Sir Al Aynsley Green: “I wish I’d had this when my Dad died..”

Sir Al Aynsley Green, who retired last week after 5 years in post as Children’s Commissioner for England, met youngsters yesterday taking part in an innovative new project at the Child Bereavement Charity.

The Child Bereavement Charity’s ‘Young People’s Advisory Group’ is working on a project made possible by a grant awarded by the British Psychological Society (www.bps.org.uk), to seek the views and opinions of young people who have been bereaved.

Ranging from 11-18 years old, the participants are developing resources to give parents, carers and education professionals greater insight into the needs and experiences of young people affected by a death. The output of the sessions, which run every month and will be completed in September 2010, will include film clips of the young people talking about their experiences of bereavement.

These are being produced with the support of the i-van project (www.i-van.org.uk) – a multi-media ICT studio – designed to enable young people to make their own resources and through this, develop skills, confidence and self-esteem. The film clips will be aimed at parents and teachers, educating and informing them about the challenges and issues associated with grieving amongst teenagers and adolescents.

They will also be developing written materials for the Child Bereavement Charity’s website, which is visited by over 125,000 families and professionals per year.

Sir Al met the youngsters at the Child Bereavement Charity’s offices in West Wycombe, and spoke to them of his personal experiences. He said: “I’m a bereaved child too – my Dad died unexpectedly in hospital when I was 10 years old. I wasn’t allowed to see him and it had a huge effect on me. I care very much about how you are being supported here and am very pleased to see the incredible work that’s going on. I wish I’d had this when my Dad died..”

One 18 year old girl, who is taking part in the project, told Sir Al: “Death is a massive thing that everyone avoids talking about – if they haven’t experienced it they just look at you, not knowing what to say. It’s comforting coming together here to share our experiences and not feel so alone.” Sir Al mingled with the participants and took part as they made film clips and web images. He praised them on their work and positive attitude, and inspired them with his own story: “You can be what you want to be, and be successful. And you must know that life does go on, and you must have some fun, that’s really important.”

Addressing the young people, Chief Executive of the Child Bereavement Charity, Ann Chalmers said: “It’s so important to give bereaved young people the opportunity to meet up with each other – you are the ones that know, you are the experts and there is so much we can learn from you. There is no substitute for hearing and learning from young people directly.” She commented: “The Young People’s Advisory Group is a really important initiative, giving bereaved young people a voice and enabling us as adults to learn what they need, and we are grateful to the British Psychological Society for their backing. Sir Al’s visit will demonstrate to the participants how important and highly valued their views are and we are delighted to have him visit us and talk with such encouragement, warmth and openness.”

Since standing down as Children’s Commissioner, Sir Al has announced his new role as patron of the Childhood Bereavement Network (www.childhoodbereavementnetwork.org.uk) of which the Child Bereavement Charity is a member, as part of his ongoing commitment to the issues surrounding child bereavement, and to work to dispel the taboos around death and grief.

Sir Al said: “I have come to visit and see for myself the outstanding work of the Child Bereavement Charity. I’d love to make sure that these standards are cloned all over the industry so that every child and young person has the support they need through their grieving.”