Grief in the classroom – What to do in the event of a death in the school community?

It can hit a school community quite suddenly: A child or a teacher suffers a fatal accident - and staff and children have to cope with grief. How do you deal with such a situation? And can you prepare for it? This presentation covers how to deal with grief in schools based on the current state of research on this topic (Böhmer & Steffgen, 2022). The following questions, among others, will be addressed: What typical grief reactions do students show in the event of a death? What is the best way for a school to inform and communicate when a death occurs in the school community? What is the best way for teachers to deal with grieving students? To what extent does preparation for bereavement events at school play a role? How important is it to practice normality at school despite the exceptional situation of a bereavement? What specific options are there for creating space in schools for dealing with a death and integrating grief into everyday school life? How do teachers deal with it when they themselves are emotionally affected by a death? Where are the boundaries for grief work at school?