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  2. Referring a child or young person to Slide Away

Referring a child to Slide Away

How do I refer a child or young person to Slide Away?

 

Slide Away receives referrals for support through schools through its School Bereavement Contacts (SBC).

The SBC is a designated staff member who has volunteered to liaise with Slide Away and who has received guidance and training from Slide Away to support bereaved children.

If you are a school who is new to Slide Away, please get in touch to discuss your referral, nominate a staff member and to receive initial training.

Slide Away can help families, or professionals supporting families, to initiate a referral if they haven’t been able to get support through their school.

If you are an existing School Bereavement Contact, and you need to refer a child, please get in touch to receive our referral form URL. We do not accept referrals by any other means.

If you are a parent, carer, other professional or young person who would like to receive support from Slide Away, please get in touch. We can put you in touch with your School Bereavement Contact or we contact your school to ask them to identify a member of staff to work with us for your referral. 

We can support your child if they are homeschooled. Please contact us for more information.

Slide Away offers support to all school aged children (aged 4 to 18) who have been bereaved of a family member or friend, and children living with a family member, parent or sibling with a life-limiting illness.

Children who have no memory of the deceased, or when there has been a neonatal death or the death of a baby soon after birth, children may also be referred to Slide Away for support.

The needs of every child are assessed individually so that the appropriate support is given to meet their needs at the time.

Slide Away will accept a referral at any time the family is ready. This can be soon after the bereavement or years later. There is no need to wait 6 months before contacting us to make the referral; one of our team will make contact with the family to ensure that the child is offered a place when they are ready.

Slide Away offers tailored support to staff and pupils when there has been a death in the school community. This support might include drop-in sessions for staff and pupils or one-to-one support for those most closely affected. If you would like to know more about the support that Slide Away can offer, please get in touch.

If you work in a school and have heard about Slide Away's services and would like us to support a child or young person in your care, please get in touch to find out how to become a School Bereavement Contact.

Slide Away provides bereavement support to children and young people up to the age of 18, their families and those who care for them.
 
We offer Workshops for those bereaved of a parent or sibling, and Memory Days for those bereaved of another family member or friend.  We also offer support to children and young people who have a parent or sibling with a life limiting illness.
 
As part of our bereavement support we also work with parents and carers, schools and other professionals to help them support bereaved children in their care.

If you need help, please speak to your school to see if they have a School Bereavement Contact in place. We receive most of our referrals from schools in this way. If your school is unable to help you, please get in touch.