How teachers can support bereaved military children in education

Charity founder and war widow, Nikki Scott, explains more about the Standby – Military Bereavement in Education Project. Including, the additional challenges faced by bereaved military children in an education setting and how they may struggle even years after the death of their parent. Nikki also shares how the support of teachers and anyone who works in an education setting can have a positive impact on the life of a bereaved military child or young person, and how you can help straight away. 

Access Scotty's Military Bereavement in Education Resources

Military charity, Scotty’s Little Soldiers, can supply resources offering tips and guidance for education providers to help them to support young people bereaved of a military parent. Our Scotty Members receive an education pack, which has been tailored to their individual needs and age group, to support the child through the academic year. Sign up to receive our monthly education providers’ newsletter, with guidance and links to resources that we are creating to help students cope with their grief. 

How does bereavement affect a military child's education?

Every military child will process grief differently, and their bereavement story will be unique and individual. A child will experience a wide range of emotions and feelings at different ages and stages of their life. Research tells us that bereaved children and young people experience factors that could affect their educational attainment – here are a few examples: 

• They may not talk to anyone about their bereavement, making them feel isolated and alone in their grief.
• A bereaved military child may have difficulty in maintaining their concentration levels. 
• They may be exposed to curriculum topics (e.g. PSHE, English literature) that could impact on their grief and loss experience and their emotional wellbeing. 
• Education staff may not know how to support a bereaved military child or feel comfortable talking about death and dying.
• Staff may forget about the student’s bereavement over time, even though a significant death means that child’s life will have changed forever. There is no ‘getting over it’ with time.

We Will Miss Them Animations

Scotty’s have created two animations to explain how the death of a military parent can impact bereaved British Forces children and young people, and particularly around Remembrance. Both animations were inspired and created by our Scotty’s Members Council and were kindly funded by The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust as a tool for educating about the challenges faced by bereaved military families.

This animation is called We Will Always Miss Them, and is aimed at children and young people.

This version of the animation, We Will Always Miss Them, has been created for adults.

Military Bereavement in Education Resources

If you are a teacher or work in an education setting, this is where you can access military bereavement in education resources created by military charity, Scotty’s Little Soldiers. Make sure you sign up to our monthly newsletter for updates when new resources are added. Below you will find individual resources to help you to sensitively support bereaved military children and young people through their grief for all stages of their academic life.