Traumatic Bereavement: Supporting Children in Early Years Settings

About this course

This evidence-based course has been developed by experts from the UK Trauma Council and is delivered by the Clinical Co-Lead of the Traumatic Bereavement resource portfolio.

Traumatic bereavement

Experiencing a bereavement as a child is likely to be difficult no matter what age, but for young children who are in the early stages of making sense of the world, the death of someone can be overwhelming and confusing. The way that the young child then experiences or understands the death - the meaning they make of it - can result in it being experienced as traumatic. The trauma gets in the way of the typical process of grief and blocks the child's ability to process the loss. This can result in difficulties that can be severe and long lasting.

Traumatic bereavement may be easily missed or misunderstood, meaning that young children’s difficulties are not recognised by adults around them. It is vital that these children are identified and given appropriate help and support. 

 Course overview

This course is for professionals that work with young children from age 2 – 6 years in early years and foundation stage settings. The course will cover what traumatic bereavement is, how to identify and support young children who are struggling.