Winston’s Wish is delighted to be partnering with Teapot Trust, a mental health charity that provides support and improves the lives of children living with chronic health conditions through art therapy. Together, the charities will signpost children and young people to one another’s services and provide mutual training for staff from both organisations. This will make sure children and young people are able to access the right support at the right time.  

Members of Teapot Trust Young Voices highlighted the complexity of living with chronic illness and grief. It was noted that little support and information currently exists about this so this partnership aims to change that, putting the voices of young people at the centre and developing a ‘toolbox’ of accessible and relevant tools. 

Excitingly young ambassadors and volunteers from Winston’s Wish and Teapot Trust will work together to co-produce a resource aimed at helping children living with chronic illnesses deal with grief and bereavement. 

Ally Lloyd, Teapot Trust Young Voices Participation Officer comments, “As a charity supporting the mental health of children and young people living with chronic illness, we see the complex ways in which bereavement affects, and is affected by, living with a chronic illness. Living with a chronic illness can affect the way a young person is able to grieve and access support.  

“Bereavement and grieving can be very physical experiences that can lead to flare-ups and worsen symptoms for folk living with a chronic illness. As individuals, families, friendship groups, and communities, young people have (through necessity) worked out how best to manage this. This project is a supportive space to bring these experiences, learnings, and questions together. Together, as Winston Wish’s Youth Team and Teapot Trust’s Young Voices, we can better understand the complexities of chronic illness and bereavement and take the first steps to making that experience easier for others.” 

“It’s so exciting to begin this partnership with Teapot Trust to combine the very real experiences of being bereaved whilst living with a chronic illness. The concept for this project came from the young people themselves, wanting to make sure others were supported and recognised in their experience, and it is these voices that will drive and develop the partnership.”

 

Fenella Prior-Smith, Head of Youth Participation at Winston’s Wish

The partnership will draw upon the lived experiences of young people from Winston’s Wish and Teapot Trust.  

Amber, Teapot Trust Young Voices Volunteer, comments, “I’m really looking forward to working on such an important, needed project. Chronic illness and bereavement are incredibly complicated. Not only can it impact the way you are able to grieve loved ones, but it also exposes you to unique kinds of grief like having people you know with similar conditions to you die or witnessing deaths whilst admitted to hospital. It’s an area that currently doesn’t feel very well-resourced or understood, so I hope this collaboration between Winston’s Wish and Teapot Trust can start the conversation and begin to fill the gap in resources.” 

Winston’s Wish Youth Ambassador Eden, 21, comments, “I wanted to get involved as I feel it is important for those of us with chronic illness to share our views on how grief affects us as sometimes it can be even harder especially if we aren’t able to distract ourselves by taking part in hobbies, socialising, etc due to limited energy so think it’s important our voices and experiences are represented and I’m looking forward to making a difference.” 

True to the charity’s vision that no child is left to grieve alone, Winston’s Wish is keen to ensure its services are visible to grieving children and young people throughout the UK and is committed to reaching those with additional needs and disabilities.  

Winston’s Wish is delighted to partner with Teapot Trust and is looking forward to creating this specialised resource following the launch of this meaningful co-production project. 

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Bereavement training for professionals

We offer a range of training, from support immediately after a death in your school community to free online lessons that you can download via our website and even tailored sessions to meet the needs of your school or organisation.

View our training courses and give yourself the skills and confidence to support bereaved pupils in your classroom.

Resources for Schools

Access our resources library for schools, that offer guidance on creating bereavement guides, strategies and charter documents.

By using our templates you can have a strategy to support children and young people in your classroom following a death in the school community.

Winston’s Wish has officially partnered with Olive Academies, a pioneering multi-academy trust, specialising in alternative learning provision supporting 7-16-year-olds who are unable to attend mainstream schools to reach their full potential. 

After identifying that 19% of academy students have experienced bereavement, with a significant proportion bereaved by acts of domestic violence, the partnership will see Winston’s Wish deliver specialist training for staff supporting bereaved pupils and offer direct support for students through the charities innovative digital bereavement services.  

Our partnership with Olive Academies provides specialist training support to students and teachers who are either going through bereavement or supporting those that are. It is an honour to be working with such a proactive organisation whose aim is that every child and young person has the right to learn and achieve.

 

Fergus Crow, CEO of Winston’s Wish

Helena Boast at Olive Academies, said: “The specialist work of Winston’s Wish directly impacts so many of our pupils experiencing bereavement and grief, helping them to move on with their lives and thrive. 

“Providing access to professional child-centred bereavement support, information and resources through this partnership is a wonderful addition to the high-quality pastoral care already in place across our academies. I am delighted to be able to offer this service to our pupils, their families and academy staff.” 

To date, 50 staff working across five academies in Havering, Thurrock, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk have received specialist training covering an introduction to childhood bereavement, the impact of grief at different ages and stages and how to help. 

Since attending the training 98% of academy staff said they would recommend the sessions and 74% rated their confidence in supporting a bereaved student as 4/5 after receiving the training. 

You might also be interested in

Bereavement training for professionals

We offer a range of training, from support immediately after a death in your school community to free online lessons that you can download via our website and even tailored sessions to meet the needs of your school or organisation.

View our training courses and give yourself the skills and confidence to support bereaved pupils in your classroom.

Resources for Schools

Access our resources library for schools, that offer guidance on creating bereavement guides, strategies and charter documents.

By using our templates you can have a strategy to support children and young people in your classroom following a death in the school community.

Winston’s Wish is delighted to announce its new partnership with cancer care charity Maggie’s. These two national charities are pleased to join hands to help ensure that children and young people receive true wraparound support when someone in the family or friend circle is living with advanced cancer.  

Maggie’s has 24 cancer centres built in the grounds of NHS hospitals throughout the UK.  The charity provides expert support from diagnosis onwards for the person with cancer as well as family and friends.    

Maggie’s Chief Executive Dame Laura Lee said: “Our experts are there for people at possibly the hardest time of their lives, offering free practical and psychological care and support when they need it most. We are here for people with cancer and those who love them for every stage which includes pre bereavement or when bereaved.  

“In 2023 we supported people living with cancer more than 300,000 times and we know that number will only rise as more people find themselves living with cancer.”  

Each year Winston’s Wish supports and impacts the lives of more than 80,000 grieving children and young people when their lives are turned upside down by bereavement.   

As well as providing support with bereavement, whether it is from traumatic circumstances, illness or other circumstances, the charity also provides advice for pre-bereavement when there is a terminal diagnosis including offering expert support surrounding how adults can talk to younger children about death and dying, the importance of using direct language and tips about how to remember their special person.   

In a similar vein, Maggie’s supports the entire family when there is a cancer diagnosis and offers support to young people when somebody in their circle receives the news that someone they love has cancer.  

 Winston’s Wish vision is that no child is left to grieve alone and as such, Winston’s Wish is pleased to be joining forces with the national cancer charity, in order to be visible and accessible in relevant spaces. As part of the partnership, each charity’s services will be signposted to service-users to ensure that they know of the specialised support available to them.  

Letizia Perna, Director of Services and Service Transformation at Winston’s Wish is pleased to officially announce the partnership between the two charities. She says, “As we publicly announce the partnership between Winston’s Wish and Maggie’s, we will be combining expertise in childhood bereavement and cancer support.  

“This strategic partnership between our two charities demonstrates a profound commitment to supporting children, young people, and families impacted by cancer, particularly those navigating the challenges of bereavement. Together, we will offer a compassionate network that embraces bereaved children, young people, and families, ensuring they feel seen, understood, and supported through their grief journey.”  

Maggie’s Chief Executive Dame Laura Lee said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Winstons’ Wish.  By working together, we will ensure that thousands of children and young people experiencing bereavement through cancer get exactly the right support they need.  

“We see and hear in our centres everyday how the impact of a cancer diagnosis ripples out through families.”  

Together with Maggie’s, Winston’s Wish is keen to ensure that its services are visible and accessible to the countless children, young people and their families throughout the UK whose lives are turned upside down by grief. With support from Maggie’s and their expert cancer support, the charities are pleased to announce their partnership and work together to improve the accessibility of support for young people when cancer is close to home.  

“Together, we will offer a compassionate network that embraces bereaved children, young people, and families, ensuring they feel seen, understood, and supported through their grief journey.”  

 

Letizia Perna, Director of Services and Service Transformation

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Support for Parents and Carers

Caring for a bereaved child or young person can be complex. While we can’t take away a young person’s loss, we can help you to help them thrive again.

We offer a range of support to families, so you can help the child or young person in your life, navigate their grief.

Support for Schools

Teachers play a vital role in the lives of bereaved children and young people, and often many don’t receive bereavement training.

At Winston’s Wish, we want to change that, which is why we provide guides, resources, free online learning and tailored training sessions for schools and professionals.

A new All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Childhood Bereavement has been proposed with the aim of raising awareness of the impact of bereavement on children and young people and encourage debate between children, young people, families, and professionals to develop policy solutions. MPs are now being encouraged to join the planned group to advocate for the needs of bereaved children and young people in their constituencies…and we need your help to reach them!  

Christine Jardine MP is behind the planned group with Winston’s Wish as the secretariat. To mark Children’s Grief Awareness Week 2024 Christine will be hosting an event for MPs with organisations in the sector so they can hear more about the impact of grief and bereavement from Winston’s Wish, Widowed and Young, the Childhood Bereavement Network and ABC Grief.  

Winston’s Wish is also imploring local MPs to make the needs of the bereaved children and young people in their constituencies a priority and consider joining the APPG.  

You can help by letting your local MP know about the group and encourage them to stand up for the grieving children and young people in your communities by joining the planned APPG.  

Send a letter, email or send a message on Facebook or X (formerly Twitter) using our template, simply personalise the details where prompted. You can find your MP and their contact details at members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP  

As the UK’s first childhood bereavement charity, Winston’s Wish acknowledges how important it is that the often overlooked topic of childhood bereavement should be discussed at a policy level. CEO of Winston’s Wish Fergus Crow commented: 

“Childhood bereavement is an often-overlooked issue that affects thousands of children across our nation each year. According to estimates, approximately 1 in 29 children will experience the death of a parent or sibling before they reach adulthood. That’s at least one child in every classroom.   

“The impact of loss during formative years can be profound, leading to emotional distress, academic challenges, and social withdrawal. Without appropriate support, these children may struggle with mental health issues such as anxiety and depression and are more likely to engage in risk taking behaviours, hindering their ability to thrive both personally and academically. It is imperative that we prioritise their needs within governmental policies and frameworks.”  

We implore MPs to make the needs of the bereaved children and young people in their constituencies a priority and consider joining the APPG.

 

Fergus Crow, CEO of Winston’s Wish

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Support for Parents and Carers

Caring for a bereaved child or young person can be complex. While we can’t take away a young person’s loss, we can help you to help them thrive again.

We offer a range of support to families, so you can help the child or young person in your life, navigate their grief.

Support for Schools

Teachers play a vital role in the lives of bereaved children and young people, and often many don’t receive bereavement training.

At Winston’s Wish, we want to change that, which is why we provide guides, resources, free online learning and tailored training sessions for schools and professionals.

Winston’s Wish has launched a new SEND Rapid Response package designed to support educational providers following a bereavement in the school community. 

We have worked exclusively with Sarah Helton, a SEND Trainer and Consultant who specialises in grief and bereavement, to create this specific package designed with SEND pupils in mind. 

Sarah, also known as the BackPocketTeacher, has worked in the Special Educational Needs/Disabilities (SEND) field for more than 25 years and has an outstanding track record in a diverse range of roles from Deputy Head to Local Authority Education Officer as well as Educational Publisher. 

Rapid Response is a trailblazing package offered by Winston’s Wish to education settings to offer fast bereavement support when there has been a death in the school community. This special training session, delivered online, is designed to support teachers and school staff to be able to recognise signs of grief and to support pupils through the bereavement.  

The SEND Rapid Response one-day package covers such topics as how to communicate what has happened, how to offer support and understanding around complex feelings and explore the fears around the pupil’s own mortality or that of others, as well as offering help and acknowledging the wellbeing of the teachers who are supporting grieving pupils.  

All schools will experience bereavement, but for special schools it can sadly occur more frequently. A significant death within the school community can have a ripple effect, impacting students, staff and families, making it hard to balance their own grief whilst supporting the grief of others.  

In recognition of this Winston’s Wish is offering SEND Rapid Response Training aimed at supporting special schools helping them through the toughest of times and preparing them for future losses. This online training session will consider the particular needs that staff will face when helping young people to understand and express their grief whilst being mindful of staff wellbeing. We are very excited to launch this important training to complement our ongoing work in supporting bereaved young people with additional needs. 

 

Sarah Helton, BackPocketTeacher

Sarah went on to say, “The needs of children and young people with SEND are often overlooked due to their cognitive or communication differences. We know that a young baby can be affected by the death of a parent. If a baby has the capacity to experience this, then every child with SEND has at least this level of understanding and it is often much higher than we realise. 

“There are many perceived barriers to children and young people with SEND gaining bereavement and grief support, but in reality, the only true barrier is us. We need to have confidence to talk about death and grief to all young people.” 

Letizia Perna, Director of Services and Service Transformation at Winston’s Wish comments, “Sarah’s collaboration with Winston’s Wish elevates our ability to address the unique challenges faced by bereaved SEND children and young people. By integrating their perspectives more deeply, we’ll create even more nuanced, effective support systems that truly resonate with their experiences.  

“We’re passionately committed to amplifying the voices of SEND children and young people throughout our organization. The lived experiences, ideas, and feedback of all bereaved children and young people will continue to be at the heart of our decision-making processes, programme development, and service delivery.” 

SEND Bereavement Support

SEND Rapid Response training

Our SEND Rapid Response training offers bereavement training and support for schools needing urgent help.

The course is available to teachers and schools following a death in the school community. Find out more about our new training.

Supporting a bereaved child with SEND

For those supporting a child with SEND you may be inclined to want to protect and shield children and young people from difficult and sad situations.

But it’s important to have honest and open conversations, which is why we provide information and guidance to supporting children with additional needs and disabilities.

From the often talked about ‘five stages of grief’ to the idea that grieving people should be crying all the time, there are many common myths about grief. The Winston’s Wish team look at the truth behind these myths and reveal 12 things you should know about grief.

1. There aren’t just five stages of grief

There are lots of different ‘models of grief’ that clever people have come up with to neatly package grief into boxes. One that is often talked about suggests first you’ll feel this, then you’ll feel like that and once you’ve gone through all five stages, it’ll be over.

One thing we know at Winston’s Wish is that grief just isn’t like that. Its messy is disordered, it can jump from one emotion to another and back. And that’s all ok. It’s really normal. Grief doesn’t nicely fit into a box. We prefer the ‘growing around grief’ model to help children to understand grief.

2. Grief isn’t something you ‘get over’

Grief is not an obstacle course that you just need to complete and then that’s it. It’s not something that has a middle and end. It’s not something that you can tick off on a to-do list and never revisit. For some people, grief can be triggered at different points in their lives. It’s an ongoing experience. Support from people like Winston’s Wish isn’t there to make it all better and send you on your merry way. Our role is to accompany you for a while, pointing out some obstacles, the scenery and teaching you some new skills so that when it comes back you can recognise it and cope or seek some more support.

3. Getting help doesn’t mean you’re unwell or weak

We’ve heard so many times in the past 26 years of children, young people and adults who are worried about getting the help they deserve. Getting help is about acknowledging that a massive life-changing experience has occurred. Bereavement isn’t an illness. Grief is not something to be solved or fixed. It is part of what makes us human.

How to help children understand grief

Do children grieve differently to adults?

What is grief? Young people share what grief is to them

4. Sudden bursts of emotion are normal when you’re grieving

Some people worry that if you experience sudden emotions then there is something wrong. Quite the contrary. At Winston’s Wish, we sometimes talk about grief being like being out at sea following a shipwreck. The waves all crashing around you. Emotion, after emotion. It can feel very overwhelming.

Go with it. One thing we know is that expressing those sudden bursts of emotion is a good thing to do. Maybe have a plan of what you’ll do if you suddenly cry, feel angry or anxious. Having a plan, even if you don’t follow it can make the emotions feel more manageable.

5. It’s ok not to cry

Crying is a normal response to sadness but it certainly isn’t the only one. If you cry, that’s ok. If you don’t cry, that’s ok. Some young people we work with tell us that they worry about not crying. We know at Winston’s Wish that the sadness and grief can be felt just as deeply and powerfully whether you cry or you don’t.

6. Laughing and having fun is ok

When we see grief on the television, we see lots of people being sad, angry, crying or withdrawn. But laughter and fun are grief too. When we remember someone we might laugh at the silly things they said or did. We might reminisce together about all the good things. This is part of grief too.

7. You won’t go back to your old self

This one sounds obvious but it’s essential to acknowledge that something really big and really important has happened to you. While grieving you’ll learn new skills and things about yourself. Also, you have experienced something challenging and maybe different to your friends. We talk about finding a new normal and this is the same with who you are. You’ll find a ‘new normal’ you. It might be more confident, or anxious or inquisitive or anything else. But one thing is for sure, you won’t be the same as you were before.

Ways to cope with anniversaries, birthdays and special days when you are bereaved

How can nature help children to cope with their grief?

8. You can still experience grief even if you didn’t like or had a strained relationship with the person who has died

We meet with many children, young people and adults who had strained relationships with the person who has died. It may feel like a relief that they’ve died and this can, in turn, make things feel a bit more complicated. Also, you may have wanted to repair the relationship or regret having said or done something. Most importantly though is that your grief is completely valid and legitimate.

9. Telling people about yourself can need a bit of thought

“So how many brothers and sisters do you have?” “How often do you see your dad?” “How many children do you have?”

These are really normal questions to ask when trying to be polite. These innocuous questions for someone for whom someone important has died can be so complicated. Do you say you say I have two sisters and risk they’ll ask more and you’ll have to explain one has died? Do you say one and feel like you’re pretending they don’t exist? There’s no right or wrong answer to how you respond, but it does take some forethought.

10. It’s impossible to replace someone who has died

When someone important to you dies it isn’t like when your favourite mug breaks and you just get a new one. Nothing will ever replace the person who has died. You might get a new stepparent or new sibling but they will never be the important person who has died. It is also important to realise that remembering the person who has died doesn’t belittle or dismiss the new people in your life, but honors who they were and acknowledges how important they are to you.

11. Grief can be a physical pain

We understand that the death of someone important causes emotional distress but it’s not always known that grief can cause physical distress too. The young people we work with tell us that they sometimes have general aches and pains, sickness or digestive problems. Grief affects your whole body, emotionally and physically.

12. Well-meaning people can say ridiculous things

People say the stupidest things when they’re nervous. Even though people dying happens every day, as a society we aren’t very good at talking about or acknowledging death. In other cultures, rituals around death help this but in Britain, we don’t really have any but we try. And that needs to be given credit for.

Where to get specialist support

If you need advice on supporting a bereaved child or young person, you can call the experienced Winston’s Wish team on 08088 020 021 (8am-8pm, weekdays), email us on ask@staging.winstonswish.org or use our live chat (8am-8pm, weekdays).

For out of hours mental help support, text WW to 85258 to speak with someone from our trusted partner, Shout. For urgent support in a crisis, please call 999.

Other resources you might find helpful

Publications and resources

Our specialist publications to help parents and professionals supporting grieving children and young people of all ages and circumstances.

Activities for bereaved children

Download our activities to help grieving children and young people to explore and express their feelings and emotions and to help them maintain memories of the person who has died.