We offer a free book gifting service for bereaved families to help them talk about death. We hold stock of around 100 different titles and carefully choose the right books depending on the age of the child and the stage of their grief.
These books help children and young people understand the death of their loved one and their feelings and emotions about their loss. Bereavement books can help families to talk about very difficult topics, such as losing a loved one to suicide, murder or cancer. For some families these specialist books might be all the support they need, but others may go on to access many more of the services we offer.
We do not provide books to agencies or organisations (on the basis that they will generally have the means to buy such resources themselves) however we can provide a booklist and guidance as to which books would be most beneficial.
We know that bereaved children and young people often feel very isolated, particularly as they may not know anyone else of their age who has suffered a bereavement. Our activity days aim to address these feelings of isolation by providing an opportunity for bereaved children and young people to meet others with shared experiences.
Activity Days are free to attend and offer a range of fun activities. We also run sessions for seasonal activities at Easter and Christmas and our craft sessions, including “Keeping Memories Safe” are always popular.
Our staff, volunteers and committee members attend the event and the events are structured so that the adults can meet others and enjoy a chat over a cuppa. Our staff and volunteers are on hand throughout to support both children and adults including offering advice or support to parents if they are concerned about their child.
One of our services that we provide to families is our responder service. Whether it is one of our Bereavement Support Workers or a volunteer responder we can deploy to provide direct support and guidance to a bereaved child or young person The child can decide where they wish the support to take place, with the majority opting to be seen in their school, however we also undertake home visits.
Each child’s grief is unique to them and we try and tailor our response to the needs of each individual child. We can engage with them through arts and crafts or just lend a listening ear, providing answers to difficult questions or re-assurance to them.
We also support children who have someone important tin their lives going through end of life care.
Across the country some 4700 children of school age are bereaved of a parent every year, that figure does not include other family members, friends or anyone else important to that child. Sadly bereavement is something that many children will experience.
The response by professionals to a bereavement can have a significant impact on the childs ability to cope with their grief and navigate their way through it.
ACBS provide free training to professionals who may have to support a bereaved child. In 2025 we trained 1200 professionals, mainly education staff.
We also provide a mentoring service for professionals. If a professionals is already known to or working with the child, we can provide ongoing consultation and advice to that professional for them to provide the necessary support to the child.
To enquire about training please email us at [email protected]