When someone we know loses a loved one it can often be hard to find the right words to say. It’s never an easy subject to talk about openly.
During their young lives, many schoolchildren will be involved in the grieving process for close relatives and family friends.
All too often their feelings will be left to one side as others struggle to come to terms with loss.
But how we treat young people going through emotions that will be completely new to them can have a major impact on how they cope with the loss their family has suffered.
After a bereavement, children will inevitably return to school life as families recover from their loss to some sense of normality.
And the role a school can play in talking about bereavement, informing school friends, even teachers, of the best way to deal with the subject, can help immensely in easing children through the process.
For Emma Papaconstantinou, now 15, there were panic attacks prompted by some of the most normal tasks at school. She was just four when her brother passed away from leukaemia.
Drawing family trees, learning the words in French for family members, so many things could trigger memories.
Emma Papaconstantinou, who lost her brother Georgie to leukaemia when she was only four years old (Credit: Brian Morrison Photography)
Teachers need training in how best to tackle the issues that can arise. Schools need policies in place on dealing with the grief of a young person entrusted to their care.
Marie Curie has said there needs to be a culture and practice of grief education and bereavement support across education in Northern Ireland.
Unresolved issues can have long-lasting effects and dealing with them in the best way right from the start is a course of action all schools should be well placed to take.
The charity has spent three years looking at the provision within the education system for dealing with grief.
While every child’s bereavement process will be different, it says there is a need to strengthen guidance for schools on education and support, including a requirement for every school to have a bereavement policy.
It added that all teaching staff should have a range of opportunities to receive bereavement training and said the curriculum should offer a range of opportunities for pupils to discuss bereavement and grief.
It’s a sensible course of action and, with the best interests of the child at heart, it’s something the Department of Education must consider to help pupils navigate what can be a very harrowing time as they experience loss for the first time in their lives.