“My children were 5 and 7 years old when their mum, my wife, died of cancer. It was a bewildering, turbulent time. But through the grief and the tears, we were blessed with wonderful support, in particular from the children’s school. That support played a huge part in us coming through the weeks and months that followed in as good a shape as we could have hoped for.
A year or so later, my daughter painted a picture. There were clouds and rain, lots of rain, but also a rainbow. She said the clouds and the rain were like the storm she sometimes felt inside. I asked her what the rainbow was and she said it was all the things that made her feel better. Then I asked her what helped her feel better, and one of the things she said was school.
I had heard from other parents in my position that although many schools offered good support, there were also many that provided little to no support. Practice varied widely, so I decided to try and do something to help. Working with my children’s school and taking advice from educational and clinical psychologists, I have put together this practical guide for those working with bereaved children in primary schools, so that they too can ‘Be The Rainbow’" - Justin Bowen
