We’re thrilled to announce that we have been awarded more than £15,000 in the National Lottery Community Foundation ‘Awards for All’ funding. This grant will help us to expand our current creative therapy sessions for SEND bereaved young people and very young children.
Around a quarter of the bereaved children we support have special educational needs. Since we launched our Creative Therapies project in May 2024, we’ve seen a big rise in engagement from bereaved children with SEND, along with some truly fantastic outcomes for a group that’s often overlooked.
Non-verbal children or those who have SEND can face real barriers when it comes to accessing bereavement support. Creative Therapy gives them another way to work through their grief and offers them a safe, flexible space where they can express themselves through drawing, crafts, playdough, and other sensory activities.
These methods really help with focus and emotional regulation and are also helpful for very young children. With this grant, we’ll be able to offer more tailored support to even more bereaved children with SEND.
This project directly supports the National Lottery Community Foundation’s priority of helping people reach their potential. By offering timely, personalised bereavement support, we’re helping young people build resilience, form healthy relationships, and develop communication skills after losing someone important to them.
Our creative therapy specialists co-designed the programme with children and young people themselves, and parents, carers, and support workers continue to be key partners in shaping each session.
Letizia Perna, Deputy CEO and Director of Services at Winston’s Wish comments:
“It is our aim that no bereaved child or young person is left to grieve alone and that includes children with special educational needs or disabilities. We want to ensure that our support is not a one-size-fits all approach, rather a tailored approach which meets bereaved young people where they are.”
“We are especially pleased to be able to bolster our current offering for grieving young people with SEND thanks to this special grant from the National Lottery Community Foundation and we are ready to ensure that we reach and support still more SEND young people cope with their grief as well as the very youngest of children who come to us for help.”
Letizia Perna
We’re incredibly grateful to National Lottery players and the National Lottery Community Foundation for making this work possible. Their support means more bereaved young people with SEND can get the help they need to navigate their grief and look toward a brighter future.
