Responding in the moment – schools programme

By the Ruth Strauss Foundation

CHARITY FEATURE

The Schools Programme: Responding in the Moment is a free, expert-designed and evidence-based training programme that helps schools support children and young people through anticipatory grief and bereavement. Each year, 46,300 children and young people face parental bereavement in the UK.

The Ruth Strauss Foundation supports families facing incurable cancer and raises awareness of the wider impact incurable illness can have on children, families and schools.

Responding in the Moment takes a structured, proactive approach, giving every adult in a school – from the caretaker to the headteacher – the skills and practical strategies to respond with confidence in emotional moments. You never know which adult a child or young person will turn to for support, so we aim to equip the whole school community to be ready when it matters most.

To complement the Schools Programme, the Foundation has also developed the RSF Minecraft Education World: Detect & Diagnose. For ages 8–14, this interactive game helps children understand cancer and its diagnosis in a safe, engaging and age‑appropriate way.

Co-designed with children with lived experience, NHS oncology experts, child bereavement researchers and specialists, the game builds empathy, resilience and emotional skills.

Together, Responding in the Moment training and the RSF Minecraft Education World: Detect & Diagnose resource support schools to create compassionate, whole-school approach so no child feels isolated when facing a parent’s incurable illness.

Click here to find out more.