What we offer
When someone is dying
SeeSaw offers a pre bereavement service for families where a parent or carer has been diagnosed with a terminal illness and is dying and there are children up to the age of 18 in the family. Families can self-refer into this service or can ask one of the palliative care team to make contact with SeeSaw on their behalf. We will work with the parents to help them to have difficult conversation with their children, to develop practical strategies for managing family life, to manage information and think about the impact on the child. We will work directly with children to support and facilitate conversations with parents, express their feelings and wishes, keep them informed and understand the impact on their life. We will work with the family before the death and afterwards while they are adjusting to their loss and the changes to their family life.
For more details on this service, please click here
After someone has died
SeeSaw offers support to families after a parent or carer has died, or after the death of a sibling. Families can self-refer, and we can accept self-referrals from older young people up to the age of 18. There is no time limit on referrals – contact can be made at any point following a death.
We can offer advice, information, suggestions for resources and activities, and direct work with children and young people if needed. We can offer advice and support to schools and other professionals who are involved with the family.
Our Criteria
SeeSaw provides support to families who live in Oxfordshire. Our ‘pre bereavement’ service will provide advice to families if the person with a terminal diagnosis is being treated at Oxfordshire hospitals or is in the care of an Oxfordshire hospice. We work with families where there are children in the immediate family up to the age of 18. We will offer direct support to children from aged 5 up to the age of 18 if a parent/ carer or sibling is dying or has died. We ask families to self-refer to our service.
Other family members
Where the person who is dying or has died is a grandparent or other family member without caring responsibilities for the children we will offer information and resources to support a family. See more here
Support for schools and professionals
SeeSaw offers advice, information, training and support to schools and pre-school settings where there has been a death in the school community. We can also advise and support school staff when a child at their school has a parent who is dying or has died.
SeeSaw offers online training to schools to raise awareness of the impact of bereavement on children and young people and can advise on drafting bereavement policies. Please see our online training page for more information
SeeSaw will offer advice, information, training and support to professionals and organisations who may come into regular contact with bereaved children and young people.
