Today, Parliament (Thursday 26th February) saw an important discussion aired in the Houses of Commons surrounding support for bereaved children, young people and their families.
Christine Jardine, Liberal Democrats MP for Edinburgh West, secured the debate in the House of Commons and presented the discussion to MPs, highlighting key aspects of the need for greater Governmental support for bereaved young people and sharing her own personal experience of grief.
The often impassioned discussion among MPs saw many members of the House share their own personal stories of childhood bereavement. The Minister for Children and Families within the Department of Education, Josh MacAlister, was also in attendance, who shared that he would prioritise bereavement support in schools.
The conversation that followed suggested that there should be access to formal bereavement support for children, better data collected on bereaved young people, whole-school approaches to support grieving students and the impact of unsupported bereavement in childhood.
At Winston’s Wish and Child Bereavement UK, we are pleased to see these discussions debated by key policy makers and influencers in Parliament and we welcome the suggestions to improve the visibility of bereaved children.
The charity has been a keen voice in raising the visibility of bereaved children to the services designed to support them. Currently, there is no official data on exactly how many bereaved young people there are in the UK or indeed where they are in the UK, causing a lack of sight on what is known to be widespread issue.
Fergus Crow, CEO of Winston’s Wish and Child Bereavement UK comments:
We are delighted to see this significant discussion given an airing in such an important arena. The Childhood Bereavement Network and its member organisations, including Child Bereavement UK and Winston’s Wish are keen to be strong voices to raise awareness of the needs of bereaved children and young people.
We are pleased to work with policymakers and key governmental influencers such as Christine Jardine to keep an open dialogue and address the needs of bereaved families and to suggest adjustments to improve service visibility in school and community settings.
Fergus Crow, CEO of Winston’s Wish and Child Bereavement UK
Christine Jardine, MP shares:
I am pleased to see this important discussion surrounding childhood bereavement and the support available for grieving young people and their families brought back around.
As a subject that touches me both personally and professionally, I know how important it is to shine a light on the practicalities of the support these children and young people need. I am committed to continue to work tirelessly to encourage advancements in the visibility of grieving children in the UK and their access to support both in their school and wider communities.
Through my work with Winston’s Wish and Child Bereavement UK and the Childhood Bereavement Network, I am made yet more aware of the scale of the impact a lack of support can have when bereavement strikes a family. I am pleased to have brought this issue to Parliament’s attention again and I hope that this is a key discussion point in a much wider conversation.
Christine Jardine MP
Fergus Crow concludes:
Today’s general debate was a robust discussion, and we are encouraged to see that the wider conversation regarding the visibility of these young people and the services open to them was highlighted in such tangible and practicable terms. As organisations that work directly with bereaved families, we are keenly interested in the next discussion around these vital topics.
Fergus Crow, CEO of Winston’s Wish and Child Bereavement UK
