy or unsettled.

Appearing not to react

Children under 6 years old do not understand that death is permanent. Children cannot handle strong emotions for long periods, and may jump quickly in and out of grief ('puddle jumping'). When told that someone important has died, some children may look blank and ask 'can I play' or 'what's for tea?' They may have heard, but they are not able to process what that means yet. They may react later with sudden crying, outbursts, changes in behaviour or asking questions.

Asking questions and exploring what death means

Children may ask repeatedly: "When's Nanny coming back?" or "Where has she gone?" even though they've been told clearly what has happened. They may hunt everywhere for a 'lost' person, and so a clear explanation of what 'died' means may help. Children may play games where the person dies, or is still alive. They may seem fascinated with death, play-act about death or ask repeatedly about it. All of these are ways that children show that they are processing their understanding of what has happened.

Feeling anxious or insecure

When someone dies, a child's sense of safety is rocked. They may not want to leave you, and may cling to you or follow you everywhere. They may behave as if they are younger: being very quiet or tearful, having temper flare-ups, sucking their thumb, being reluctant to do things they used to do with confidence, or wetting the bed.

Try to keep to normal routines which will help them feel safe, and keep them informed about plans for the days ahead. Tell them who will take them to school or activities. If you need to leave them, tell them when you will be home, or who will be looking after them.
Include them in simple decision-making that affects them. If the person who died was ill, address any fears about the illness (for example that it is not catching), and reassure them that you are not ill and not leaving them.

Anger

Anger and other strong emotions are natural reactions to sad or shocking news, and some children and young people may not be able to understand or manage their own feelings. They may feel angry at the person who died, at family, at themselves or at the world in general.

It can help to tell them it is understandable for them to be angry, as long as they don't hurt themselves or anyone else. Safe ways to release anger include hitting cushions, vigorous physical exercise, messy painting sessions, or going outside to shout very loudly.

Another idea is a 'safe zone' where they can go to calm down. This could be a quiet corner with familiar items that help them to feel safe.

Looking after adults or feeling responsible

As children realise that death is permanent, they also become aware that it happens to other people including themselves. They may be protective and try to look after their important adults and siblings. They may feel that they were somehow responsible for the death.

Primary aged children may show 'magical thinking' where they think 'if I do this, Dad will come back'. They may behave very well to compensate for what's happened, or be less well-behaved because they feel angry or guilty.

Denying what has happened or taking risks

Bereavement can be overwhelming, and can bring huge changes, alongside other challenges that young people face as they grow up. They may want to forget or deny the death or how strongly they feel. They may feel 'what's the point?' with school or social activities. Some young people may be impulsive or take risks, in an attempt to get back some control in a life that for them currently feels very out of control.

What helps grieving children and young people

Every child is unique and will cope with the death of someone important in their own way. There is no magic formula but things that help include:

Clear, honest and age-appropriate information

Reassurance that they are not to blame and that different feelings are OK

Normal routines and a clear demonstration that important adults are there for them

Time to talk about what has happened, ask questions and build memories

Being listened to and given time to grieve in their own way

Further information

More about how children and young people grieve, and what helps:

Finding support

For many bereaved children and young people, they may get all the support they need from those already around them that they know and trust. However, some children and young people may need additional support depending on their situation.

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Short films delivered by our support practitioners giving guidance on a range of bereavement topics. Read more

A list of books and resources relating to grief and bereavement and what may help. Read more

Watch short films and read experiences of bereaved families and how support has helped them. Read more

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Supporting bereaved children and young people

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Children and young people grieve just as much as adults but they show it in different ways. Find out how you can help them and more about child grieving.

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Children, young people and grief - Cruse Bereavement Support

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Children & young people experience the same sorts of feelings as adults when someone dies. But they may express them differently.