UK childhood bereavement services: A reflection on their development and cultural influence

Abstract

Childhood bereavement services are a relatively recent form of child welfare provision in the UK. They are predicated on assumptions about the development of children and on an increasing research base that describes the potential impact of childhood bereavement and that support following bereavement is beneficial. UK services largely began as a result of practitioners responding to the needs of bereaved children. Over time, services have become more formalised into an organisational framework, contributing to and influenced by practice based experience, research and training. They have become more sophisticated and wide-ranging in their response to the needs of bereaved children for which there is evidence of a favourable impact on their wellbeing. More importantly, as a structural form of provision now embedded within the UK’s health and social landscape, childhood bereavement services have had a significant impact on social policy and the wider cultural discourse concerning bereaved children.

Keywords:

• Childhood bereavement services
• childhood bereavement
• service development
• impact
• culture

Acknowledgement

I am very grateful to the three reviewers for their encouragement and thoughtful comments on an earlier draft of this paper. These were much appreciated.

ORCID

Liz Rolls http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9225-5497

Notes

1 For ease of reading, the terms child, children and childhood are used throughout the paper to refer to both children and young people.

2 National Bereavement Alliance: An alliance of individuals and organisations whose purpose is to support those who work with bereaved people. See https://nationalbereavementalliance.org.uk

3 The Childhood Bereavement Network (CBN) is the hub for those working with bereaved children, young people and their families across the UK. They underpin their members’ work with essential support and representation: bringing them together across localities, disciplines and sectors to improve bereavement care for children. See www.childhoodbereavementnetwork.org.uk/about.aspx

4 The Bereavement Care Service Standards, further developed in 2013 to reflect the evolution of bereavement care in the statutory sector, are available at: www.cruse.org.uk/sites/default/files/default_images/pdf/Documents-and-fact-sheets/Bereavement_Care_Service_Standards.pdf

5 For more information about the Childhood Bereavement Service Outcomes Framework and the Child Bereavement Service Questionnaires, see www.childhoodbereavementnetwork.org.uk/running-a-service/evaluating-a-service.aspx

6 For more information about the Irish Childhood Bereavement Network see: www.childhoodbereavement.ie

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Liz Rolls