Bereavement support following tragic death 12 June 2023
Monday 12th June 2023
Dear Parents and Carers
Over the weekend we became aware of an incident in Bath on Saturday evening, which resulted in the tragic death of a sixteen-year-old boy. We understand the victim is a former JCA student who left John Cabot Academy in November 2021, although this has not been officially confirmed by the police. Our thoughts are with his family at this time.
The child’s death has been widely reported in national media and on social media, so many of our students will have some knowledge of what has happened. News of this sort affects different people in different ways and a range of emotions are likely to be experienced at this time including sadness, anger, and confusion.
We work with Winston’s Wish in cases of bereavement and have found their website to be excellent: https://www.winstonswish.org/supporting-you/support-for-parents/ This may help you to answer your child’s questions if they arise.
We will be leading some work with students in tutor time in the coming days, appropriate for each year group, to ensure they are informed, have space to discuss what has happened and are aware of the additional support available.
We have support from counsellors and mental health professionals available for those students who are particularly distressed, please do just let us know if this is the case for your child.
A small number of pupils within our school community were significantly affected by this news, and our pastoral teams have spent time with them and their families today and they are being offered further support.
If you have any questions or feel that your child needs further additional support, please do not hesitate to contact the academy by phone or email.
Yours sincerely
Kate Willis
