1-to-1 Bereavement Support Volunteer
As a 1-to-1 Bereavement Support Volunteer, you’ll provide one-to-one support to children and young people who have experienced bereavement.
This role involves building a supportive, consistent relationship where a child or young person can begin to explore their thoughts and feelings at their own pace. Depending on your experience and training, this may involve structured bereavement support or therapeutic counselling.
This role is open for counselling students seeking a placement whilst in training.
Why this role matters
For many children and young people, this may be the first time they’ve had space to talk openly about what has happened.
As outlined in the volunteer guide, one-to-one support can help them:
Feel heard and understood
Make sense of their experiences and emotions
Build confidence in expressing themselves
Begin to develop ways of coping with their grief
Having a consistent, supportive adult can make a meaningful difference in how they begin to process their bereavement.
What You’ll Be Doing
Providing regular one-to-one sessions with a child or young person
Creating a safe, calm and supportive environment
Listening with care and without judgement
Supporting them to explore their thoughts and feelings
Working at their pace, without pressure
Completing session notes and sharing relevant updates with the team
Attending supervision or check-ins as required
You will always work within your level of experience and agreed role.
What we’re looking for
A calm, patient and compassionate approach
Confidence working one-to-one with children or young people
Strong listening skills and emotional awareness
Ability to manage sensitive conversations
Reliability and commitment to agreed sessions
Willingness to reflect, learn and seek support
You’re not expected to have all the answers, but you are expected to work within the role and seek support when needed.
Time commitment
Each session lasts around 75 minutes
~50 minutes with the child or young person
~25 minutes for preparation and notes
Volunteers are asked to commit to a continuing support until completion. This is usually 6 sessions, but sometimes may be more.
Consistency and continuity is really important in this role.
What support you’ll receive
Guidance, training and clear processes
Ongoing supervision and check-ins
Support from experienced staff
Opportunities to reflect on sessions and ask questions
You will never be expected to manage situations alone, support is always available.
Boundaries of the role
This role is about supporting and listening, not ‘fixing’ or advising.
You won’t be expected to:
Provide support beyond your level of training
Offer advice or solutions
Work outside agreed sessions or boundaries
Manage complex or safeguarding concerns alone
Clear boundaries are in place to support both you and the children and young people you work with.
A gentle note
This can be a deeply meaningful role, but it can also feel emotionally impactful at times.
You’ll be supported throughout, and it’s always okay to ask for guidance, take time to reflect, and talk things through with the team.
Interested?
If this feels like something you’d like to explore, we’d love to hear from you for an informal chat.