How do pastoral staff in secondary education settings understand and respond to pupils’ grief following the death of a peer?

Hone, Cristi (2024) How do pastoral staff in secondary education settings understand and respond to pupils’ grief following the death of a peer? Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

The death of a peer can have a profound impact on CYP (Balk, 2011), yet there is limited research on the BSP offered by schools for affected pupils. Specifically, there is limited exploration of BSP in secondary schools and the perspectives of staff who work closely with bereaved pupils. Addressing this gap, this study explored how pastoral staff understand adolescent grief and how this understanding informs their support for peer-bereaved pupils, including the challenges and supportive factors involved in providing BSP in this context. Using a qualitative design and thematic analysis, the study explored the perspectives of eight pastoral staff from secondary schools across England. A key finding is that peer-bereaved pupils were perceived as being in a state of 'learning how to grieve', with pastoral staff adopting a role in guiding and modelling grieving processes for pupils through shared grief experiences. While bereavement experiences were understood to be influenced by contextual, developmental and socio-cultural differences, there were no systematic procedures for identifying or meeting the individual needs of pupils. Participants reported negative outcomes in particular for pupils with social and communication or SEMH needs. Supportive relationships with staff, peers and the person who died were considered important for fostering resilience and growth for peer-bereaved pupils. However, the religious, spiritual and cultural views of pupils were overlooked by pastoral staff. Identified challenges included staff wellbeing, capacity, and confidence, as well as limited access to internal and external resources. The implications of these findings for Educational Psychologists are discussed for Critical Incident work and general bereavement support for schools.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Education and Lifelong Learning
Depositing User:	Chris White
Date Deposited:	05 Feb 2025 09:48
Last Modified:	05 Feb 2025 09:48
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/98396
DOI:

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