Invitation to participate in research into school approaches to bereavement
Claire Kime, trainee Educational Psychologist, is looking for schools to take part in her third year educational psychology doctoral research project, looking into school approaches to childhood bereavement.
Why this project?
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 individual in their lives. 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.
Claire intends to undertake exploratory, case study research in a small number of schools to investigate the types of systemic approaches to bereavement support that may already exist and what factors promote and inhibit such approaches, including cultural factors.
Which schools can take part?
Primary, secondary and special schools in Warwickshire are welcome to get in touch about participating. Your school might be interested in taking part because you have experience of supporting bereaved pupils or have received bereavement training; however, don’t worry if your school has little or no experience in proactive approaches to bereavement – you’re not alone, as research suggests that this is the case in many schools.
It is hoped that by taking part in the research, schools will be provided with the opportunity to both celebrate and further develop good practice in this area.
What will it involve?
Initially, Claire would like to come along to a staff meeting to outline the project. Schools will be asked to provide copies of any policies or curriculum resources related to bereavement and a small group of staff (between three to six) will be invited to take part in a 90 minute group interview. Ideally, this would be staff who have an interest and/or experience in the topic and who are keen to explore the issues described above.
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 are interested in taking part and would like more information about the research, please phone Claire Kime on 01926 742921 or email clairekime@warwickshire.gov.uk.