More than half of teachers don’t feel confident supporting pupils who are grieving the loss of a loved one, according to a survey.

Of the respondents to a Chartered College of Teaching survey about the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on teachers and pupils, 53 per cent disagreed that they felt confident supporting grieving children.

Some students may have experienced the loss of a family member or a friend during the coronavirus crisis, but only only a very slim margin of the teachers responding to the survey felt strongly confident in their ability to support them: 3.9 per cent. Another 27 per cent said they felt confident that they could support grieving children. 

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Training in grief support, together with preparation for dealing with trauma, was the single most mentioned need by respondents to the survey, the report explained.

Many teachers taking part in the survey said they didn’t have any prior experience in supporting grieving children, but that in the current context they were aware of students in those situations.

The results echo an issue previously highlighted by teachers and schools, made more urgent by the pandemic.

Earlier this year, the Winston’s Wish charity reported a ”huge spike” in teachers asking for new guidance on dealing with pupil bereavement remotely.

Last year, a study by the University of Cambridge’s faculty of education warned that the provision for bereaved children in schools was “patchy”, while in 2018, a study by charity Child Bereavement UK showed that less than 10 per cent of teachers had received training in how to support grieving pupils.