A training package to assist teachers in supporting pupils suffering loss and bereavement has been pioneered in Hull.
The ‘Lost for Words’ programme is now used by 50 authorities around the country and abroad.
Dr John Holland, an educational psychologist with Hull’s Learning Services, devised the programme three years ago.
“Children who have gone through a loss such as the death of a close relative or parental separation can show emotional responses such as bad behaviour or failure to learn” he says.
“Until recently, bereavement was a taboo subject and few schools had any policies or procedures to deal with it. Now 25 per cent of schools in the city have policies and 40 per cent have at least one person who has been through the training.”
For further information, see http:www.hullcc.gov.uklistento childrenlostforwords.php
