Supporting Bereaved Children, Young People and their Families

SABN is committed to offering free support to bereaved children, young people and their families, to enable them to make sense of their loss and move forward with hope. SABN also provides guidance, support and resources for professionals caring for bereaved families.

SABN Offers:

Visiting Service for
Children and Young People
A free visiting service for children and young people up to the age of 18 is offered to families who live in the St Albans District. After a first visit to the family home or school to find out what is needed, children and young people may benefit from a sequence of support sessions either in the family home or at school. All support will be given by qualified staff and trained volunteers who have been CRB checked to the enhanced level.

Support for Professionals
SABN offers support to professionals caring for bereaved children including school staff, health professionals and social workers. Please ring the SABN Telephone Helpline if you are worried about a child in your care and our SABN Children’s Co-ordinator will get in touch or arrange a visit.

Information
We have a number of information packs for parents, teachers and young people.  Click here for Information and Resources

	Services for Parents and Carers
	As well as services for children, SABN offers the following support for adult family members:
	Someone to listen to you on the phone
	Someone to visit and support you by listening in confidence
	The SPACE group for carers and their children who would like to share with others in a similar position
	Professional counselling

SABN - Working in partnership with St Albans Extended Schools Coordinators

The St Albans Extended Schools Coordinators (ESCOs) have been working with SABN for over 5 years. This partnership has been particularly effective in providing timely response to bereavement and loss for children.

The service has helped children, families and schools to deal with some tragic circumstances as well as helping individuals and school staff manage emotions and feelings when there has been a loss, especially in unexpected circumstances. For instance, a local secondary school found itself in turmoil when it experienced two sudden deaths within one week. The ESCO contacted SABN which immediately offered support. Alongside other partners, SABN together with the ESCO to the school in question, assisted with the trauma, not only by supporting the children but also the staff. One teacher quoted “We could not have got through without the support from outside agencies during this terrible time”.

What schools have individually found particularly useful is receiving guidance when unexpected bereavement induces a sense of panic amongst staff - 'what do I do, what do I say?'. SABN have provided advice and reassurance and provided teacher training presentations to schools. One Head Teacher said “It was great to have someone with professional experience to guide the school because as teachers we want to ensure that the right support is in place”.

Through our strong partnership, ESCOs have been able to run a course for parents and their children including the schools involved to provide them with the support and knowledge needed. The ‘Understanding Loss’ conference, run by SABN for professionals, has equipped staff with invaluable skills, allowing them to raise awareness and deliver information at school assemblies and workshops directly to children and young people. SABN’s annual Remembrance Service is a wonderful event and very useful to signpost families to.

Extended Schools can also offer support to individual families by signposting them to SABN where we know they will be in safe hands. In a case where there was a suicide within the immediate family one child’s response was “It really helped to understand and be ok with it”.

We think that says it all.....

- Written by Nikki Howes, Extended Schools Coordinator, St Albans South