A SUPPORT service for students at Tavistock College who have been affected by bereavement or separation is being extended to the sixth form from September.

Teacher Sonia Fox coordinates the Rainbows programme which sees teachers give up free time after school to help students.

Sonia said there was huge demand for the service, both from those who are bereaved and others who are separated from parents due to family breakdown or for other reasons.

‘Last year, we only delivered it to students suffering from bereavement but this year we have opened it up to students who have suffered a loss,’ she said. ‘This could be in families where parents have separated or where a parent is on deployment with the military. That is why we have extended it to loss, not just bereavement, and we are extending it to include our sixth form students from September.

‘We have recruited members of staff in Tavistock College to work with our young people in after-school sessions. We don’t get extra time or pay for it, it is just something we strongly believe is needed for our young people.’

She added: ‘It was my idea to get Rainbows into support the members of staff. Having suffered bereavement myself, I felt that the students needed this support.

‘Bereavement is something you have to learn how to cope with and we felt as a community that that need wasn’t being provided for. There is a big demand, unfortunately. There is a lot of bereavement out there. It seems a natural progression to extend it to Key Stage 5 (the sixth form).

‘The materials from the charity are aimed at different ages.

‘We ran two groups last year.It starts about September time and we run it for ten to 12 weeks.

‘We are not trained counsellors, but we use the resources from Rainbows. Each week they have a different topic and we talk the the students through it in groups of three or four. I think for the students it feels like a safe space where they can voice how they are feeling,

‘It is only in a small groups, they have the chance to to say how they are feeling and listen to others.

‘They build up their confidence to talk about how it is affecting them and gain an understanding of what they are feeling and how to deal with everyday life while they are feeling this way. When the sessions come to an end they often say they want them to continue, they have found them so valuable.’