- 4 out of 5 Students Give Grief Support a Failing Grade – Young Local Calls for Change with New Ask Me Campaign
Edinburgh student Miranda Kidman (19) is sharing her story of grief to help launch a groundbreaking new campaign, Ask Me: Education, a new initiative which seeks to place bereaved students at the heart of the decisions surrounding what support they need to make a success of their school experience.
Members of the Winston’s Wish Youth Team will be launching Ask Me: Education today (17th November), at the start of National Children’s Grief Awareness Week.
The campaign calls on education settings and professionals throughout the UK to sign the Ask Me Education Manifesto, implement the new bereavement plan, and most importantly, give bereaved students the right to be asked how they would like to be supported after the death of someone important to them.
Surprisingly, despite estimates highlighting that there is a bereaved pupil in every classroom, there is no mandatory bereavement training for education professionals. Where bereavement policies do exist, often they foster a one-size-fits-all all approach which doesn’t allow for the student’s individual needs and requirements.
Miranda’s father passed away in the summer between Year 12 and Year 13, when she was just 17. Returning to school after his death, a school where her dad had also worked as assistant headteacher, was an especially emotional challenge.
“On my first day back, I felt extremely vulnerable. The whole school knew that my Dad had died, so I felt like all eyes were on me,” said Miranda.
“I was extremely fortunate to have many wonderful teachers, one in particular who had looked after me for years even though that wasn’t her official job title, and she allowed me to wait in her office until the assemblies mentioning my Dad’s death were over.
“Throughout the day and the weeks and months following, she was always available when I needed someone to talk to, and was not afraid to listen to me and have open and honest conversations about grief.
“My Dad’s funeral was the same week that I returned to school, and a lot of my teachers attended the funeral – my whole family have been very fortunate to have a very loving and supportive school community who tried their best to help when it was hard for me to complete schoolwork or manage during the school day.”
Miranda, who is from Harrogate, and her family first came across Winston’s Wish through resources provided by her mum’s local hospice.
Miranda has since become a Youth Ambassador for the charity. As part of this role, she contributed to the creation of Ask Me: Education, helping to shape the campaign’s message and ensure that the voices of bereaved young people are at its heart.
“Creating Ask Me: Education has been incredibly rewarding,” Miranda explains. “I was shocked to learn how many other bereaved young people didn’t get the same support I did.
“Hearing their stories made me realise how vital it is that every student has the chance to be listened to and asked what would help them.”
Miranda, who is now a student in Edinburgh, highlights the importance of individualised support. “Every young person grieves differently,” she comments. “Teachers and staff shouldn’t make assumptions about what a bereaved student needs. The most important thing is to ask, to have open, honest conversations that give the student control over how they’re supported.
“I really hope that people could benefit from an open conversation about their own needs – others I know, for example, would not have liked such an official meeting, and therefore it can be really harmful to make assumptions about what a young person needs.
“I think it’s very important to check in with them and ask and be specific about what they need, without skirting around the topic of grief. I also hope that trigger warnings can be made readily available for all students in classes discussing death.”
The Ask Me: Education campaign aims to change the culture of grief support in schools, colleges, and universities by empowering educators with practical guidance and encouraging them to implement bereavement support plans for every student affected by grief.
“My life would look very different if I hadn’t had such patient, understanding teachers,” Miranda added. “Everyone deserves to be listened to like I was. That’s what Ask Me: Education is all about.”
Winston’s Wish is encouraging education settings and professionals to find out more about the Ask Me: Education and sign the manifesto and implement the bereavement plan to support bereaved students.
For further information about the Ask Me: Education please visit:
winstonswish.org/askme
About Ask Me: Education
Why is it important?
In a recent survey of over 300 bereaved students (aged 8 to 25):
- 72% said they did not feel adequately supported during education
- 79% rated the support they received as 5 or less out of 10
- 72% said they were never asked what support they needed
Ask Me: Education is a new campaign created by the Winston’s Wish Youth Team, it will launch during Children’s Grief Awareness Week 2025. The campaign invites education settings and professionals to:
- Sign the Ask Me Education Manifesto to commit to improving bereavement support.
- Implement the bereavement plan to give each bereaved student a voice in how they would like to be supported.
- Give bereaved students the space to be asked how they would like to be supported.