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.

Television personality and BBC Race Across the World Winner Alfie Watts will release his debut single, Hopeless Wings, on the 31st of October to raise funds for Winston’s Wish. 

As an ambassador for the UK’s first children and young people’s bereavement charity, Alfie is keen to be a grief advocate for young people as well as raising awareness and funds for Winston’s Wish. 

He says “I feel like it’s important to find creative ways to channel my grief. When you are bereaved, especially at a young age, it can feel like you’ve been dealt a huge blow and are at a considerable disadvantage to your peers but there’s a big piece of me that is keen to try and break that mould and challenge myself along the way.” 

Alfie recently became an ambassador for Winston’s Wish and uses his experience and voice to be an advocate for grieving young people.  

A lot of the time people assume that I’m constantly sitting with my grief and while I can’t deny that it is part of my history.

 

Alfie Watts

“My Mum died when I was 5 and everyday I’m aware of that but I don’t want it to define me. I am keen to try and make something with what I can and if I can use something as creative as music to do that, then I feel like I’ve achieved something and have grown as a person with grief. That’s why I decided to sit down and record my charity single, Hopeless Wings, which will also raise funds for Winston’s Wish for whom I am an ambassador.” 

Alfie recently recorded his single in a studio in Cambridge and filmed the music video whilst on his travels abroad in Norway. The inspiration came whilst filming the BBC hit show Race Across the World which Alfie won along with his friend Owen. “I actually wrote the lyrics for the chorus on a bus when we were filming Race Across the World. The lyrics just naturally flowed, and it felt significant to be feeling my grief even at a time when I was completely distracted by the competition.”  

Alfie recalls, “Spending time writing and recording the song and music video was, at times, incredibly raw because you can’t move away from the lyrics and what you are trying to communicate but it is also a powerful feeling. It’s not always easy for young people to know how to handle their emotions so I’m pleased to have challenged myself to have to express my grief and it felt powerful. 

“Getting into the studio was also such an amazing experience. When you’re facing the microphone and you’re seeing your emotions, your words and the thoughts they carry match with the music, it really brings it home to you what you are there for and that can be incredibly cathartic. Music connects people too so in a way, it helps me to feel connected to the thought of my mum too which felt significant.

“As well as there being a big piece of this which is about my own experiences of grief, I want this to be about other young people who have experienced bereavement in their younger years too. That’s why I decided to bare my nerves and release it publicly as I want to help raise funds for Winston’s Wish who directly support children and young people when their lives are turned upside down by bereavement, like mine was.  

“I want as many young people as possible to know about this special charity and the support that is out there and designed just for them. Obviously, although they offer their instant bereavement support free of charge, each day there are people answering helpline calls and working behind the scenes to provide services to young people, parents, teachers and others who are coping with a bereavement. For me, fundraising is a key part of what I want to do to support the charity so that they can continue to make sure that no child has to grieve alone.” 

Hopeless Wings is Alfie’s debut single and is available from the 31st of October on iTunes and Apple with all proceeds going to Winston’s Wish. Keep an eye on socials for the latest updates!

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.

Winston’s Wish lottery player, Mandy, shares her reasons for playing every week following the support her transgender daughter, Sasha, received when her dad died.

In 2001, Mandy and her family – husband Bob and child Sasha – were travelling in France when their car was hit by a speeding motorcycle. Mandy and Sasha sustained minor injuries, tragically Bob was killed.

The devastation of Bob’s death left Sasha, Mandy and their extended family in shock, not knowing where to turn, until a friend recommended Winston’s Wish after reading an article on the charity.

I was in a terrible state when I spoke to a counsellor called Brenden, who I will forever be grateful to. And following this call, Sasha and were able to access help from Winston’s Wish, which was amazing and helped us both immensely.

Mandy Callard

Throughout their lives, Sasha and Mandy have struggled with both the loss and nature of Bob’s death, especially during Sasha’s teenage years when she struggled with ADHD, dyslexia and bullying. They have returned to Winston’s Wish many times and received support to help Sasha cope with her grief and emotions.

The support over the years inspired Mandy to give back to Winston’s Wish in many ways, including playing our lottery, fundraising and setting up a Tribute Fund in Bob’s name.

Mandy has been playing the Winston’s Wish lottery since it first launched and said,
“I have been lucky to win £1,000 since I signed up and if I won the £25,000 jackpot, I would put some in Bob’s Tribute Fund, give some to Sasha and have a holiday with my now husband, Les, who has been an amazing support for both of us.”

“Because of the invaluable support given to Sasha and me by Winston’s Wish, which I don’t know if I could have coped without, I support them when I can.”

I would encourage people to sign-up to the Winston’s Wish lottery as you will be supporting this amazing charity which is a lifeline to bereaved children and parents.
You never know, you may win the jackpot!

Mandy Callard

Play the Winston’s Wish lottery

Some say it’s better to give than take, we say you can do both! Sign up for the Winston’s Wish lottery for just £1 each week and help raise vital funds to support bereaved children across the UK.

Your £1 could make a HUGE difference while giving you the chance to win £25,000!

We’re calling on the local community to get involved in something different this summer!  

Winston’s Wish is launching Hope 100 from this month and is encouraging local communities, families, friend groups, workplaces or school clubs to challenge themselves to get involved in an activity, from cake sales to sporty challenges, and raise £100 in the process.

This fundraising challenge is based around the thought of the number of children and young people who are bereaved each day.  

Estimates suggest that each day more than 100 young people are bereaved of a parent and that figure doesn’t equate how many are having to navigate the death of a friend, sibling, teacher or another significant person in their lives. Hope 100 serves to highlight the grieving children and young adults in our local community.   

Alongside raising funds, Winston’s Wish is hoping to signpost its services this summer and remind people of the children and young people who are having to navigate the death of somebody significant to them, whether that’s a parent, sibling, friend or somebody else. 

This summer, whilst many schools and social support networks are closing their doors for the holidays, Winston’s Wish will continue to keep its on-demand services open to the children and young people, as well as the adults around them, who are having to cope with their grief. Hope 100 serves to not only ensure that that support can remain open for the young people who need bereavement support but also to remind them that these services are available.  

We love seeing people’s creativity when it comes to getting involved with Hope 100. The summer holidays are a time when many families or groups of children and young people get together to try a new challenge, enjoy time together and make some memories.”

 

Nicki Gerrard, Winston’s Wish Campaigns and Events Manager

Nicki is excited to see people across the region and further afield throughout the UK get involved with this challenge, and went on to say: “We know that many of our incredible supporters come together because they themselves have suffered a bereavement or they know of somebody in their local community, whether that’s at the school gates, in their exercise classes or from their social circle, who are supporting a child or young person with their bereavement. Throughout the summer holidays, we are inspired to see and hear lots of people joining together to and using creative methods to raise funds for Winston’s Wish. 

“We’re hoping that as many people as possible can hear about this challenge, especially as it raises awareness and enables us to keep the on-demand services open throughout the summer holidays and the rest of the year. We recognise that many young people themselves make use of these on-demand services to get instant grief support because of a change in routine, back-to-school worries or feeling different to their peers because of their bereavement. Many concerned adults also reach out to us for support and advice, and we know how important it is to have that instant response when young people need us the most.” 

Register your place as an individual or group on our website and kickstart your Hope 100 challenge!

Once registered, you’ll receive a special fundraising pack to help with raising money for the sponsored challenge. Don’t forget to share your activities on social media using the hashtag #MyHope100 and inspire others. 

It is not every day that somebody decides they are going to take on the challenge of completing an IronMan and yet this September will see Peter McGahan take part in his second IronMan.

Peter explains his own personal connection to the charity’s cause and what motivates him to get involved in such a challenging activity as the IronMan. He says, “As an early adult, when I was 19, I lost my Dad in a car crash and looking back now, I really do wish I had the support that Winston’s Wish provides to children and young people. Its only later on in life I reflected on some of these issues. I think its super important to have this support and help available as it can really shape someone’s perspective in their life.

“The first time I took place in an IronMan for Winston’s Wish was a challenge amongst my two friends. We all chose charities that were close to our heart for personal reasons but after this I for sure got the bug. I remember a moment after finishing my last race that I had to do it again! This wasn’t just from the buzz of finishing but also to help the charity more and more.”

My personal connection was a huge motivational factor the last IronMan I raced in for Winston’s Wish.

 

Peter McGahan

Winston’s Wish relies upon voluntary donations for 90% of its income and is grateful to the army of supporters, from individuals to groups, who come together to help ensure the support is readily available to grieving children and their families.

Peter is keenly into his fitness. He says, “Physically I need to plan week by week with timings as currently my programme is training up to 12 hours a week, for this I have help from my coach who helps me plan my sessions over the last 40 weeks. But mentally I have to pre plan my social and work life more than ever. But also using Winston’s Wish as a motivating factor has been a huge push for me, especially when it’s cold and raining and the last thing you want to do is run!

“I currently work for Adidas and I’m based over in Germany and in all honesty this has been amazing for my prep. We have amazing facilities like a swimming pool, track and state of the art gym. Not only this I work with like-minded people who have similar goals so if that’s running with the track group, or training with people day to day has been amazing.

“Throughout my prep for the season, I have had amazing support from my team asking how I’m getting on, asking how I’m feeling and giving me the time to be able to train in an unreal environment. I have a really strong team with heavy team work ethic so that has been game changing for this preparation. Not only that but the thought that I can help young people in a bit of a stuck situation really motivates me.

“As I prepare for the IronMan, I am reminded of the children and young people across the UK who have lost someone significant to them. It’s a pain that no one should ever have to endure, especially at such a young age. My goal is to raise £5,000 for Winston’s Wish before the big race in September.”

If you would like to support Peter in his IronMan endeavour then don’t forget to follow his progress on his Just Giving page.

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Join #TeamWinston!

Put yourself to the test by taking on a running, cycling, walking or swimming event in support of Winston’s Wish.

There are so many challenges for you to get involved with. Simply head over to our events page to find the perfect one for you.

Become a cheer point volunteer!

Sports not your thing? Not to worry, you can still make a HUGE difference by becoming a cheer point volunteer to give momentum to our challengers.

It’s a fantastic opportunity to embrace the event atmosphere, meet the team and give our fundraisers a boost on there challenge.

‘We’ve been too hard to reach’. CEO of UK’s first youth bereavement charity says more needs to be done and issues compelling statement to ensure no young person grieves alone. Fergus Crow, CEO of Winston’s Wish said:

 “In 2022, too many grieving children and young people have no voice, are invisible to services that can help, and just can’t access the support they need when, where and how they need it, including some of the most vulnerable in our society.

This means they may be suffering alone, or that their grief has such a devastating impact on them that it affects their mental health, their physical health, their education, their relationships and their chances of leading a full life now and in the future. That’s not fair, and it’s not inevitable. 

Our vision for the next 30 years is to do again what we did back in 1992 and help inspire a new era of open access bereavement support that consigns the postcode lottery of grief support for children and young people to history, one in which every child, young person and adult knows where to find the help they need when, where and how they need it.”

The youth bereavement charity have set out three ways they’ll work towards achieving this mission which they’ve shared below.

Amplifying the voices of grieving children, young people and young adults 

Our expertise changes lives, and we will continue to use our expert voice where it matters most. But the most important voices are those of the children and young people we support (and the silent voices of those we don’t). Projecting their voices out into the world, and the truths they tell us about what grief really feels like is the best way to build support, understanding and commitment to making things better.

To be able to provide the services young bereaved people need, we will put them fully at the heart of our public voice and our decision making, and driven by our Youth Advisory Board they will have the power and the platform to shape the future of Winston’s Wish services.

Children and young people at the heart of everything we do 

More and more children, young people and young adults expect to be able to get support on their own terms. We agree, but our services have mostly been geared towards children and young people accessing our help through the adults looking after those children and young people.

That will still be true for younger children and some vulnerable groups, but we are now accelerating new support driven by digital that meets the needs of more young people and young adults directly and instantly which will allow them to have a greater sense of agency, control and community as they journey through the devastation of grief. By 2025 our ambition is to reach 40,000 children and young people a year through our range of direct and indirect services and support.

From ‘hard to reach’ to impossible to miss 

Not every child, young person or young adult in the UK knows we are there for them. That’s not their fault, it is ours. We have been too hard to reach. Now, any child, young person or young adult under 25 can come to us for support, no matter who has died, no matter when. It is our job to help, full stop.

We are on a journey towards making our services equitable, inclusive and accessible to all, and prioritising how we reach out to find those who need our support either on our own or (much better) in partnership with others. It is hard enough to suffer the pain of grief – it is hard enough to find support. We may never be a household name, but our goal is to be a name that can be found by every household.

These are ambitious goals, and these are challenging times. But 30 years of experience tells us that together it is possible to achieve our dreams and much more, and that nothing could be more important for the grieving children and young people of today, and those that will face the heartbreak of grief tomorrow.