Grief and Loss Classroom Support Kit

When something sad happens…..

When a student in your class experiences bereavement or a community tragedy impacts your school, it can be hard to know what to say — or where to begin.

This Grief & Loss Classroom Support Kit provides calm, practical, trauma-informed tools to help primary teachers respond with confidence and care.

Designed for real classroom use, this resource supports primary level teachers to:

• Acknowledge loss in clear, age-appropriate language
• Maintain routine and emotional safety
• Offer whole-class regulation strategies
• Provide optional private reflection tools
• Prepare students for funerals or tangihanga respectfully
• Support children following natural disasters or community-level events

THIS RESOURCE KIT INCLUDES:

✔ Teacher scripts for bereavement, funerals, tangihanga, and community events
✔ Whole-class care activities: easy print templates for creating a class booklet/card/poster for the bereaved child/whānau; mindful colouring pages; key-idea mini-posters; calming tools + suggested use (some bilingual Māori/English)
✔ Self-reflection pages & mindful colouring templates for grieving students (private use)
✔ This resource is designed to support classroom care, not counselling. It focuses on calm presence, routine, and simple acts of kindness that help children feel safe.

Created with care for primary settings, this kit balances practicality with compassion and respects the diverse cultural contexts of Aotearoa New Zealand classrooms.