Bereavement
'Grief' is the word used to describe the feelings and reactions that we have when we lose someone we care about or something we value. Grief affects everyone: it is the universal reaction to loss. It is painful and stressful, but also natural, normal and necessary.
Bereavement is a very hard thing to mention, let alone talk about. At Viking we have had an assembly about bereavement and have also discussed bereavement in other assemblies. The assembly about bereavement was also to raise funds for Winston's Wish, which is a wonderful website that children can use (adults will find it helpful too). We have registered the school on the site so that any pupil at Viking can access the Skyscape page. They would have support from a member of staff while using the site.
We also have a "Skyscape" in the medical room, children are able to write a message or memory on a star and stick it in the sky. This is a permanent display as we want the children's memories to be cherished.
We also have lots of books which are in a box called " How do you feel?", these are kept outside the staffroom in an area that the children have access to them at all times.
We understand that bereavement can be a very difficult time and have added this page to try and make it an easier subject to discuss for both children and adults, there is a lot of help out there if you know where to look. We have added some of the help available at the links below.