Invitation to take part if you are aged 13 -15 years old
Hello,
We are finding out about support for children and young people when someone close to them has died. We are really sorry this has happened to you. We hope that you have trusted friends and adults around you to support you.
Bereavement is a tricky subject to talk about. We don’t talk about it often, and many people feel awkward discussing death, dying and bereavement. Many people feel uncomfortable and often don’t know what to say. Many people may have had their own experiences, and talking about a death may mean remembering something they find painful or sad.
We think it’s really important that we do talk about it. The new United Kingdom Commission on Bereavement is asking lots of people what happened when someone close to them died. We want to find out how we can improve help and support for children and young people when someone close to them dies.
So, if someone close to you has died in the last three years, we would like to ask you some questions about how it has been for you, and get your ideas about how support can be better for children and young people in the future – because you are one of the experts. The questions will take you about 10 minutes to answer.
We know that this might be a challenging task. Here are some questions you might have about taking part.
Do I have to take part?
No – it’s up to you. Please don’t take part if you don’t feel up to it – we won’t mind! It might be easier to take part if some time has passed after your bereavement – six months or so.
What if I get upset?
Taking part might make you feel different things like sadness or anger, because we are asking about the person who died. It’s ok to feel those feelings. Check with your parent or carer before you take the survey, and make sure you have a trusted adult around as you do it, so if you need to take a break, ask questions or stop completely, you can do so with someone to support you. They can read more about the survey here And remember, you don’t need to answer all the questions if you don’t want to.
What if I need more support?
If you need more support after taking part, there is information here about places you can speak to. You may already be receiving some help and support from them or places like them. Please do use them if you need to – they are there for you, your family and your friends. We will remind you of this information at the end of the survey.
What will you do with the things I say?
We will put all the responses together from everyone who takes part. We’ll use them to write a report about how help and support could be improved for children and young people if someone close to them has died. We won’t use anyone’s name. We hope that government and other people will read the report and help improve support for children and young people in the future.
We will keep your contact information and answers until the report has been published. We keep these personal data so that we can
- find your answers if you change your mind about taking part
- respond to any safeguarding concerns. All responses to the survey will be reviewed on a regular basis. If a child, young person, or adult shares any information that they themselves or anyone else maybe at risk of harm we will follow this up in line with our Safeguarding Policy and Procedures. If we need to take action to protect a child, young person, or adult at risk we may need to contact you directly or we may need to share your contact information in a referral to the Local Authority/Health and Social Care Board (NI) (safeguarding team).
After the report has been published, we will remove any information from your answers that could identify you, and we will keep this anonymised data until the end of 2023.
Will my answers be private?
Yes, we will keep the things you say private unless we are worried about you or someone else.
What if I change my mind?
You can stop doing the survey at any time. And if you decide afterwards that you don’t want to take part, you can email us by 31 January and we will delete your answers.
Can I save my progress and return to the survey?
No. There isn’t a way to save the survey and return to it, so if you need more time, perhaps minimise the survey, or put your device down and see how you feel later on.
If you or your trusted adult has any other questions, you can contact us or call us on 0800 090 2309
