Bereavement support
Local services
Child Bereavement Service: the service, delivered by Gaddum, is a counselling service working with children, adolescents (up to the age of 18) and their parents in Salford.
The service can offer practical support and guidance to families, individuals, professionals and anyone concerned about a grieving child.
Contact details:
- Telephone: 0161 834 6069
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: Gaddum Centre
Greater Manchester Bereavement Service: can help to find support for anyone in Greater Manchester that has been bereaved or affected by a death.
Contact details:
- Telephone: 0161 983 0902 (Mon to Fri, 9am to 5pm (except bank holidays)
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: Greater Manchester Bereavement Service
Greater Manchester Bereavement Service
People in suffering with bereavement in Salford don't always get the support that they need. The Greater Manchester Bereavement Service is there to help anyone living in Greater Manchester struggling with bereavement, including suicide bereavement. The service offers support for people who have been bereaved or affected by a death, no matter the cause of death or how long it’s been The service also provides support for professionals seeking advice for others.
Six Degrees Social Enterprise provides the Greater Manchester Bereavement Service on behalf of the Greater Manchester Health & Social Care Partnership, offering emotional support related to loss and bereavement.
There is no referral to GM Bereavement Service. You can access the service via telephone or email Telephone: 0161 983 0902 (Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm, excluding Bank Holidays) Email: [email protected].
Website - Greater Manchester Bereavement Service
For more information please see attached.
Helplines
Hope Again: support for children & young people affected by the death of someone close.
- FREE Helpline: 0808 808 1677 (Mon-Fri; 9:30am - 5:00pm)
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: Hope Again
Winston’s Wish: support for bereaved children, their families and professionals.
- FREE Helpline: 08088 020 021 (Open Mon-Fri; 9am-5pm)
- Email [email protected]
- Website: Winston's Wish
Child Bereavement UK: support for families or when a child is facing bereavement.
- FREE helpline: 0800 02 888 40 (Open Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm (ex. Bank Holidays)
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: Child Bereavement UK
Child Bereavement UK have created a short animation to help bereaved children and families to understand their grief and how to manage it. Based on The Invisible Suitcase by Ian Woodroffe, the film uses the metaphor of an invisible suitcase to show how we all carry our experiences and emotions through life. None of us can control how our ‘suitcase’ is packed and when it might spring open, with our emotions being triggered sometimes when we least expect, but we can learn how to react when this happens.
Bereavement resources for schools
Winston’s Wish: Death is something that impacts us all during our lives, so providing the opportunity to learn about bereavement and develop the skills and understanding to deal with this life event is an important part of PSHE.
Written by teachers and bereavement experts, our free PSHE lessons for Key Stages 1-4 are designed to help you talk about bereavement and loss with your pupils. Awarded the Quality Mark by the PSHE Association, our programme includes:
- Lesson plans and PowerPoint presentations for two PSHE lessons, tailored for each Key Stage
- Four activities/resources for your class to complete, tailored for each Key Stage
- A guide and interactive training to support the safe delivery of the lessons
- General resources suitable for all Key Stages
We have also independently designed additional resources, including animation videos and engaging activities, to supplement the lessons and provide a way for students to raise money for the work of Winston’s Wish and give hope to grieving children.
All of these resources are available to download now from the website
School Bereavement Policy: The following resources have been identified to support settings to develop a bereavement policy that will ensure support for children, families and staff is in place in the event of a death in the school community.
- Child Bereavement UK: Developing a school bereavement policy
- Winston’s Wish NAHT: Example Bereavement Policy Template
- Child Bereavement UK: Managing Bereavement – A guide for schools
Online bereavement training for schools
Winston’s Wish: free online training courses to help teachers and school staff understand how to support grieving children and young people in their school.
Childhood bereavement: an introductory course on childhood bereavement and what you can do to help those going through it, aimed at both primary and secondary schools. This course will cover:
- What is childhood bereavement?
- How does grief affect a child?
- Dealing with a bereavement in schools
What you can do to help: This course explains some of the ways you can help children and young adults suffering from a bereavement. Aimed at both primary and secondary school teachers, the course includes:
- The importance of communication
- Planning and preparation
- When to seek further support
- Help, support and self-care
To access the free training you need to register with the website
Resources for families
Salford Educational Service has put together an information sheet for parents and carers on supporting children who've been bereaved, to view please see the downloadable section at the bottom of the page
Child Bereavement UK have put together a range of information for families supporting a grieving child, including:
- Children's understanding of death at different ages
- Explaining to young children that someone has died
- What helps grieving children and young people
- Supporting bereaved children under 5 years of age
- When a grandparent dies: the impact on children and young people
- Explaining funerals, burials and cremation to young children
Downloadable documents
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