Key Points – Returning to school following a bereavement
- Schools can provide the stability which a bereaved pupil needs by offering a flexible normality with familiar, caring adults.
- Return to school should be planned, ideally by meeting with the pupil and their family/carers.
- Find out what the pupil has been told and how they want to manage their return to school.
- Inform all staff about the death and how the pupil would like to manage it. Include anyone in contact with the young person, e.g. peripatetic teachers, visitors, volunteers etc.
- Acknowledge the death.
- Offer strategies to help such as time-out options, manage lunchtimes, support friends etc.
- Check in with the pupil regularly and make sure that they are managing their grief.
