‘Every 22 minutes a parent of a child dies that’s around 23,600 bereaved children each year.  Almost one in every class.  Many more are bereaved of a grandparent, sibling, friend, teacher or other significant person in their life’.

It is almost inevitable therefore, that at some time any school will have to deal with a death that impacts the whole school community.  Death is something that we do not like to think about, so when we are faced with it, we often find ourselves underprepared. These guidelines are intended to be used to assist you in creating your own bereavement policy which is relevant for your educational setting.  You may want incorporate all or part of this document.  Please feel free to adapt it to suit your unique needs.