Are you looking to develop or review your school's bereavement policy?
Claire Kime, Trainee Educational Psychologist at Warwickshire County Council, is looking for schools to take part in her third year educational psychology doctoral research project, looking into school approaches to childhood bereavement. This research was due to take place earlier this year, but had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Plans have now been made to enable research interviews to take place via remote methods.
Although death and bereavement are inevitable parts of life, childhood bereavement can present as a risk factor in the development of academic, social, emotional and mental health difficulties.
Research suggests that nearly 5% of children experience the death of a parent by the age of 16 and many more will experience the death of other family members, friends, pets or other significant individuals in their lives. Tragically, the UK has seen an unprecedented number of deaths in the past few months due to the coronavirus, resulting in many more children experiencing bereavement.
Primary, secondary and special schools in Warwickshire are welcome to get in touch about participating; and initial discussion would take place with key members of staff. Schools that consent to take part will be asked to provide copies of any policies or curriculum resources related to bereavement and a small group of staff (between three and six) will be invited to take part in a 90 minute group interview via Microsoft Teams. This would include teachers and support staff who have an interest and/or experience in the topic and who are keen to explore the issues
Participating schools will be provided with information and feedback based on the findings of the research that can be used to inform the development of their policies and practices in supporting pupils affected by bereavement.
Contact and further information
If you would be interested in taking part, you can find more details about the project in the attached information sheet from Claire.
You can also contact Claire for more information on 01926 742921 or email clairekime@warwickshire.gov.uk.