A SPECIAL KIND OF GRIEF: guest post by SARAH HELTON

 Early in my teaching career I witnessed the devastating impact of a pupil’s death on that child’s classmates and the school as a whole. I quickly realised that there was very little support and guidance on how best to support children with SEND (Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities) with grief. At times the grief of these children was either ignored or not fully acknowledged, with staff not knowing how to deal with the difficult situation.

Death is a certainty for us all and although we may not wish to think about it, we all experience death and we all experience other forms of loss (such as the loss from a close friend moving far away or the loss of a relationship through divorce or separation). Most children are fortunate in that their first experience of death doesn’t normally occur until they are older, maybe as a teenager with the death of a grandparent. Children with SEND often experience death at a much younger age due to the nature of the medical conditions that some children in special education have.

When working in special schools severe learning difficulties, profound and multiple learning difficulties and complex needs I experienced (on average) the death of one pupil a year.

Consider for a moment that if a child joins a special school aged four, by the time s/he leaves aged 16, there could well have been as many as 12 children die in that school.

S/he may not have known all of those children well, but the impact of those deaths will be immense. How many of us experienced 12 deaths by the time we were 16? And this doesn’t take into consideration any deaths that may occur outside of the school environment.

UK educational statistics show that up to 70 per cent of schools have at least one bereaved pupil on roll at any one time (Holland, 1993). In one survey 78 per cent of 11–16-year-olds said that they had been bereaved of a close relative or friend (Harrison and Harrington, 2001). By the age of 16, 1 in 20 young people will have experienced the death of one or both of their parents (Parsons, 2011).

At the time of writing this book there was no specific data available that showed the number of bereaved pupils in special schools. My personal experiences and research indicate that all special schools will have at least one bereaved pupil on roll every day of every school year. This includes pupils who are bereaved due to the death of family members, as well as those who have experienced the death of a classmate or friend at school. Following the death of a pupil, there will often be periods of time where whole classes and even the entire school community are grieving.

I passionately believe that all children need to be well supported with their grief and although this support could be better for all young people, it most definitely needs to be improved for children with SEND. Children with SEND are more likely to be affected by grief at a younger age and in greater frequency than ‘typically developing children’. This, combined with the understanding and communication difficulties that SEND children have, only strengthens the importance of them having good bereavement education and support.

So, are death, bereavement, loss and grief part of your school curriculum and culture? If not, ask yourself why. I’m sure it is not due to a lack of need. Is it instead more to do with a lack of training? Or a lack of awareness of its importance? Or do staff not want to acknowledge that children with SEND experience grief (because they don’t truly understand and value the children’s emotions and loss)? Or could it be due to staff personally being unable to handle and discuss death and other forms of loss? 

A Special Kind of Grief by Sarah Helton 
The complete guide for supporting bereavement and loss in special schools (& other SEND settings)

Remembering Lucy by Sarah Helton 

A children's story book about grief and bereavement in a school

Both books are published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers and are available from Amazon, Waterstones and all other good book sellers.

Bereavement & Loss Widgit Resource Pack - A set of symbol resources designed for children, young people and their families to help them through the process of bereavement and loss.

Available from www.widgit.com

GUEST POST: THE CIRCUS DIARIES

We all know that special interest subjects need the support of their communities to survive, so here is a guest post from Katharine Kavanagh, a fellow writer who publishes the only English language website dedicated to circus critique, TheCircusDiaries.com.

‘I started writing The Circus Diaries as a solo blog in 2013 because I was fed up of never being able to find any information on the subjects I was interested in - contemporary circus. I was amazed by how many other people obviously felt the same frustration, as my viewing numbers went up very quickly and now, four years on, are at around 4500 views a month. Not bad for such a niche subject!

What started as a hobby has gradually taken over my life and, when people ask me what I do now, I tell them I’m a circus writer. The difficulty is, how to make such a career pay? 

It’s really important to me to keep the site ad-free to avoid any perceived conflict of interests if I had to review a company or performer who also paid to advertise (I like to think I’d be fair, of course, but people might not see it that way and it could affect my reputation). I don’t want to put up a paywall for the service, as it was a desire for open access information that inspired me to get started in the first place.

So, what to do…

I figured that, if this was a service that people get benefit from - and the hit rates, comments and thank-you emails confirm they do - then perhaps these people might be willing to pay for the service, like you would a traditional magazine subscription? The solution was Patreon. Regular readers can contribute towards the costs of producing the content that they enjoy, whilst the one-off web wanderer can still find the articles and reviews for free.

Patreon is crowd-funding with a difference - there’s not a one-off goal to achieve, but an ongoing relationship based upon production of relevant and interesting content.

Of course, I’m always looking for more Patrons, and the minimum pledge is only $1 (about 80p to those of us in the UK!). You can cancel at any time if you don’t think you’re getting value for your money - or, on the other hand, you can increase your subscription accordingly!

If you’ve not heard of this platform before, why not sign up and check it out? If creatives can’t help each other out, how can we expect anyone else to?’

To see how it all works, sign up for circus updates direct to your inbox at https://www.patreon.com/thecircusdiaries

GUEST POST: SHRUTI GUPTA

Shruti Gupta is a wonderful artist based in Singapore who was looking for a challenge. She asked a number of people to supply her with quotations, poems or lines that they liked so that she could base art works on them. It was a very exciting project and I was lucky enough to be involved.

I shall let Shruti take over the story...

 “He wears a suit stolen from a Chagall painting,

Carries a breathing bouquet, that exhales scent around him,

She appears in a dress, bias cut from an O’Keefe flower.

After meeting on Crocodile Street, they will fly,

Marry above the clouds, entwined, counting stars, until the dawn.

When I first read the poem, I instantly thought of love. The first three lines, descriptive as they are, painted the picture for me. I knew what would be and how. I could imagine it all perfectly - Chagall’s Suit, the color pallet I would use for the artwork would be inspired by Chagall’s works and O’Keefe’s Iris, unevenly cut into a dress, flowing and romantic.

Moving further with the lines in the poem, I decided to watch Schultz’s famous crocodile street once before deciding on how to go about the artwork. Having been a student of psychology, the animation, connected my line of thought to ‘Maslow’s triangle’ immediately. I was aware that the Paul was not making a reference to the triangle of hierarchy but reading the last two lines, how two souls in fancy costumes, having met in this mortal world become one, above the clouds, beyond the worldly pleasures that consume them, steered my mind towards the concept. The reference to ‘flying’ made me think of Rumi’s quote, “Somewhere beyond right and wrong, there is a garden. I will meet you there.” Yes, it’s not really what the poem is about but this is how my mind gradually created a picture.

It had to be that, the words, reverberated in my mind. This is how I would make this artwork my own, give it a little twist!

Hence, the background is triangular in shape. On it are the two people. A woman wearing the bias cut dress and the man, sans Chagall’s suit. Eve’s apple sitting at the bottom, depicting the basic needs. As the eyes gradually move upwards, one will notice, cars, buildings etc. depicting social needs, need for safety, etc.

Right at the top, sealed into a kiss, with no facial features, they are one, connected only by their beating hearts. It does not matter who you are and where you come from. The only thing that really matters is how you feel.

You can go to Shruti's website here. You can also find her on Facebook and Instagram.

ASH DEAN: GUEST POST

There is much to think about in the poetry of Ash Dean. On the surface it is lyrical but read it for a second time discern what is below the surface. 
Here is a man dedicated to his art. A man who speaks eloquently. Those with ears will hear.

Philosophy informs a lot of my poetry. I think this is the case with most poetry, whether it is acknowledged or not. The human condition, the natural world and how these things co-exist and relate – poetry frames a snapshot of some truth amongst all of this. Truth is always the starting point. To write a poem I need to have something truthful to say and the success of the poem is its ability to communicate this truth to others while retaining its particularity.

I like to immerse myself in all of the arts as I believe they can all gain experience from each other. Poetry is especially transcending. It can combine imagery and melody to tell stories or share ideas. It can be visual, musical and literal in one.

The creative process fascinates me and I often reflect upon it in my monthly blog. As an artist you are constantly dealing with how to capture something almost intangible and make it real. As for finding inspiration, I find the key is to be open-minded, to think deeply and to experience new things. Inspiration doesn’t work on demand for me. I do the aforementioned things and leave it to strike randomly. The trigger experience itself usually becomes the focus of the poem but sometimes the idea is bigger and needs dissecting into a group of poems or, sometimes, worked into a larger narrative in order to realise its potential.

I’m currently working on a conceptual collection, a Bildungsroman running as a linear narrative, which is really stretching my range of style. It is a test to make the collection follow while remaining varied and allowing for the poems to still be effectual individually.

The two poems below are from my Sweden collection. The collection is autobiographical and follows my attempt to settle in the country. When attempting to tap into truth, the best inspiration is a heartfelt experience. What is sometimes difficult is finding the composure to convey it.

Discover all of my poetry for free on my website.

You can also follow me on social media:

www.twitter.com/ashdeanpoetry

www.facebook.com/ashdeanpoetry

Du gamla, du fria  

Residing sleek hillside come drink from the pool, 

Cup volumes and feast without a motion, 

Enliven the lichen that bathes in the cool; 

Become aglow you waken all emotion.  

Young sapling foreseeing bid straight for the sky, 

Cheer softly near flora into fragrance, 

Together sweet millions a beau to espy; 

Allied are we enraptured by your cadence.  

Long sunset go teasingly on till the eyes 

Upon you go slumber to your obit; 

Now merge with the living, the sea and the rise, 

Entrench anew and galvanise our bowsprit.  

Quick lope cracking hearth blind or whip summoned might, 

Mute shackles upon a painted spectre, 

Redress fevered cares with the chill of the night,

Entrap my soul, bequeath it as your sceptre.  

A thawing, oh fawning, do death give to life, 

Transition a peril and a splendour, 

In faith and humility heedless to strife; 

A true romance abided by its labour.  

Inside every kingdom a will plays to rule 

And binds the waif spirit to the landscape. 

This vista vibrates throughout each molecule; 

Propel me forth, command me till the last gape. 

Self-portrait  

Sombre dawn -  

Weighted, packed and clinging 

Is the baggage that remains 

As the near-deserted tunnelbana 

Jolts steadily my leave 

And from Hammarbyhöjden 

To Skärmarbrink junction
I see myself in the glaze of a window.  

To stare at one’s reflection 

With no trace of vanity, 

No abstraction, 

To stare at the self
In one certain moment, 

When nothing is certain and all is absurd, 

To stare at the mask of the mind 

That has nothing left,
Just existence, 

Feeling nothing except the absorption of time 

And the haunting eyes
In which time has stopped.  

Give me defeat for it fuels my progression. 

Humiliate me and harden me for losing. 

I fail because of choice itself 

And not the choices I make.  

There is no prescribed way to impart oneself, 

Only that which tests and destroys 

To rebuild and destroy again. 

What would I be
If I had not chanced
Everything I had become?
In every loss
I gain and reap
More than I lost.

This will always be
My eternal hanging.

Both poems copyright Ash Dean 2011.